On the Friday after Thanksgiving in 2022, Apple opened its annual Black Friday sale with the familiar shape of an old bargain: prices held steady, and shoppers were offered store credit they could spend only within Apple's own walls. BGR, a deals site that earns commissions on the links it sends readers, judged the offer harshly and set it against the markdowns other retailers were giving on the same products. The story sits in a long human habit of watching how sellers dress up generosity, and it asks a quiet question that the price tags answer more plainly than any slogan could.
Apple's Black Friday Deals Trade Discounts for Store Gift Cards, and BGR Finds Better Prices Elsewhere
Prices stay put; the discount arrives as a card only Apple will accept.
Mark
So what exactly is Apple offering this Black Friday?
Mimi
No price cuts. Prices stay the same, and you get an Apple Store gift card, from $50 on an iPhone up to $200 on certain Macs.
Mark
And BGR says other stores beat that?
Mimi
They do. The 2nd-generation AirPods Pro were $199.99 on Amazon, $49.01 under list, while Apple's AirPods card tops out at $75 and only works at Apple.
Luke
Careful, though. A $75 card isn't worth less than a $49 discount if you'd spend it anyway. BGR concedes frequent Apple shoppers might be fine with it.
Mark
So is the claim that you never come out ahead overstated?
Luke
It's BGR's opinion, and the article doesn't compare each Apple product against each retailer price. Some cards are bigger than some discounts.
Mimi
Fair, but on the MacBook Air the Amazon price was $200 off, and Apple's card was up to $200. Not obviously a win for Apple there, and the card is locked to Apple.
Luke
Also, BGR earns affiliate commissions on the links, and some deals are on older models like the 2020 MacBook Air. Prices can change or sell out.
Mark
So what should a shopper take from it?
Mimi
Compare the actual totals before buying, and note the Apple sale ends November 28.
Le Pouls
- Apple held its list prices where they were while handing out gift cards that work only inside its own stores.
- BGR called the offer consistently poor and said Apple simply does not do discounts, a sharp accusation shoppers are hearing on the eve of the biggest buying weekend.
- Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and Target are slashing real prices on AirPods, Apple Watches, iPads and MacBooks, some by half on the AirPods 2.
- Shoppers are being urged to add up total savings before buying and to move fast, because the lowest prices are selling out.
On the Friday after Thanksgiving in 2022, Apple opened its annual Black Friday sale with the familiar shape of an old bargain: prices held steady, and shoppers were offered store credit they could spend only within Apple's own walls. BGR, a deals site that earns commissions on the links it sends readers, judged the offer harshly and set it against the markdowns other retailers were giving on the same products. The story sits in a long human habit of watching how sellers dress up generosity, and it asks a quiet question that the price tags answer more plainly than any slogan could.
On Friday, November 25, 2022, Apple began its Black Friday sale, and it looked much like the sales of earlier years. Prices at the Apple Store stayed exactly where they had been. Instead, customers received a gift card that could be spent only at Apple. The offer ran through the end of the day on November 28.
The size of the card depended on what a shopper bought. iPhones, Apple Watch SE models, and iPads earned $50. AirPods brought up to $75, and computers brought the most, up to $200 on a MacBook or iMac. Beats headphones and accessories carried cards of up to $50.
BGR, a technology and deals site, was blunt. It called Apple's Black Friday offers consistently poor and argued that the company simply does not discount. Its case was arithmetic: Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart and Target were cutting real prices by more than the value of Apple's cards. The site allowed that loyal Apple Store shoppers might not mind store credit in place of a markdown, but it still pointed people elsewhere. Readers should keep in mind that BGR earns affiliate commissions on purchases made through its links, so this is an opinion guide rather than neutral reporting.
The AirPods comparisons were the sharpest. The 2nd-generation AirPods Pro fell to $199.99 on Amazon, a 20 percent saving. The 2nd-generation AirPods were $79 on Amazon, half off, though they kept selling out. AirPods Max dropped $100. Apple Watch Ultra and Series 8 models also saw cuts, and iPads and MacBooks followed the same pattern, with a 2020 MacBook Air down $200 and a 2021 14-inch MacBook Pro down nearly $500.
