Yes even Myer had dedicated Apple ‘stores’ inside them in some locations… though I am guessing that all ended as the Apple Stores arrived. Can’t remember the timing.
David Jones in Carindale (sp?) Brisbane had a Black Macbook on their shelf for years… Whenever I asked if they could discount it, given that it was discontinued by about 2 years, they always said they could only discount (maybe to the amount I was asking…?) if given approval from their Apple rep. No idea how true that was… but by the time they finally called me and offered a good price, I’d purchased a MacBookPro from Myer instead.
Generally Apple sold products to retailers at 10% below MSRP. They had 10% margin to play with and that is why you rarely if ever see more than a 10% discount on new, current Apple items.
Stores started stocking Apple products due to the popularity. They would become a consistent form of revenue, even if the margins sucked. And it was almost always the case that someone decided to offer 10% off at some time, meaning that shopping around would usually allow you to find that discount.
If you were asking for a higher discount than 10%, its not so much as they needed permission, but rather they required a SPIV or MDF from the Apple distributor to make sure they didn’t lose money.
For those that haven’t worked in retail, a SPIV (forget if it stood for something), was essentially a cash back that the retailer could apply for. Usually an incentive for the sales person. MDF stands for something like Marketing Distributed Funds (can’t remember exactly), which is marketing funds that can be used by retailers to allow them to offer larger discounts without losing money. MDF’s are usually used for promotional purposes, events, etc.
Either way, it’s why you rarely see anything more than a 10% discount.
I had to replace my daughters XS a little while ago and the (relatively) small cost differential between the 12/13/14 meant I talked myself into just buying the base 14 and calling it done. I think the idea of waiting for the 15 if it’s plausible is great idea since it’s pretty close now. Assuming the same sort of cost differential we are back to that same argument though.
I want power, but need nearly zero of it. Last time around I went back to PC because the Mac I wanted would have been over $4k. This now provides a real option for someone like me who does want the larger screen though.
