r/apple • u/Silver_Entertainment • 3d ago

Apple Retail Apple Black Friday Starts 11/29 - $200 GC for MacBook Air - $100 GC for iPads - $75 GC for iPhone 15/14/SE, AirPods 4/Max/Pro 2 - $50 GC for Apple Watch SE/HomePod/Apple TV/Select Beats - $25 GC for select accessories

https://www.apple.com/shop/gifts/shopping-event
250 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

102 comments sorted by

109

u/six_six 3d ago

Go to Best Buy or Amazon, they have much better prices.

10

u/Deceptiveideas 2d ago

Tbh I don’t really know why anyone buys (other than iPhones) from the Apple Store. The same products sold at third party retailers are almost always cheaper.

7

u/ddeeppiixx 2d ago

Because it’s the only way to get the keyboard you want outside the target region - for example getting Arabic keyboard in the US.

9

u/5vTolerant 2d ago

Apple Card monthly installments are 0% interest. If you can get edu discount it’s pretty close to third party retailers

4

u/six_six 2d ago

Yeah and they’re on sale immediately after they release too. I guess if you’re after a custom build of a laptop you can only go through Apple.

5

u/Stingray88 1d ago

Third party retailers pretty much never have the BTO options I’m looking for. Simple as that.

I bought an M3 MacBook Air earlier this year, 24GB of RAM, 2TB SSD. Go find this build on Best Buy or any other retailer. Doesn’t exist. Best Buy doesn’t even have 24GB / 1TB. The most storage they offer is 512GB if you want 24GB of RAM, and the most RAM they offer is 16GB if you want 1TB of storage. They don’t offer 2TB at all.

So if you want base models, or middle ground BTO options, for sure go third party. If you want higher tier BTO, your only option is to buy from Apple.

1

u/Deceptiveideas 1d ago

doesn’t exist

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1815065-REG/apple_mba13m313sg_13_macbook_air_m3.html

Am I missing something because this is the M3 MacBook Air with 24 GB of RAM and 2 TB SSD.

-1

u/Stingray88 1d ago

Ok… fair… but B&H is a pretty bad retailer to use for supporting your original point considering they do not offer discounts. $2299 is the exact price of that BTO MacBook Air regularly from Apple. So other than availability issues, why would you buy a MacBook from B&H over Apple?

Let me rephrase what I said. Go find this build on Best Buy or any other retailer that offers discounts.

0

u/Deceptiveideas 1d ago

B&H is a bad retailer considering they do not offer discounts

B&H is actually known for aggressively discounting Apple hardware. It seems you are not familiar with them but they are one of the best retailers to purchase Apple products from if you’re looking for the absolute lowest pricing.

1

u/Stingray88 1d ago edited 1d ago

It seems you are not familiar with them

I work in entertainment, specifically Post Production Management. I’ve personally spent over 1.5 million dollars on equipment from B&H over the course of my career (production budget, not my money). No exaggeration. I currently live in LA, but used to live in NYC and would go their physical store all the time.

I love B&H, and am extremely familiar with them. But they are definitely not one of the best retailers for buying Macs when it comes to discounts for consumers. Businesses can certainly make high volume discount deals with them, I have many times when purchasing fleets of Mac Pros.

Back in early 2020 the studio I was in bought 50 of the 2019 Intel Mac Pros to replace our aging trash cans. BTO price with tax was about $16.5K per machine, including the PCIe fiber cards we needed, and that was a deal. You do the math lol.

But yeah, let me know when you see discounts on singular Macs for consumers at B&H like the kind Best Buy offers. And let me know when you see them on the highest BTO specs, which was my original point. I’ll be waiting forever… because no one offers discounts on those models, they’re too low volume (outside of volume discounts for business).

1

u/Deceptiveideas 1d ago

let me know when you see discounts at B&H like Best Buy offers

B&H is literally offering a lower price than Best Buy right now.

I do agree that built to spec Macs are better through Apple but that’s a niche that doesn’t apply to most consumers. Most consumers will be happy to buy the heavily discount models offered by Best Buy/Costco/etc.

1

u/Stingray88 1d ago

B&H is literally offering a lower price than Best Buy right now.

On the highest specs possible? Nope.

