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Getting creative with pushing old inventory, the Apple way
Author: Vidyut Luther14 Feb
So, I’m in the market for a 30 inch monitor. The choices so far are between the Apple Cinema and the Dell 3007. I went to Apple’s website to see what the Cinema would cost me, $1,799 says the apple store. So, I checked Apple’s goodwill/refurbished store, and there the price is $1,499, $300 cheaper, woohoo. What caught my eye though, was the next item, they say the original price of the display is $3,299. Really? I double checked the brand spanking new one on the store, looking for “going out business, 50% off, everything must go” signs. Needless to say, I couldn’t find any. I think it’s interesting that Apple shows the price as $3,299 which was the price when these things were first announced, 5 years ago, instead of the price if bought brand new today.
I’m wondering, is this standard practice amongst retailers? Do you really want to list the first original price of an item to help get rid of your old inventory? If was to buy the same thing brand new, the price wold be only $300 more. But, looking directly at the site only, it seems the refurbished item saves me more than 50%. Is this fair?
3 Responses for "Getting creative with pushing old inventory, the Apple way"
[...] Apple Gazette - Your ultimate guide to Thinking Different wrote an interesting post today on Getting creative with pushing old inventory, the Apple wayHere’s a quick excerpt So, I’m in the market for a 30 inch monitor. The choices so far are between the Apple Cinema and the Dell 3007. I went to Apple’s website to see what the Cinema would cost me, $1,799 says the apple store. So, I checked Apple’s goodwill/refurbished store, and there the price is $1,499, $300 cheaper, woohoo. What caught my eye though, was the next item, they say the original price of the display is $3,299. Really? I double checked the brand spanking new one on the store, looking for “going out bu [...]
I’ve noticed this at department stores all the time - especially at the Macy’s near my house. They seem to “raise” prices in advance of the sale - so although you might be saving 50%, you probably didn’t realize that the sale price was pretty close to the current regular sales price.
I think the problem is that people don’t look at percentages in terms of the big picture - they just think “oh shit, it’s 30% off till tomorrow, I need to buy that right now.”
[...] Valentines day, I posted my thoughts on the way Apple pushes it’s old inventory out the door. A few weeks later, The Consumerist gets a tip along the same lines. Now, being a fan of the site, [...]
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