Apple Stores start matching third-party iPhone discounts
updated 02:32 pm EDT, Thu August 9, 2012
Should keep some sales from being diverted
Apple Stores have been given the go-ahead to pricematch iPhone discounts from carriers and third-party retailers, a MacRumors source says. A chart supplied by the source shows Apple willing to provide a $49.01 discount on an 8GB iPhone 4 from carriers, RadioShack or Best Buy, and an identical amount off of 16, 32, and 64GB versions of the iPhone 4S sold by Sprint. With Target, only the 16GB iPhone 4S can be pricematched.
The pricematching option is also limited exclusively to Apple's retail locations, not the online store, and requires that someone say which company they're matching against. Apple has traditionally held iPhone prices static even as other vendors have offered discounts; the company may be worried, though, that cheaper prices are siphoning off store traffic, particularly at a time when it may be clearing out stock in advance of a sixth-generation device.
