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Refurbished Mac Studio Models ?
- Thread starter zoran
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Because Apple is being predatory currently. I hear they aren’t even discounting the refurbished much, 10% off, which is the education discount but because new stock availability is low the only way to get hardware is buy refurbished. Great business move but kind of slimy IMO.
Why is that being predatory? Who wants a bunch of refurbished inventory on hand? It's from people buying 2 or 3 Mac Studios expecting them to be perfect.
Or big name YouTube reviewers' loaner units?
To all those wondering, it is considered a predatory sales tactic to claim there is a shortage or limited supply of something then value stock based on that assumption since the consumer can not validate. Even though Apple has not said this themselves, and it may actually be true, the fact they’ve changed their refurbished pricing to fit this narrative can fall under that tactic.
They cannot sell refurbished units as new. It's not like they're hoarding stock. There is a supply chain problem. It's affecting every company and industry in the world. It's not an Apple problem.
If Apple hadn't released the refurbished units, you would claim that they were forcing people to buy new.
The general definition of predatory sales tactics is:
- pushing someone to buy something/rushing (often blindly) - Apple is not pushing you to buy it
- manipulative specs, tactics - Apple is not manipulating anything
- making outrageous promises - Apple is not doing this
I can Google to fit a narrative as well so here’s another predatory sales tactic.
“Scarcity: They build a sense of urgency by claiming a limited supply or limited time.”
This has been done by media outlets and Apple supply chain sources. Even Apple support has used this as an excuse for extended repair times. Once again, true or false, this scarcity mindset is being sold and Apple reducing their refurbished discounts because they know there is lack of new stock can be considered predatory.
As you stated it’s illegal to sell used stock as new but what if Apple sold their used stock with a 1% discount during a supply constraint/low stock when they normally sell it over 15% off retail when stock is healthy? Predatory or not it’s very convenient and if you’re cool with being taken advantage of then go for it.
Same goes for Tesla raising their MSRP on most cars by $8K recently.
It's clear they had lots of returns. Most were people who came to their senses that they spent too much and returned it. So they cleaned them up and will resell for 10% off.
It's not worth my time to argue over this. Yes, you're right, it's predatory. The absolute worst predatory action I've ever seen. Apple is such a monster forcing people to buy things at retail or only at 10% off for a refurbished unit. How horrible they are! They should be delisted from NASDAQ for their behavior!
I purchased a new Studio Base Max not long after the release date and have made six figures in consulting work since doing so.
10% off of retail is not all that earth shattering from this perspective. Same is true factoring in the 20+ past refurbs I've purchased at higher discounts for myself, family, friends, colleagues and workplaces.
10% off of retail is not all that earth shattering from this perspective. Same is true factoring in the 20+ past refurbs I've purchased at higher discounts for myself, family, friends, colleagues and workplaces.
I have no idea what reason "most people" had for returning a base Max, but there were certainly people who liked what they saw enough to turn in their base Max and order one with an upgraded configuration. I purchased a base Max on March 18th, launch day, and returned it to order one with 32 graphics cores, 64GB of memory and 2TB of storage.
Whoever gets my base Max as a "refurbished" computer is getting a discount on a machine that was in fact brand new and working perfectly. If that's evil, "predatory" behaviour on Apple's part, let's have more of it
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What does that mean?
And why are they doing this with MacStudios? Are they not good computers, did they have technical failures?
We're talking about a company that has a no-questions-asked 14 day return policy and that is in some cases selling as "refurbished", at a discount, brand new computers in perfect working condition. If you read the post immediately above yours, you'll see a concrete example of what I'm talking about. Some of the refurbished computers may have had a technical problem that was corrected.
The assertion that this is "predatory marketing" comes from an alternate universe, and a pretty mixed up one at that. The concept has to do with marketing practices that, while legal, exploit groups of consumers who are vulnerable to being conned or otherwise manipulated. Think poor people who need a cheque cashed or some elderly people. The concept is being completely misused here. Indeed, the assertion trivialises a real world social problem.
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Or, it could simply be the basic "supply and demand" economics...
Our non-profit recently renovated a 32K sf building. Initial estimates were $1.4M USD with a 3-4 month time line. When all was said and done, the bill was $2.1M USD and it took 9 months to complete. Predatory? Not really. Materials were harder to come by, and tradesmen were busier. In other words, supplies of material and workforce were tighter, so the cost went up.
Apple has not manufactured any crisis to keep new stock supplies low - it's a result of the global pandemic, chip shortages, etc. Nothing to see here, folks.
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Go on YouTube. Those "reviewers" order every damn model to test and return them.
Buy Mac Studio
Get a new Mac Studio with M2 Max or M2 Ultra from only $149.91 per month. Select a model or customise your own. Buy now at apple.com.
www.apple.com
So I just looked at Mac Studio prices for the same model I think is available from the Refurbished shop and the price for the new one is $1799 too.
Buy Mac Studio
Get a new Mac Studio with M2 Max or M2 Ultra from only $149.91 per month. Select a model or customise your own. Buy now at apple.com.www.apple.com
So I just looked at Mac Studio prices for the same model I think is available from the Refurbished shop and the price for the new one is $1799 too.
The price for a new one is $1999 USD. THe price is $1799 with the education discount. If. You. Can. Find. One.
Claiming a limited supply? An excuse? Apple what, instructed China to close their own factories so that instead of selling more full price units to people, they can sell sometimes even lower spec refurb ones to some people, and at 10% off?
"What if they sold it at 1% off during supply constraint" Well they're not, they're selling it at 10% off, vs around 15% before. People who sell enamel pins sell A and B grade. You're not ever getting a huge discount because the product is still in demand and in fact there are often more people who would like to save 10% for a new-ish item... That's in times when we don't have a massive shortage and wait times of a couple months at least. Stop looking for things to be mad about, there's plenty of real problems in the world
Apple's refurb units are nearly identical to new ones anyway. How is it predatory for Apple to sell these alongside new units, at a lower price? Just buy whichever one you feel most comfortable buying.
Just buy whichever one you feel most comfortable buying.Looking at the Apple Store online right now, new, refurb, and education base model Mac Studios all ship within 1-2 weeks. What are you saying? There are clearly a bunch in stock.
Nearly? They're the same as, or better than new ones.
New ones roll off the production line, go into a box and get sold.
Refurbs are checked over by a real person, any required repairs are completed, they get put into a box and sold at 10% discount with the same full warranty as a new one.
Will they check to see if it "whines" though? That is the one thing holding me back from buying the current crop of refurbished Mac Studios. It's still very tempting, because I could get my new machine TOMORROW through the refurbished store vs waiting three weeks for my current order to arrive. Very tempting...
And...I ordered one! Paid the extra $8 so I could get it tomorrow. I'll let y'all know if it whines. If it doesn't, I'll keep it and cancel the new one I have on order. If it does, I'll return it and stick with the original purchase. I ended up going with 32 GB RAM instead of the 64 I have on order. I think 32 will be more than sufficient, I've been kind of regretting splurging for 64.