“Walmart is getting aggressive and beating out Best Buy’s current $50 discount on iPhone 5s by dropping the price all the way down to $119, according to CNN Money,” Dan DeSilva reports for 9to5Mac. “This is one of the lowest prices we have ever seen for Apple’s flagship smartphone.”
“The colorful iPhone 5c will be slashed to just $29. Both deals are for the 16GB models on a 2-year contract,” DeSilva reports. “Starting this Sunday, Target is guaranteeing a gift card of at least $150 for iPad 2 (or newer) trade-ins.”
Read more in the full article here.
oh no! competition! oh NO!…DOJ must stop this, where’s Michael Bromwich?
funny how that works…
While many people will interpret this as a 40% discount (“Apple or Walmart must be losing money on this sale!”), the discount is in fact barely 13%.
Virgin Mobile has been offering contract-free iPhones that were always $100 cheaper than normal retail (5s for $550, 5c for $450 and 4s for $350). In fact, currently, these phones are even cheaper ($440 / $360 / $280). These phones are without contract, so you can activate then cancel right away and the phone is yours to keep. All you need to do is have it unlocked and you can use it on any standard GSM carrier.
Walmart’s deal isn’t all that great.
Isn’t Virgin’s parent headquarters in Limeyland?
Virgin Mobile USA is owned by Sprint. The brand itself does belong to Virgin of UK, though. If that means Limeyland, then yes.
probably leaks oil then.
What if I get the 5c at WallyWorld for $29.00, then on the 16th day, cancel my AT&T contract and pay the $275 termination fee. Even with the activation fee and tax, it max-es out at $344. That’s a pretty much better deal, eh?
I think AT&T charges some money for new activation, plus you would likely have to pay for the first month of service. Still, I think your deal might be a bit better (having to jump through a lot of hoops to get it not withstanding).
Do you go to Virgin Mobile to unlock the phone? Or elsewhere? And, if you are buying it, why is it even locked in the first place?
Well, Virgin Mobile does sell it at a loss, expecting to recover the loss through subscription. That may be the reason for the subsidy lock. And no, they will not allow you to unlock it if you ask right away.
The unlocking would have to be done using one of those “alternative” methods (offered at various online locations).
Correction! Walmart is losing, Walmart is eating the price difference not Apple.
Apple very rarely sells below retail, and NEVER below wholesale. About the only time Apple goes below retail is for Black Friday (token 5% discount), not counting their educational store, which has a permanent discount between 5-8%. Walmart can afford to lose money on Apple hardware, in order to make profit on third-party accessories (as well as other stuff people can buy at Walmart while they’re already there).
Apple won’t be loosing even your 13% calculation. This is resellers reducing their own margins. This is because Apple products is pulling those who can afford a quality phone and often have more discretionary funds which the likes of BestBuy, Walmart, Target, etc… would like to bring inside their shops; hoping they will end up spending more and maybe like something and return for more visits.
We can’t afford Bromwich’s $1,100.00/hourly rate.
Apple can afford it… but can also afford a team to follow Bromwich where/when he is on campus. He needs to be monitored as well…
Target, “Oh man, we bought up all these 5s… and the 6 is coming earlier than we thought… ”
Walmart: “Oh man, sources say we have more 5s in our inventory than Target…”
Apple and stockholders: “Thanks for buying all those phones…”
Sellers of Android phones: “Oh great *sarcastic* there went our price advantage… at least we have the bigger screen edge… right? oh wait minute… never mind… “
forgot one more…
Android consumer: “Look! the Galaxy 3 is totally free!”
Samsung: “We gained market share!”
Media: “Apple is losing ground to Samsung”
Apple: “Wow our margins are still incredible… Wait til they see the 6! They will dump their 5s for this…”
Consumer when the 6 comes out: “Man, i just bought this 5s like 5 months ago… aright…. i’ll buy the 6.”
Target and Walmart: “Good thing we sold those 5s(and 5c)…”
okay, that was fun… but time to go to work.
last week, Bestbuy offered a $1 iPhone 5S 16GB if you renew your 2 year contract and trade in any working iPhone 5(no size indicated)
I just checked at the site, and the amounts mentioned in the article are not quite as listed. I have a 3g 64gb black iPad, and they offered me a little over $150 for that model. The iPad 2 was a little over $90, and those amounts assumed no dents or damage at all. So trader-in beware. Read before you click.
It is reported that Apple is sitting on 3 million unsold 5c’s – the Zune of the iPhone family line. If you want one- wait a while as they will get cheaper.
As to the 5S, wait until September and get the 6 or buy a 5S on the cheap from someone wanting to upgrade.
Credo Mobile (MVNO) will sell you an iPhone for $149 pus give up to $350 per line early buyout up to 5 lines. Upside- you do not have to deal with Wal-Mart.
http://www.credomobile.com/phones/iphone
Can anyone tell me if there’s any reason I have to get my iPhone from T-Mobile if I want to sign it up on the T-Mobile network? I know it’s also paying up to $350 for early termination charges. I just wonder because if I can get an iPhone from a cheaper source, I’d prefer that, so long as it would work without issue on T-Mobile.
MacMall only has a few retail stores, but they’ve been offering the iPhone 5C for $19.99 and the 5S for $199.99 for a while now. They have stores in L.A. in Chicago, sorry everyone else.