Bottom line: No cash.
Not sure how that will affect Apple's bottom-line.
Depends; how many cash only, tin foil hat wearers, are out there? I haven't used Cash for a significant purchase in over 20 years (at least).
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Cash will not be accepted for iPad 3G; Credit/Debit card must have YOUR name on it.
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Depends; how many cash only, tin foil hat wearers, are out there? I haven't used Cash for a significant purchase in over 20 years (at least).
There's a whole thread about someone who tried to use an Amex gift card and couldn't
I never use cash either, but I was just shocked that an Apple store wouldn't take cash. Now that I've been to the store and bought an iPad, I see why they don't want to do it. In fact, a guy in line with me gave me the cash to buy him a second one and did the same with a guy behind us. He wanted to buy 4 of them.
Jeez, why is this complex or mysterious at this point?! Do you guys read?
It needs to be a credit or debit card with your name on it so they can make it harder for you to buy a bunch and resell them for the time being. It won't matter after supplies are adequate. No system is foolproof, but they are making an effort to keep resellers from making this painful for large numbers of consumers during this early phase.
Apple can implement any regulations like this as long as they don't violate existing contracts or federal mandates such as ethnic discrimination. They can refuse to sell you an iPad if you aren't wearing a Hawaiian shirt or if your name starts with the letters A through M.
It needs to be a credit or debit card with your name on it so they can make it harder for you to buy a bunch and resell them for the time being. It won't matter after supplies are adequate. No system is foolproof, but they are making an effort to keep resellers from making this painful for large numbers of consumers during this early phase.
Apple can implement any regulations like this as long as they don't violate existing contracts or federal mandates such as ethnic discrimination. They can refuse to sell you an iPad if you aren't wearing a Hawaiian shirt or if your name starts with the letters A through M.
A friend of mine stopped down at the Caesar's Palace one earlier, and he said they shot him down
Actually this varies by bank.... so he very well could have a $500 limit - i've had it before.
Yep, that is correct.
If you read the fine print with Apple Gift Cards it states they can not honor it for any product that they sell.
What a sleazy policy. Give us your money and we can tell you what you can and cannot buy in our store. Technically, according to their rules, they could say they are not going to honor it for anything. Thanks for purchasing a gift card. We would be happy to sell you another one.
Yep, that is correct.
If you read the fine print with Apple Gift Cards it states they can not honor it for any product that they sell.
What a sleazy policy. Give us your money and we can tell you what you can and cannot buy in our store. Technically, according to their rules, they could say they are not going to honor it for anything. Thanks for purchasing a gift card. We would be happy to sell you another one.
I think I actually got lucky. The person that assisted me wasn't aware of a no gift card policy. I was able to use it and pay the balance with a debit card.
The policy is still complete and utter BS.
I wonder when Apple will start their own credit card and that will be the only form of payment that they will take.
You better be careful. If Stevo finds out about this the Apple sweeper teams may show up on your doorstep.
I am sure the employee who took the cash has already been disciplined. He/she has probably been relocated to the iPad assembly plant in China.
One guy has stated that he had an American Express Gift Card and he could not use it to buy an iPad. He is in the process of filing a complaint with American Express.
Boycott the Apple store and just go to Best Buy and get it. If Best Buy doesn't have it then just wait until they do.
Apple has great products but I really don't want to do business with a company that has sleazy business practices.
They just don't want you to use money that is already in their coffers to buy an iPad. If you have to use other money to buy the iPad then you will probably use your gift card to buy stuff you may not have bought in the first place.
A friend of mine stopped down at the Caesar's Palace one earlier, and he said they shot him down
Bought my appleTV at that store with fresh hundreds from the Caesar's casino. They had no problem taking them. As for the iPad, that might be a different story.
While I think the policy of no cash is probably not a good idea, the reason Apple has it is for a good purpose... so more people can get iPads.
