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For One Special Day Only…QVC Sells The iPad 2 for Double Apple Store Price
Just over a year ago I wrote a post about how QVC and the other home shopping channels maximize the spiffs they make on their electronics products, especially the computer products. The basic idea behind their system is to sell “packages” where they take a popular electronic item like an Apple iPod Touch, Wii, etc. and bundle it with some “dollar” accessories so they can charge more for the package.
Here are the accessories included in the QVC bundle: rotating case/stand; touch stylus; music speaker ball; ear buds; retractable audio cable; headphone splitter; screen protector with cleaning cloth; car charger; and $75 Zinio gift card.
Outside of the Zinio card (which I doubt many actually use), the other accessories look like you can grab them on eBay or at Frys/BestBuy for a few dollars. I will also bet that the hosts will never tell viewers that this is the old model.
So how much does the iPad 2 cost as “today’s special value” on QVC?
- 16gb WiFi model – $699 (DOUBLE the Apple Store price of $399)
- 16gb WiFI + 3g model – $849 (Apple Store price $529)
And on top of the price, QVC charges $15 for shipping!
Overall I generally like what QVC offers in other categories but SHAME ON YOU QVC.
When I was in college, I worked at The Wiz in NYC and early on I realized that selling the accessories was the way to make the big commission checks. Sure the IBM PS/2 computers provided a nice spiff, but the real checks came when you sold a surge protector, a mouse pad or a telephone wire to connect to a BBS. Except I never offered my customers crap, the stuff QVC jams into their package is stuff you will likely never use.
One of the ways QVC tries to justify their price is their “easy pay” plan. This payment plan takes the full amount and charges your credit card a portion each month. The television hosts explain in all caps (!) that this easy pay plan has no interest but in all reality, you are paying a premium price to get the monthly payments and in the case of the iPad 2 deal, you walk away paying a LOT more.
Before the Today’s Special Value went live tonight, the same package sold for $814.00 on the QVC website. That’s a whopping $414 over the Apple Store price!
If you want to buy an iPad 2, I suggest either buying it directly from Apple or Amazon. The issue with Amazon is that they are only selling the new iPad directly, the iPad 2 is through all third party companies. The same goes for the new iPad – Amazon is only offering it through third parties so if you need it immediately, go with the Apple Store.
Lastly, since the price difference between the iPad 2 and new iPad is so close, I very much suggest buying the newest version.
Is this really a markup? You mentioned the following accessories:
rotating case/stand; touch stylus; music speaker ball; ear buds; retractable audio cable; headphone splitter; screen protector with cleaning cloth; car charger; and $75 Zinio gift card.
I’m not sure which of these specific products you’re talking about, but a cursory examination on Amazon would find the following prices:
Case: $45-60
Stylus: $10-30
Speaker Ball: $20-30
Ear Buds: $30-60
Retractable Audio Cable: $7-12
Headphone Splitter: $3-15
Screen Protector: $10-30
Car Charger: $10-20
Gift Card: $75
Adding that up on the high side you get $332, on the low side, $210. The price for the bundle, as mentioned by Dennis, is $300 more than the cost of the iPad itself. I don’t see the outrage here.
dan – please email me- i have a bridge to sell you :)
the ear buds, audio cable, headphone splitter, car charger, screen protector are all $1 items. if you are paying $3-15 for a headphone splitter, you should buy 1000s for less than $1 and resell them in that price range – you could easily make a fortune!
You’ve used the “I have a bridge to sell you” line already, Allen. I won’t use any numbers in here because clearly they mean little to you:
I don’t ever pay retail for things, especially not things that are mass-produced in China. Some people aren’t as good at bargain hunting, and are lazy. The Venn diagram of QVCs audience and such described people is probably very full. So if such a person were to walk through their local Target or WalMart, they would notice that things cost what I listed. I actually did look on Amazon before I made my post, and those are the price ranges for devices and accessories by popular US-sold manufacturers such as Griffin, Belkin and Monster.
You obviously could get a better value, but the breathless incredulity with which this article is written isn’t about value, but about a company gouging based on ignorance. That is demonstrably not going on here.
if we took a trip to frys – most of their “bundle” can be picked up for $5 or less each – and in fact in today’s fry’s ad, the items are all on sale!
there is a difference between paying for convenience and ripping customers off. not only is qvc (and now hsn) charging more than they should, they use their installment plan almost as a way to explain why they charge so much.
Don’t agree at all – this was a wonderful value proposition – it included $75 worth of magazines from Zinio – the newsstand is a major vehicle for all iPad users and this is a real cost – when you add up all of the accessories from the TSV offer & compare the pricing from apple own website – the savings are dramatic : with the ezpay the value is increased : the iPad 2 is still an amazing product and QVC did a great job in putting together a real value !
All of the accessories are useful & are products we would all enjoy & buy since with the mobility of the iPad 2 – there is a need for these products – so all in all – So when you add up the products and the iPad 2 & the Zinio $75 offer all of the accessories – there was a savings from the QVC – TSV OFFER – GO Q
Marcos – I have a tree and some other items to sell you, please email me thanks!
I watched about 15 minutes of the Apple presentation last night. Unbelievable that the presenter said that they had sold over 1500 up to that point. I wonder how many will get returned once the buyers realize they got ripped off. Of course most will never know…ignorance is bliss.
I bet you few get returned – the average QVC shopper is not a comparison shopper. They believe that the hosts are their friends, not salespeople. This causes an emotional reaction which overcomes the stupid price. I wonder what will happen to qvc in a few years when their current shoppers are “gone” – the next batch of people won’t be qvc shoppers at their current markup.
Not that I support QVC, but $399 doubled is $800…$100 more than the price you suggest.