Apple ditches its evil restocking fee today!

Good news guys! Apple today ditch its evil restocking fee!

As a proof i went in apple retail store to return and exchange my macbook pro and they told me that as of today, january 11, restocking fee is no longer implemented for returned items!

sweet!

 

good for Apple.

 

That's certainly great news... It has been my experience (on 2 separate occasions) in the past that Apple would waive the restocking fee within the first 10 days of purchase as long as you were "upgrading" (see spending more) your
system...

 

Indeed. And good for the consumer too. It ought to open up sales even more since it creates the perception of being able to try before committing.

 

Good to know that the apple refurb store will have plenty of deals/inventory

 

Wonder if they'll sell the returned items as "open box" as-is at a discount or whether they'll clear them as refurbs. In any case this is good news. A lot of B&M stores that sell macs have had no restocking fees for years but it's good to see Apple Store get with the times.

 

That Apple has decided no longer to charge the returning customer the expenses (refurb and discount) of a return only means that such costs are now apportioned to all buyers from Apple. While not noticeable today, it is incorporated into future pricing of all merchandise. As technology costs decrease over time, were it not for hidden costs of returns, the price would be even lower if the costs were instead borne by those who specifically incur them.

I, myself and a very meticulous shopper. I don't "buy and try", or impulse shop then return at whim. Therefore I am amongst those who might not see such a silver lining in this.

I suppose if I am a returnee, I am ecstatic that Apple now rents their products to me for free. Impulse shoppers rejoice!

 

I haven't really thought of it that way but it makes sense.
Good post +rep

 

Or Apple could decide that $1 Billion dollars profit is enough so they don't increase prices where they would have made $1.1 Billion. <- Twilight Zone, we all know Apple lol

 

I somewhat agree but I have to say all the stores that sell Macs other than the Apple Store, in Canada at least such as BestBuy, FutureShop, LondonDrugs etc..., never charged restocking fees and they never raised their Mac prices above Apple's MSRP (in fact many times you could get Macs below MSRP from them) and they still made a healthy profit.

Going forward, IMO I don't think Apple will raise their prices purely based on this. I think it was just that Apple Store policy was inevitably going to become inline with most retailers in this regard and it finally is, nothing less and nothing more.

On another note, while some people will invariably abuse this policy and may ruin it for the rest of us, I still think it's a great policy for consumers. Like yourself, I research my purchases to death so I never try-buy but I've bought the odd MBP where it had a very minor cosmetic issue. Had it not been for the retailers' no-restocking-fee policy from which I made the purchase, I may have been stuck with it but instead I was able to return it worry-free and purchase again. It really does improve a purchasing experience that much and elevates the customers' confidence in the product.

 

I see this as a huge plus for those buyers that find out just days after their new purchase that Apple just updated the product lines.
Now if within that 14 days, the buyer no longer needs to eat them restocking cost be to current at least for a month.
This new updated lines/models info could have been stated to the buyer at the time/prior of purchase.

Apple has taken financial advantage of this secrecy at the expense of the average joe buyer that does little to no prior research let alone understands that Apple updates products multiple times a year, some with huge media events and some without.

I am not complaining, Apple stock has come along way in the past two years

 

I guess you should start following your impulses in order to get your money's worth.

 

Indeed.
I suppose there isn't much reason for me to remain uncertain as to whether the MBA is right for me as a plaything when I don't want to lug my MBP. No reason to ask any more questions really.

I should pick one up, and if it is not everything I wanted, or if my wife gets mad at me for the $$, then back to the Apple store it goes.

The Apple tax ought to be good for something, right? LOL

 

Or Apple could be seeing itself more as a boutique electronic brand that tries to differentiate itself from other brands by offering more aftersale customer services. This also allow Apple to justify its asking prices and maintain its healthy profit margin. A company would only need to reduce its asking price if there are decreased demand for its products or there are other companies that offer similar products (with similar quality, design and marketing hype).

Basically, while other laptop companies are increasingly driven by the laptop commoditization trend, Apple is trying to do the reverse and carving a niche for itself. When you purchase an Apple product, you are not only purchasing its products, you are also purchasing its marketing, packaging design, product design, usability, lifestyle, social status of owning an Apple products, etc.

