“Of course, in the event of a price drop, Apple Stores will automatically refund you the difference if the price drop occurs within 14 days of the date of purchase. AT&T accepts returns within 14 days and likely has a similar pricing policy. The online Apple Store covers price drops for 10 days (instead of 14, I have no idea why this different), but I suspect they’d overlook that in this case. In any case, if you purchased an iPhone in the past two weeks, getting a refund should be no problem, no matter where you bought it,” Berka reports.
“Once you get to day 15, things get significantly more complicated and unpredictable,” Berka reports.
More info in the full article here.
That’s technology. If they bought it this morning, they should go back to where they bought it and talk to them. If they bought it a month ago, well, that’s what happens in technology. – Apple CEO Steve Jobs on iPhone price cut, September 5, 2007
It sucks but I was still cooler than everyone else for 2 months. Big picture is that we will all be served by the price drop with the increase in iPhone community — early adopters just “funded” the increase. And I’d like to think that I learned to be more patient next time. I didn’t, but I’d like to think it.
I do think that Apple missed an opportunity to reward early adopters while at the same time serving the company. For example, give early adopters two free years of .Mac service (costs Apple very little but significantly grows or extends the .mac community). Or a $200 iTunes credit (again, grows the iTunes numbers, costs them less than the credit amount, and they get to write off the whole credit anyway). Either way, they could have preserved early adopter loyalty and created a positive PR spin.
I understand why Jobs did it – pricing has to make sense across the whole product line in order for each product to thrive… But there was an opportunity to pro-actively address the early adopter angry mob mentality and turn it around, and it looks like they’re just going to plug their ears and hope it goes away.
Just change your name to StrawMan and be done with it. You fool no one.
update: I just returned from the Apple Store where my iPhone was purchased 18 days ago, to inquire about the refund policy in person.
Answer: 14 days or nothing. Period. End of story. No gray area, no wiggle room, no fudge factor. Just a big, fat “no dice”.
Again, as an AAPL holder, I understand the move. Yet as a consumer I feel a bit jilted still.
Oh well, and so it goes…
MW : “turn” as in, let’s just turn the page on this one now, mm-kay?
Good ol’ Shoe Fetish at it again, berating others to make himself feel better about himself. Classic text book kick-the-dog.
Whether Apple should or should not offer a rebate is debatable. What is not debatable is the number of people that feel let down by Apple on this price cut. Yes, we paid to be early adopters, but a lot of us did it on faith in the company and the product. We put up with the activation hassles, the connection issues the first few weeks, the bugs that 2 patches have since fixed. In essence we paid $200 to be gamma-testers.
I think Apple will just hurt themselves with these moves…it should have been $399 from the start rather than drop the price that quick. Now who will trust Apple pricing in the future?
>ChrissyOne wrote: I’m just wondering what planet you people have been living on that this is a big surprise,
Earth.
Of course, price drops and increased function, form, and features are to be expected. BUT… you so easily write off this happened within 2 months of the product’s release. Something was flawed… pricing in particular.
The damage of the price cut is that is alienates, confuses, and disheartens customers.
Whether or not the complaints are merited – I believe they are – are side issues for Apple. The customers are pissed. So many of them in fact, that the company is in danger of losing many.
The $200 may be trivial to some.
But to others, it’s a sign of bad things happening at Apple. Maybe Steve is riding so high and is feeling benevolent enough to not worry about customer satisfaction as much as he did.
If the famed Apple Experience is not longer strived for and is dead, you can say hello to the new Microsoft:
Apple.
To all MS trolls: Go Home.
Zunes just reduced to $199 at Walmart. Call MS and complain and get your money back. (Yeah, right, like that will do any good.
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From the Zune site.:
New Zunes out for christmas.
An 80 gig Zune that will replace the Gigabeat but may look just the same.
Also a flash Zune that may look like the “old” 2 gen nano. It is said to have pictures and music. !!!
Microsoft. “We make great stuff, just give us a couple of years to get it right!! ”
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I wasn’t planning on doing this until yesterday, but if Jobs doesn’t give the early buyers at least some token of appreciation for their $600 purchases, I’ll just split the $69 education version of Leopard when it comes out with 3 of my friends that also bought iPhones in the first couple of weeks. That’ll get each of us about $100 back.
You see, two can play at these greedy games Steve, after all, you’re the one that said, “that’s what happens in technology” right?
I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. NOBODY expected this DRASTIC price slash.
Nobody expects Apple to cut the price of a brand new product by one third within nine weeks of its release date. 10 to 15% after six to nine months? Sure. 33% before three months? No way.
This is not about how much a price drops shortly after your purchase. This is about a major price reduction shortly after the release of a brand new product.
@To all MS trolls: Go Home.
Yeah, Yeah, everyone is a Troll. What exactly are you mindless morons… EXAMPLE…..
Mac Fanboys 6/29 = “It’s CHEAP for $600. I’d pay $1000. It’s worth it!!!! Apple is going to sell 1,000,000 this weekend. Woooo Hoooo Steve!!!”
Mac Fanboys 9/5 = “Booo Hooo, I want my money back. Steve has lost my business. Boooo Hooooo. $200 is a LOT of money! “
Oh my, …. Poor Fanboys… $200 is going to break them. These are the same wannabe Bigwigs who post here:
“Well, I’m just going buy another 2000 shares of AAPL. I do own 5,000 shares that I bought at $16…”
You guys crack me up. Let’s face it. None of you own any stocks. You’re a bunch of Liberal Bums living off the government or off of mommy and daddy who are on welfare. (Go HILARY!!!!! Apple Fanboys Want FREE Healthcare and other handouts off of those “rich” working people!!! Wooooo
If being a troll means not crying about $200, I guess I am one…..
Bums… Gotta love em!
@romeodawg,
You were cooler than everyone else for two months?
I guess you haven’t heard…people that are really cool don’t, and don’t have to, say they are cool. Trust me, just because you bought something doesn’t let you in the cool club.
Jog on son, you’re nothing but a muppet.