Mac Holiday Steals and Deals

Either Apple has loosened its channel policies or dealers are simply breaking rank. Because this holiday—at least for this week—prices are anything but uniform. Typically Mac dealers differentiated from Apple through extras, like free memory, printers, laptop bags and other goodies.

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Instead, some Mac dealers are busting out big deals, with steep discounts on new Macs. Earlier in the week, Best Buy started offering $100-$150 off new MacBooks in the online shopping cart. But bigger deals are elsewhere—and huge.

PC Connection has been running a $100 rebate on new MacBooks since their release last month. Friend of mine recently bought the higher-priced of the two aluminum MacBooks for $1,499 after the rebate. I checked on Monday, and that was PC Connection's price. Today, PC Connection's starting price is $1,499 or $1,399 after rebate. That's $200 less than Apple's asking price and just $100 more than what Apple sells the entry-level model for.

But in states where Apple has a company store, buyers will pay sales tax. From PC Connection, there's no tax and free shipping. In California, tax would add an estimated $123.92 to the cost, or $1,722.92 total. So after rebate, the high-end MacBook is $323.92 less than from Apple. Purchased today.

Best Buy MacBook Sale Price

PC Connection sells the entry aluminum MacBook for $1,149 after $75 rebate, compared with $1,299 from Apple. The white MacBook is $899.99 after $50 rebate. Even without rebates, PC Connection pricing is lower than Apple's. The same price difference, 50 bucks, applies to new iMacs—and there are rebates for them, too.

PC Connection isn't alone offering way below-Apple pricing. Over at MacMall, the entry-level MacBook Pro is discounted to $1,798.99 after $100 rebate, but that's from a starting price $99.01 less than Apple. Adding California tax of $154.92, the real price difference is $354.93. The entry-level MacBook is $1,179.99 after $50 rebate, putting the starting price nearly $70 less than Apple's. Minor variances are typical, but the amounts here are unusually greater.

There should be plenty more discounts come Black Friday—and some of those will be from Apple. It's what happens after the weekend to watch: How will Apple and its dealers price?

There's something disturbing here. The dealers sure have lots of older MacBooks and, particularly, MacBook Pros for sale. There are deals to be had, like a 2.4GHz black MacBook with 4GB of RAM and 250GB hard drive for $1,199.99 after rebate from PC Connection. Is Apple's channel stuffed, or will it be exiting the holidays?

PC Connection MacBook Sale Price

"IDC has learned that most PC and CE vendors have geared up and have shipped their forecasted unit allotment into the channel for the holidays," Randy Giusto, IDC's group vice president and general manager for mobility, computing and consumer markets, wrote in a research note today.

"The big questions over the next 35 days are, will the holiday channel volume move?" he asked. "Will it require Black Friday-like sales interspersed throughout December in order to clear the inventory out? Will this holiday season be known as the great CE fire sale? Obviously, every retailer and PC and CE vendor is nervous."

Apple's situation is unique compared with many Windows PC manufacturers and retailers because:

• Mac average selling prices are much higher than Windows desktops and laptops. In October, Windows ASPs were $633, compared with $1,563 for Macs.
• Entry-level Mac notebook—and that's for an older model—is $899.99 from dealers after rebates. Hardware specwise, a Windows notebook can be purchased for several hundred dollars less with four times the RAM and better graphics.
• Older, heavily discounted MacBooks and MacBook Pros compete with new models.

I'm cheering for Apple, but recognizing that all retailers will be under pressure to clear out inventory. Ahead of expected Apple Black Friday Discounts, Mac dealers are pricing to sell. By the way, I ignored the many attractive bundles, some including Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows XP Professional. Dealers have got some great bundles, too.

So far, dealers have got the steals. Apple, where are your deals?

[Please send your tips or rumors to watchtips at gmail.com].

Posted by Joe Wilcox on November 26, 2008 4:54 PM