Apple’s Back to School Promo 2011: No Free iPod, $100 iTunes Card instead

[Pardus]

Article

Apple will start their annual Back to School promotion this week, possibly Wednesday, but this year will feature a major twist. In year’s past, Apple’s Back to School promotion offered students their usual educational discount plus a free iPod with any purchase of a Mac. This year, 9to5Mac has been told, will be very different. In fact, Apple will not be offering free iPods during this promotion but will instead offer a $100 iTunes gift card.

Apple usually begins their Back to School promotion approximately three months prior to their annual fall music-related event. This Back to School promotion usually serves a way for Apple to clear out their iPod inventory ahead of an early September refresh for the lineup. Given that iPods will not be in this years Back to School promotion, we are not too sure what to think about this fall’s iPod upgrade situation.

Update: Just to clarify: when I say $100 iTunes card, I mean a gift card that works on Apple’s iTunes Store and App Store as all iTunes cards, no matter how they are marketing, work in both stores. Even the iBookstore.

 

[dlock13]

Sounds like no new iPod Touches this year to me. Every year they clear out inventory with this sale, and apparently, this year they're not.. Hmm.. I feel like Apple has something gigantic up it's sleeve. Maybe not this upcoming September, but for next year when they release the iPhone 5/4S/5S/whatever they want to call it.

 

[dmw16]

I don't think it is indicative of them having something huge waiting in the wings. They don't have need to clear inventory and they figure giving away $100 in iTunes is more cost effective than $200 iPods. Beyond that with more and more software on the app store it makes sense to encourage people to embrace that model by giving them some money to spend.

I'm a little disappointed as I was hoping they'd like people put $200 credit towards an iPad 2. My wife wants/needs an Air. Oh well.

 

[InverseOfNeo]

I wonder what the average iPod Touch user spends in the App Store. I would think that even if it costs Apple $200 to give away an iPod Touch then they would easily make it up from App Store revenue. OTOH, let's say with a $100 iTunes card, the customer uses it all to purchase Apps.... Apple still retains 70% of it. This, IMO, is a lose for the customer and a pretty big win for Apple.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

I wonder what the average iPod Touch user spends in the App Store. I would think that even if it costs Apple $200 to give away an iPod Touch then they would easily make it up from App Store revenue. OTOH, let's say with a $100 iTunes card, the customer uses it all to purchase Apps.... Apple still retains 70% of it. This, IMO, is a lose for the customer and a pretty big win for Apple.

You realize Apple hardly makes any money at all on the iTunes Store (which includes the App Store).

 

[MotionMan]

The iPods they gave a way in the past were not Touch's, were they?

MotionMan

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

The iPods they gave a way in the past were not Touch's, were they?

MotionMan

Yeah they were. The base model iPod Touches.

 

[MotionMan]

Yeah they were. The base model iPod Touches.

MotionMan

 

[wantedSpidy]

yep that was a good $200 discount! given that itunes gift cards are easy to find at <90&#37; face value this is def. a big step down.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I don't know much about the Apple supply chain (other than Foxconn) but wonder if the earthquake had some impact on this. Either on the Macbook side, the Touch side, or both.

 

[scootermaster]

This makes me feel even that much better for hopping on my Feb 2011 15" Macbook Pro the day after they came out. I'd be pissed if I lost 4 months usage of a machine with a 10-12 month "lifespan" [as the latest and greatest] because I waited, and all I got was $100 in iTunes credit.

 

[Eug]

Damn. I have no use for a $100 iTunes gift card.

I'd buy the Mac and iPod, and then promptly sell the iPod. After taxes the CAD$249 iPod would be about $281, and I'd sell it for maybe $220-225. Apple reimbursed $249, so my additional Mac discount would work out to be (~$225+$249) - $281 = about $190, plus the original educational discount for the Mac.

I guess those killer education deals couldn't last forever.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Rumor leaked yesterday about a 7" iPad with retina display coming this fall/winter

 

[MotionMan]

Rumor leaked last year about a 7" iPad with retina display coming last fall/winter

Fixed.

MotionMan

 

[Pliablemoose]

http://allthingsd.com/20110614/taiwan-newspaper-pre-announces-7-inch-ipad-3/

Yep, saw that was rumored last year too

Supposedly, the source is more accurate this time

 

[silverpig]

http://allthingsd.com/20110614/taiwan-newspaper-pre-announces-7-inch-ipad-3/

Yep, saw that was rumored last year too

Supposedly, the source is more accurate this time

More accurate than completely wrong?

The fact is, all of these rumour sites post anything and everything. 3D iPad, retina iPad, no new iPad, iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, touchscreen MBA, NFC in iPhones... I can just make all this stuff up and do just as well as they do.

 

[FerraraZ]

I like this sale way more. Developers make money and people who already have an iPhone no longer have to resell the iPods they get

 

[senseamp]

So basically it's costing Apple $70 (since they get 30&#37; back when you spend it) instead of $200.

 

[TheStu]

I like this sale way more. Developers make money and people who already have an iPhone no longer have to resell the iPods they get

Yea but IIRC the iPod rebate was applicable to a more expensive purchase. Basically, in years past you could get any iPod 'up to' the cost of the entry iPod Touch for 'free' and then that amount off of anything above that.

A rumor I had heard was that they were going to allow that rebate to be used on an iPad, which would have been wicked.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

it's a big step down for sure. but it's good strategic move on apple's part as it'll pump up and fuel the app store economy even more.

i wonder why they are cheap-staking the back to school promo though. it's a 50&#37; reduction at face value of what it used to be. :/

 

[TheStu]

it's a big step down for sure. but it's good strategic move on apple's part as it'll pump up and fuel the app store economy even more.

i wonder why they are cheap-staking the back to school promo though. it's a 50% reduction at face value of what it used to be. :/

Like someone else said, maybe their supply forecast was such that they didn't think they could meet the demand. You cannot have a promotion where a student can walk into an Apple store and get a free iPod and printer with their MacBook only to have them walk out with the MacBook, the printer and a redemption coupon. It leaves a bad taste in people's mouths.

That is just an idea.

 

[silverpig]

Just got the email today. I guess they're trying to get people to spend the money on stuff like iWork and iLife...

 

[rshlubb]

depressing here, no ipod...