Finally, the no. of returned Apple laptops are actually really low, since most people already would have made up their mind on purchasing Apple laptops before they walked into a physical store (they would already have read quite extensively into the product features). It wouldn't have really affected Apple laptop's sale even if Apple didn't apply this zero cost return policy. Good thing with purchasing Apple products is that the post purchase experience usually matches the level of expectation that you have prior to purchasing it. This is an important decision process that users utilise when they decide to return or keep a product.

 

Ah, the wife. You have bigger problems than Apple, my friend. Watch yourself.

 

This is likely part of the decision making process. Apple was one of the last tech companies to hold onto a silly (greedy) restocking fee. The other companies that do not have have a restocking fee not raised prices at all. All the while seeing their sales remain steady to slightly increasing. Even Best Buy dropped their restocking fee nonsense.

It doesn't matter how "hard" or diligent one researches something. Nothing is a substitute for firsthand experience. Especially when it comes to tech which can be complex.

Bravo to Apple.

 

Apple was probably finding that the gripes people get when faced with a restocking fee wasn't worth the money they got back lol.

Maybe trying to up their image while taking a restriction away from the chronic impulse buyers (many of whom get too lazy to box it up and return things anyway lol). Win win for them in the long run, and win for consumers for sure.

 

Hence why Apple has physical product on display in many stores, so customers can try before they buy. On the other hand, they are not many tier one companies that display their all their laptop/computer range in stores.

Tech can be a complex thing, this is why people get frustrated when using Windows equipped laptops loaded with unnecessary bloatwares, which lead to many people returning their laptop.

 

I applaud Apple's new policy. I can return a Mac as easily as a shirt: great! Amazon readily offers me a postage-free label to ship my books back: great! No questions asked. And what is Amazon's tagline? "Earth's most customer-centric company." How many computer companies can say that? Oh, you've a problem? We'll take it back already. No... you have to fight and fight! Simply pathetic.

+1 Very smart observation. "Technology gradually evolves to fashion." That's the trend, and Apple is obviously ahead of the curve. Just look at watches.

Most people don't care about the nitty-gritty technical details that we're so passionate about in this forum. A distinctive experience is much more than a bunch of components.

Right on!

 

Having a physical display doesn't wholly matter since one can't load on their personal data, software, etc., or interface with peripherals that they own or may own.

To use the car analogy this section is fond of, it's like going to a show room without actually test driving the car. While it may be comfortable and well appointed, a road test/test drive tells you significantly more than the floor model can.

Unsubstantiated jab against Windows. What I find ironically enough, is that people actually like the "bloatware" and find some of it useful. So much so, that I stopped calling it such and only make a distinction between clean install and factory install of the OS.

 

While I understand your "idea" for now wanting to try out a MBA, why don't you just make sure it's what you and your wife are willing to part money for before buying? Remember, you are creating more refurbs if you just want to play the "Try and Return" game. When I switched to a Mac the last thing on my mind the return policy and that's the way it should be if you're really serious about buying something. If people abuse the policy all that will happen is Apple will increase their prices to compensate for the losses and the customer loses in the end.

 

HLdan,

My last post was rather tongue-in-cheek. In doing so, I was simply pointing out the huge potential for abuse that you see as well.

I observe that the return lines at stores without restocking fees are rather stocked with people returning such items as they saw fit to purchase without a thought in the world that they wouldn't return it without reservation with any hint of buyers remorse they might have had.

I've always known that the price I pay at the register always includes a portion due to stock "shrinkage" due to losses ranging from outright theft down to the loss of value on returned items now only suitable for sale at clearance prices.

That's not to say that I have not taken advantage of the clearance aisles when I can.

All I am saying is that corporations never "absorb" costs, consumers do. Those that benefit from "boutique" favors are simply being subsidized by those who don't. Shareholders won't see a dime worth of ill from the decision to drop restocking fees as long as they maintain the same margins. As was pointed out, Apple is indeed building an image, and that costs money to implement. By doing so, they create a differentiated unique selling position that may serve to raise volume sales, with the perception of a warm and fuzzy feeling that one can return products when the consumer changes his mind.

I was only kidding about buying MBA while contemplating return, if I were to change my mind. I will buy one, and I am sure I will like it. For I have done my homework. I won't ask others to guarantee my decision, now or in the future.