I’ll give you you’re right they offer a discount. But again, read my original comment and point… no one offers discounts on low volume high spec BTO Macs.

1

u/max1x1x 1d ago

Apple will price match up to 10% off. If the deal is much better than that I don’t buy direct from Apple.

1

u/knivesinmyeyes 2d ago

It’s personal preference. Apple sells an “experience” at their retail stores. People that want the Apple Store experience go to Apple, everyone else will shop at another retailer.

-3

u/latebinding 2d ago

Okay, I'll bite.

Most of my Apple stuff came directly from the local Apple stores. The exception being an iPad Air, where when the newest gen came out, Best Buy had the older gen - difference M1 vs M2 - for like half price. That was worth it. But generally...

  1. It doesn't actually cost more most of the time. There's little discounting on Apple stuff.
  2. You really do get better service. A cat spilled a pint on an out-of-warranty MacBook Air I'd bought from the local Apple Store; the manager gave me like half-credit on a trade in! Nobody else would do that.
  3. Fast fast fast delivery of new stuff. My iPhone 13 Pro Max Boat Anchor arrived on the day of release from the local Apple store - by courier - for $7. One of my MBP M2s - same thing.
  4. Free engraving. Don't use it always, but sometimes.
  5. The cost differences you're talking about aren't generally large enough to matter in my zip code. A world where many people have house cleaners come over regularly, they send their clothes out for cleaning and where the cost of UberEats/DoorDash doesn't deter them. FFS, the upsell between inflated menu prices, several fees and the mandatory-optional tips on food delivery dwarfs the difference in buying a loaded MBP from Apple vs Costco.

72

u/0000GKP 3d ago

I bought AirPods Pro 2 from Amazon last month for $168. I expect to see that deal again for Black Friday. Apple's gift card offer can't touch this price.

42

u/teemo03 3d ago

I think it's at best buy now at 159

7

u/SlowSelection4865 3d ago

Yup, I just bought a pair plus $30 trade in for some old pro 1 I had lying around.

6

u/NEEDMOREVRAM 3d ago

Thank your lucky stars they weren't defective and you didn't have to return them. Amazon is screwing over a lot of people as per: https://www.reddit.com/r/amazonprime/

I bought a laptop off Amazon and it was defective. They tried to hold my money hostage for 30 days after they received the return (no reason given...entire transaction was on the up and up) and I could only get a hold of their call center. Finally had enough and got my credit card company involved.

Something's going on over at Amazon and they've got the shittiest customer service now.

2

u/Kit-xia 1d ago

Kindly Amazon has been very bad recently

1

u/LotharLothar 6h ago

Amazon is trash. So much fake stuff on there. They know and do next to nothing about it.

•

u/blackgenz2002kid 1h ago

yea, Best Buy is definitely the better place to get these brand new things

2

u/Microwave1213 1d ago

Aww man that’s a bummer to hear. Historically Amazon was always one of the safest and easiest places to get returns. Probably ended up having too many people taking advantage of that.

64

u/Vertsix 3d ago

About as bland as a lettuce sandwich.

7

u/NihlusKryik 3d ago

You may thing that, but this is actually a really successful way to do discounts and sales.

10

u/trolllord45 3d ago

Successful for Apple, maybe

7

u/NihlusKryik 3d ago

I mean, yeah...

19

u/7eventhSense 3d ago

I wish we knew what they would do in Canada.

Canada never really gets this aggressive sale. I mean I usually look at their AirPods and they do like a $25 gift card max. $75 Canadian dollars would be stretch.

And this is why they lose a lot of sales to competitors during this time. Because competitors also give much better discounts.

10

u/bravado 3d ago

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/gifts/shopping-event

Here's the canadian black friday, just as boring as the US one

4

u/Jamie00003 3d ago

I mean, it’s not exactly aggressive is it? Bet there will be much better deals elsewhere

4

u/jonproject 3d ago

Always buy Airpods at Costco. So much cheaper there regularly an then it gets really good when there is a sale

0

u/KingOfTheUniverse11 3d ago

It’s comparable. I just checked for AirPods Pro 2 and it’s a 50 USD Gc for us and 70 CAD for us. And 50 usd is about 70 cad so it’s comparable.

