AppleInsider Staff
In an internal memo leaked anonymously to Engadget, it appears Sam's Club will offer the 16GB iPhone 4 for $147 until Christmas day. The picture of the memo also mentions the 8GB iPhone 3GS available for $47 with a two-year contract.
"We will be offering these devices at this outstanding Member value until Christmas Day," the memo reads. "Please reprint your flags and have a great sales weekend."
The discount is the lowest yet seen for Apple's smartphone, beating a promotion held earlier this month by Radio Shack. That sale saw $50 knocked off the price of the iPhone 4, bringing the 16GB model to $149.
That promotion proved to be extremely successful for both Radio Shack and Apple, as the retailer almost completely sold out of iPhones nationwide. AppleInsider contacted a number of Radio Shack stores across the U.S. and found that all but one had no stock of the iPhone 4.
The Sam's Club price is $2 lower than Radio Shack's promotion, but also requires a membership to the warehouse club. Sam's Club, a subsidiary of Walmart, recently began selling the iPhone, along with Apple's iPad.
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
30 Comments
ick... but it'll cost a lot more to get the stink of Sam's club off ya.
all this aggressive pricing including for radio shack tells me NOT to buy now
the better deals like the monthly plan will be even better after january,
no doubt other carriers are coming on board let ALL of them
compete with my next 2 year contract.
who cares if you can save 50 dollars on a phone if the plan is still over priced.
you can get an unlimited data, text , voice from walmart for $45/m
the cost isn't the phone, people its the plan.
if verizon through walmart can offer a fee free simple payment of $45 then we shouldn't have to pay much more even with a subsidized iPhone and all those ATT fees ....whewbuying an iPhone now is just a waste of money
i'll just wait.
Looks like Apple is trying to learn more about the price-elasticity of demand for the iPhone.
Also, this is another sign that Apple is totally committed to winning the mobile platform "war".
I am all for lower prices, but won't this hurt Apple just a bit. Like it or not, Apple is a status symbol...they also make amazing products. If you start offering their products for cheap, it's no longer something you have to save up for. You'll be able to go to Costco or Sam's Club and get it for $.01 (of course not now, but they were selling some high end smartphones for that much). Apple is expensive, but mandating their prices make them worth something...
Do you guys think this is a smart move on the value of Apple? Even if it is to win the Mobile OS war, you don't want to turn yourself into Android...
Apple is still getting full price regardless of what price retailers sell the iPhones. iPhones are already free in several countries by signing a contract at a high monthly bill. It's no different than US retailers slashing prices for the iPhone. It's about attracting and getting more people in to their stores and hoping consumers will walk out of there with more than just an iPhone.