“Best Buy Co. said it stopped some sales of Apple Inc.’s iPhone X and iPhone 8 after consumers complained about the retailer charging a $100 premium on the already expensive smartphones,” Mark Gurman reports for Bloomberg. “The company, one of Apple’s key retail partners, still sells all iPhone models via carrier installment plans that let customers pay for the devices over several months. The price of these payment programs are the same as the monthly plans offered directly by carriers like Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. and similar offerings on Apple’s website. ”
“Last week, when users went to Best Buy’s website to purchase an iPhone X at the full, upfront price, Best Buy charged $1,099 and $1,249 for the two configurations. Apple’s pricing is $999 and $1,149,” Gurman reports. “‘Although there was clearly demand for the un-activated iPhone X, selling it that way cost more money, causing some confusion with our customers and noise in the media,’ Best Buy spokeswoman Danielle Schumann said. ‘That’s why we decided a few days ago to only sell the phone the traditional way, through installment billing plans.'”
“The retailer gets payments from carriers when it sells phones that are already set up to work on the carriers’ networks,” Gurman reports. “It doesn’t get that money when devices are sold without carrier activation. Still, Apple, carriers and some other retailers stick to the official pricing.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Translation from Best Buy speak: We thought we could get away with it, but it quickly blew up in our face. So, we’re backpedaling as fast as we can.
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Best Buy says iPhone X costs $100 extra at full price because flexibility sometimes ‘has a cost’ – October 27, 2017