 

Not sure whether your car analogy is correct.

Firstly, Apple has positioned itself as a boutique electronic brand, something that people are willing to pay more for and wait for when supply is low. Also, lot of people buy boutique or exotic cars without never having a test drive (i.e. Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc). That is where Apple's superior branding and marketing strategy comes to play. How many computer companies setup a physical retail outlet on Fifth Avenue in New York?

Also, even when you road test the car for 30 minutes, it is not going to fully replicate how one normally drives their car, i.e. pedal to the metal, towing a trailer, towing a boat/jet ski, fully loading the boot with stuffs, etc. This is nothing more than using the displayed computers/laptops for surfing the web, typing up an email or short word documents, playing around with the photo editing softwares, which you can do in most places that sell Apple computers/laptops.

I am not aiming my comments at MS Windows, but rather what some computer companies load onto their laptops. How many laptop companies load trial-wares on their laptops? Quite a few.

Also, many people whom purchase laptops from physical retailers are usually not very computer savvy, what they expect is a laptop that works right out of the box. So when they have a software problem, they tend to misdiagnose it as some sort of hardware problems or poor quality of laptop. They then build up lot of negativity against that laptop model and that brand company...

Apple aims for better 'perceived performance' of their new systems by restricting the amount of background processes, and softwares that is perceived to cause slow down of their computers. i.e. dropping Abode Flash support. Furthermore, Apple is only building their OS for a small set of systems with known configuration. So if you load lot of stuffs on your Apple laptops/desktops after you get the machine, then you can't blame Apple for the subsequent problem.

 

I'll bet the number of news sales without returns will easily out pace the increase in returns. I don't know about you but I don't like pressure and if I was not sure about a product and there was a substantial restocking fee I think I would just leave the store... now if there is no restocking fee... well I would be willing to give it a try... and if I like it (with apple this is likely) I would just keep it.

 

I wouldn't classify Apple as a boutique brand, per se. Higher class of product? Perhaps to some. But certainly not universally true. And certainly not in a comparative league with exotic cars. With that in mind, that is the basis for the car analogy.

That said, a test drive can reveal things such as road handling, suspension feel, wind and road noise, braking, acceleration, heating and cooling system, visibility and blind spots, etc. Practical everyday things. Not the specialized attributes you were listing.

Well, same goes for the ability to test out a Mac. Especially if one is coming from the Windows world. There are many things that are different with OSX as compared to Windows. Even commonly used or equivalent software is different. Things such as Office on a Mac as compared to Office on a PC for instance. Even such things as software availability which tremendously favors a PC.

Point of fact, there are many things you simply cannot do or test out at an Apple store. Then, not everyone is close to an Apple Store. Moreover, many sales happen online. A restocking fee in this regard is unreasonable. I'm glad to see that Apple as a company is becoming ever more consumer friendly.

I foresee good things ahead. Especially with the iPad.

 

1. I am not saying Apple is a boutique brand, what i am saying is that they are aiming to become one.

2. Regarding test drive and stuff, this is just an example to illustrate a point. I mean you could equally go to Audi and get a cheaper Q5 AWD, without getting a chance to test drive it, since there is a 8 months waiting list (in Australia at least).

3. Also, what you are saying about the differences in softwares between the different OS is true, but i guess lot of people whom actually purchase the Apple computer wouldn't really care, since they are given the option to install their own copy of windows through boot camp.

4. All in all what Apple did is a win win for consumer and Apple's brand reputation.

 

I think this is a great idea. Apple charges a good dollar for their computers/displays/ipads etc. In almost every case other companies offer much cheaper products with similar (and sometimes better) specs. if you buy apple, you're putting out a lot of extra money regardless of what people say. If you really don't like your $2500 dollar laptop (when 850 dollar laptops have similar specs) then if you are IN the RETURN time window which is pretty short, then I think returning without penalty is a good thing. Again my opinion.

 

That used to be more true, but today, that actually probably isn't that true anymore.

Like the 13" Macbook Pro is $999 @ Microcenter.

It is pretty much peerless at that price range, hell the screen alone is worth $200-$300 more than anything you have to put up with elsewhere.