If they didn't keep track of who was buying and let anyone with cash buy one, you know there would be people buying in mass and selling on ebay. While they still could only buy 2 at a time probably, they could just go back the next day and find a different salesperson to ring them up. Or go to other apple stores in the area. So a single person could easily rack up a large number of iPads and sell them for a profit.
Since iPad's are scarce, people who actually want one for themselves might have trouble getting one if these others are stockpiling them.
That's the only reason I can think of why they have this policy, since it actually hurts them to ban sales of the ipad to people with cash or to people who want to buy large numbers of ipads. As a business you know they want to sell as many as possible, but they actually are trying to do the right thing here by making them available to as many individual people as possible.
If they didn't keep track of who was buying and let anyone with cash buy one, you know there would be people buying in mass and selling on ebay. While they still could only buy 2 at a time probably, they could just go back the next day and find a different salesperson to ring them up. Or go to other apple stores in the area. So a single person could easily rack up a large number of iPads and sell them for a profit.
Since iPad's are scarce, people who actually want one for themselves might have trouble getting one if these others are stockpiling them.
That's the only reason I can think of why they have this policy, since it actually hurts them to ban sales of the ipad to people with cash or to people who want to buy large numbers of ipads. As a business you know they want to sell as many as possible, but they actually are trying to do the right thing here by making them available to as many individual people as possible.
About a week ago, I took my $500 gift card to buy a 16gb ipad, and I got shot down (and paid with CC instead)
Apparently if you order online, you can use the apple gift card... which makes no sense to me why there are different policies for online and in store purchases.
Apparently if you order online, you can use the apple gift card... which makes no sense to me why there are different policies for online and in store purchases.
ordering online results in a trackable shipment, and maintains just as good of a paper trail as buying using a credit card.
gift cards and cash do not leave a paper trail of the purchaser's name
I've been informed that the two iPad limit only applies to the buyer's credit card. So if you use multiple cards you very well can exceed the limit.
It's not sleezy at all, so let's not be overly dramatic. It is a completely legal business decision. You might not agree with it - I don't - but it is their decision to limit purchases in their effort to make sure that there are enough iPads for people who are going to buy them to use them and not resell them.
I am not sure why it matters to Apple - a sale is a sale - so I think it is silly.
Apple could limit purchases by requiring a certain amount put on a credit card. Say a $1.
What Apple is doing is not allowing you to spend money that is already in their coffers. You need to bring in new money and then spend the gift card money on accessories or something else that you probably would not have bought.
A lot of gift card places got in trouble when they did things like reduce the value of the gift card over time. All of this was stated in their literature but the attorney general still went after them (and rightfully so).
If you think Apple has this policy to protect the US consumers you are nuts.
I never said it was to protect anyone. I disagree with the policy as you saw in my post you quoted, but in no way is it illegal or sleezy.
So, let's say it was not Apple but Wal-Mart. You have a Wal-Mart gift card, go there to buy the best TV they sell and they tell you that it is no good. However, you can buy it on all the crap you don't want.
Or, let's say you have an iTunes gift card and Apple says you can only use it on certain songs.
I guess in your opinion, the iTunes would make sense but not the Wal-Mart case.
A gift card should be able to be used on ANYTHING that is for sale in the particular store that it is for.
That is why people buy gift cards in the first place.
Don't act like this is unheard of. For example, try buying a gift certificate to a movie theater. Most very plainly state that it cannot be used for new-release films or even on holiday weekends. It's not unusual for businesses to put limitations on what gift certificates can be used for. That's why a smart shopper reads the restrictions before buying them.
I think you are confused. Aren't you referring to purchasing discount movie passes? Movie passes and gift certificates are two different animals. A certificate is just that, it is a certificate which has value for the amount of money that was paid to purchase it.
In any case, as you state they CLEARLY say they are not valid for new releases.
Does the Apple gift card CLEARLY state on it when you purchase it and when you get it that it cannot be used on the latest and greatest products or that Apple reserves the right to control what you can purchase or is that down somewhere in the fine print?