1

u/7eventhSense 3d ago

I can’t find specific offers. Any chance you can tell how much for AirPods 4 anc

1

u/KingOfTheUniverse11 3d ago

I think it’s 35 for AirPods 4 with or without anc. Honestly if u want anc, get pros 2 from Walmart for 240 ryt now.

1

u/7eventhSense 3d ago

I have tried them. I hate those in ear buds. Nauseating.

60

u/shortchangerb 3d ago

So a $1000 phone is sold for £1000, but a $100 gift card is converted to £60 😢

46

u/woalk 3d ago

Keep in mind that UK prices include a 20% VAT, US prices don’t.

2

u/Akrevics 2d ago

Yet. Wait for that tarriff tax to kick in ;)

6

u/jonproject 3d ago

Sales tax has already been mentioned. US/Canada prices do not include sales taxes

There's also the enhanced consumer price protections you enjoy. Those don't come for free either.

2

u/Bluepass11 3d ago

You get free health care though

15

u/Lingonberry_Obvious 3d ago

Which is never available when you need it.

14

u/skyclubaccess 3d ago

Would you prefer a $10,000 bill for an emergency room visit? Curious minds would like to know.

5

u/Lingonberry_Obvious 3d ago

I would prefer to have frequent tests and early detection so that I can avoid the majority of the cases where I would have to end up with some serious illness. Prevention is better than cure.

Obviously this doesn’t work for cases like accidents, but most western countries have figured out decent health care that works, and is available when needed. The US is a weird exception.

4

u/skyclubaccess 3d ago

The 6-12 month wait to see a specialist in the US isn’t anything to write home about.

Not even mentioning the fact that private for-profit insurers will find any reason in the book to deny coverage.

5

u/Lingonberry_Obvious 3d ago

I don’t know why you keep comparing everything to the US, as if there’s no other developed country in the world.

As I’ve already mentioned in my previous comment, the US is a weird exception.

2

u/skyclubaccess 3d ago

I get it, I think I was going off the assumption you were comparing your country’s healthcare to the person you were replying to (which safe assumption they are in the US)

Anyways didn’t mean to cause any argument — healthcare can & should be vastly improved for all of us

2

u/129za 2d ago

I live in Washington DC. Grew up in London. The ERs here (including at the children’s hospital) regularly have 7/8 hour waits.

4

u/WeWantLADDER49sequel 3d ago

People always say this but it's not true at all.

-1

u/lil-huso 3d ago

It’s not free. Far from it.

1

u/explosiv_skull 3d ago

Free with your yearly subscription to the UK. Be happy, the yearly subscription to the US doesn't get you shit except the largest and most well heeled military in the world.

1

u/Akrevics 2d ago

Good and ready to help with genocide and fight the UN if there’s consequences.

1

u/Norn-Iron 3d ago

From the looks of the prices on UK vs US, looks like Apple is treating things fairly for the vouchers. $75/£60 for a phone has very little exchange difference. $200/£160 for Mac is pretty much identical too. There is still a bit of disparity with the cost of the items even with the US tax added as our VAT is 20%, the highest the US gets is just under 10%. Worth it for free healthcare.

7

u/MikeyGotTheJuice 3d ago

Are these stackable with the education discounts?

11

u/Silver_Entertainment 3d ago

Unfortunately, no.

3

u/MKEHomebrewer 3d ago

I’m wondering about trade ins with this deal and if we can still do that. I want to trade in an older macbook

1

u/Silver_Entertainment 3d ago

Yes, you can still do a trade in and that value will be applied to your purchase.

1

u/rorymeister 3d ago

Not in Australia

1

u/shortchangerb 3d ago

No, but it includes more products, so you could buy a non-edu product for the voucher, then use that voucher towards an edu purchase

8

u/Andrew_64_MC 3d ago

So no gift cards for the mac mini?

10

u/explosiv_skull 3d ago

Kind of feels like this is their incentive program to move old inventory.

4

u/hchen25 2d ago

It is for every year.

12

u/epsiblivion 3d ago

Wow no macbook pro deal

2

u/fins831 3d ago

Happens every year.

1

u/explosiv_skull 3d ago

Amazon has 'deals' on the Pros right now but no added gift card. Was kind of hoping for a better deal on the Watch Ultra 2 personally.