The comparison is not perfectly fair. Several discounted items are older models, and the percentages range widely. Still, the gap is visible on the price tags. Shoppers should total up their real savings before buying, and they should act quickly, since the best deals are the ones most likely to vanish.
On Friday, November 25, 2022, Apple started its Black Friday sale, and the offer looked much the same as in earlier years. Prices at the Apple Store stayed where they were. Customers got a gift card instead, and it can only be spent at Apple. The sale runs from November 25 through the end of the day on November 28.
The gift cards scale with what a shopper buys. An iPhone earns a $50 card. An Apple Watch SE, an iPad, an iPad Air or an iPad Mini also earns $50. AirPods, including the 2nd and 3rd generation, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, bring up to $75. The largest reward is for computers: up to $200 on a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini or iMac. Beats headphones such as the Studio3 Wireless and Solo3 Wireless, along with accessories like the Smart Keyboard Folio, MagSafe Duo Charger, Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard, carry cards of up to $50.
BGR, a technology and deals site, was blunt in its assessment, calling Apple's own Black Friday offers consistently poor and saying the company simply does not do discounts. Its argument rests on arithmetic. Other major retailers, it says, including Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart and Target, are cutting actual prices by more than the value of Apple's gift cards. In BGR's words, a shopper using Apple's own sale will never come out ahead. The site allows one exception: people who shop at the Apple Store often may not mind store credit in place of a markdown. It still recommends the other offers. Worth noting is that BGR may earn affiliate commissions on purchases made through its links, and this is a deals-guide opinion rather than neutral reporting.
The AirPods comparisons are the clearest. The 2nd-generation AirPods Pro, released the previous month, list at $249 and were $199.99 on Amazon, a saving of $49.01, or 20 percent, which BGR calls the lowest price yet. The 1st-generation AirPods Pro were $159 at Best Buy and Walmart, and $169.99 on Amazon. The 2nd-generation AirPods list at $159 and were $79 on Amazon, half off, though BGR warns they keep selling out. The 3rd-generation AirPods were $139.99. AirPods Max dropped from $549 to $449, a $100 cut. BGR adds that Geek Squad Certified Refurbished AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro at Best Buy go lower still for those who accept refurbished units.
The Apple Watch listings follow the same pattern. The Series 8 (GPS, 41mm) was $349.99 against a $399 list price. The Apple Watch Ultra was $739 instead of $799, a $60 saving that BGR describes as a new low. The 2nd-generation Apple Watch SE was $229 for the 40mm GPS model and $309 for the 44mm GPS and cellular model, each $20 under list. BGR also cites discounts of up to $150 on the Series 8.
In tablets, the 2021 10.2-inch iPad (64GB) fell to $269.99 from $329. The 2021 iPad Mini was $399.99 from $499. The 2022 iPad Air was $549 from $599, and the 2022 11-inch iPad Pro was $759 from $799. The deepest Mac cuts were on laptops. The 2020 MacBook Air with the M1 chip was $799 from $999, a $200 saving. The 2021 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip was $1,999.99 from $2,499, a $499.01 saving, or 20 percent.
The comparison is not perfectly even. Several of the discounted items are older models, such as the 2020 MacBook Air and the 2021 iPads, and the percentages vary widely, from 5 percent on the iPad Pro to 50 percent on AirPods 2. Still, the gap BGR describes is plain on the price tags. Shoppers weighing Apple's gift cards against retailer discounts should add up the total savings before buying, and move quickly, since BGR notes that some of the lowest prices sell out.
Citations marquantes
Top retailers have bigger discounts than the value of the gift cards Apple is offering, so you'll never come out ahead shopping Apple's sale.— BGR (paraphrased)
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur BGR ↗
Technology