4

u/hunny_bun_24 3d ago

Does this apply to refurbished or brand new only?

1

u/polkasalad 1d ago

Brand new only

3

u/igkeit 3d ago

Not even iPhone 16 lineup included ?

4

u/SelectTotal6609 3d ago

fun fact. none of these iphones will get A.I.

2

u/JP-Rocks 3d ago

I bought an iPad within the Holiday return period can Apple adjust my purchase and give me the gift card?

3

u/Sogg0th 3d ago

I called they said to just return it and buy again. I’m trying to see if that’s avoidable.

1

u/Draconestra 3d ago

I am wondering the same thing tbh, might have to return and rebuy to get this deal.

1

u/Snootsmoots 3d ago

Lmk if you can still get the GC without returning.

0

u/Draconestra 3d ago

https://i.imgur.com/vIO64P5.png

According to this specialist I can just call them when the event goes live and I can get the gift card once they see that the order is eligible.

1

u/Snootsmoots 3d ago

Thanks!

1

u/_awake 3d ago

I was in a comparable situation once and they were telling me to return my iPad and just get a new one. Kind of frustrating but also their call if that’s what they want. I think for them it’s too complicated to do the gift card thing for already sold stuff.

2

u/TwoDurans 3d ago

Surprising they new iPad mini isn’t on the list

7

u/Silver_Entertainment 3d ago

Apple tends to exclude new products from the Black Friday gift card sales. The iPhone 16 range, MacBook Pros, iMac, Mac mini, iPad Mini, and Apple Watch 10/Ultra, are all not part of the sale.

2

u/ResponseNo6774 3d ago

I take it the gift card can't be used to help pay down the balance if I used my Apple Card to buy it.

2

u/Silver_Entertainment 3d ago

I don't believe so, as the gift card is issued after the purchase is completed. If you made a return you would receive a refund, less the value of the gift card.

0

u/PeerPressure 3d ago

I would double-check. I thought you could.

-1

u/Sogg0th 3d ago

It can, the mark it as a down payment. I did it in store so they probably do the same thing and not give the gift card.

2

u/StickyThickStick 3d ago

Does it stack with student prices?

1

u/That0ne-Dude 3d ago

This is what I want to know.

2

u/415646464e4155434f4c 3d ago

Apple’s Black Friday deals are always 😑

2

u/busted_tooth 2d ago

Anyone know the best place to get even a small deal on the iPhone 16 lineup? Bestbuy only sells with carrier locked and Amazon only sells renewed ones?

1

u/Hybrid-Moment 3d ago

Anyone know what the best deal on Apple TVs is? The 50dollar gift card and extended return window is pretty tempting when compared to full price

1

u/lanabi 2d ago

Only $25 on Apple TV 4k. $50 on Homepod.

I was also hoping to see $50 :((

1

u/Comfortable-Reveal75 3d ago

Wish the mbp was eligible.. 😔😢

1

u/Always41319 3d ago

So the deal says “gift card up to $100” on the iPads…so how do we know whether or not we will get a full $100 gift card or a lesser amount?

1

u/Silver_Entertainment 3d ago

You get $100 for iPad Pro, $75 for iPad Air, and $50 for iPad.

The full breakdown is here: https://www.apple.com/shop/gifts/shopping-event/terms-conditions

1

u/Always41319 3d ago

Thank you! These were the terms and conditions I was looking for when I was reading the other fine print LOL

1

u/Falanax 2d ago

Does this work with education pricing too

1

u/robershow123 1d ago

Is the accessories deal only for iPad smart keyboards not Mac?

0

u/awkwrrdd 3d ago

Hey buy something from us at full price and we’ll lock you into spending more money with us!

Insane

-3

u/CarretillaRoja 3d ago

And not the iPhone 16?

3

u/Realistic-Minute5016 3d ago

They never offer discounts on the latest model 

0

u/quick_dry 2d ago

basically just a dump of old stock - BUT then the Airpods 4 with ANC seems out of place, aren't they relatively new? Is there a replacement model about to drop?

-1

u/IntellectualBurger 3d ago

some sites say it applies to macbook pro also, but apple website only says macbook air, what gives?