Apple, doing wholesale? Noway!

Look, it is VERY difficult to become an Apple registered wholesaler / re-seller.  Most people do not get authorized at all for that.  And despite being one, Apple sells to them at discounts between 8-10% but not more then that. As a result, when you factor in overheads, most re-sellers don't make money on the apple products at all but on the other products / services that people buy when they come for the Apple products (store visit increase due to Apple). Also they make money due to bonuses on carrier attached products like Iphones. 

Apple does the above intentionally as part of it's pricing strategy so as not to devalue the brand. This is EXACTLY why the Apple pricing across the world is so homogeneous between it's stores and others.  The only exception which is a bit lower than the wholesale pricing (but not that much) is education pricing and is available directly from Apple - it's for students. 

From what you describe, the above is a common scam to which people end up losing money.

Thank you so much for the fast reply. And very details. Yes, the person who approaches me in messenger is fake, he using legit store located in Indianapolis, which is not related to him at all.

Okay.. Since you mention about a discount for students, then my question is: how to reveal it? Because... Apple dot com does online shopping and delivery is along the USA only (maybe Canada include, not sure) . Meanwhile, I'm in Saudi Arabia.

Is it possible to buy with AlAhli credit card, send it to relatives place in USA and wait until they come back to Ksa. Does apple online shopping accept saudi Arabia credit card?

To avail education pricing, have a look at this link:

https://www.apple.com/education/how-to-buy/

But as far as I know, it is only available for US educational institutions.

Actually, I just checked, you can buy as an individual.  But as I said, it's not worth it because the differential is not that big.   For example, $30 dollars difference on a $400 IPad.  You will easily pay that much in shipping and exchange rate conversion fees on credit card.

Better to buy from within GCC - look for deals on places like Sharaf DG, souq etc.

XTang wrote:

To avail education pricing, have a look at this link:

https://www.apple.com/education/how-to-buy/

But as far as I know, it is only available for US educational institutions.

Okay... Thank you so much. My school most likely joining this education program. I'll ask the principal tomorrow if I can buy through school.

Meanwhile... Amazon has a variety of apple products at a significantly lower price. There are second hand or refurbished, I concern.

My question: can I trust their policy? They have 90days guarantee. (this option will be considered after I ask my principal, but I d like to get every option and possibilities since now.)

Thank you, you ate great help really

XTang wrote:

Actually, I just checked, you can buy as an individual.  But as I said, it's not worth it because the differential is not that big.   For example, $30 dollars difference on a $400 IPad.  You will easily pay that much in shipping and exchange rate conversion fees on credit card.

Better to buy from within GCC - look for deals on places like Sharaf DG, souq etc.

I'm not looking for ipaD. I need a standard PC with high graphic and icore 5 or above. In fact, M trying to sell all the ipads

I'd like to choose apple ncos i d like to learn Swift. But, any PC is just fine for my study.

Amazon has products  - they can be refurbished or Amazon could be offering deals or they could be unpopular older models that they want to reduce stock on.

My view is to NOT get a Mac.  It is easy to use, yes but lacks the power and customization options that come with a standard PC.  Also it is expensive as the price range doesn't vary that much.  On the other hand, you can get great deals on PCs from any retailer.

XTang wrote:

Amazon has products  - they can be refurbished or Amazon could be offering deals or they could be unpopular older models that they want to reduce stock on.

My view is to NOT get a Mac.  It is easy to use, yes but lacks the power and customization options that come with a standard PC.  Also it is expensive as the price range doesn't vary that much.  On the other hand, you can get great deals on PCs from any retailer.

You are not the first person advising to not get Mac computer. Hmmmm 😤 The thing is we only can learn swift language on iPad Air and above. Buying another brand means say bye bye to "speak" swift. And yes, I concern with the limited apple product has.

This is the reason why I insisting on learning swift:
1. Not lot of people master it (yet)
2. As not lot of people master it (yet) means open wide opportunity for job seeker (I'll be one of job seeker too)
3. It's so easy peasy lemon squeezy compare to phyton, php, etc
4. As apple says: it's language of future
So? Still has the same advice, now?

Yes, my advice is unchanged.

You need to distinguish between the type of employment opportunities. 

For jobs that are not IT specific i.e. developing code etc, swift is useless.  In my 20 plus years with top multinationals all across the world; no one and absolutely no one uses mac computers in the office (except for desktop publishing, advertising companies etc as a small niche).  The entire office environment is MS based and you need to be able to use word, excel, power-point and so on.  The only place apple products are widely used; are iphone and ipads for corporate emails and doc sharing. Even that is changing with many companies allowing android to access corporate servers as security concerns are addressed.

Secondly, even for IT specific jobs related to coding, it only allows you to develop for apple products.  Remember that it is not the language but the platform that is being provided and how widely it is used.  Apple is proprietary and is notorious for protecting it's eco system and staying away from open source.  With swift, you are ONLY locked to Apple and developing for it's products.  And apple computers share in the global market is around 7% only.  The remaining is all PC's.

So unless you plan to work developing apps for Apple or work directly for apple; in the wider market, usage of swift for job opportunities is absolutely useless.

XTang wrote:

Yes, my advice is unchanged.

You need to distinguish between the type of employment opportunities. 

For jobs that are not IT specific i.e. developing code etc, swift is useless.  In my 20 plus years with top multinationals all across the world; no one and absolutely no one uses mac computers in the office (except for desktop publishing, advertising companies etc as a small niche).  The entire office environment is MS based and you need to be able to use word, excel, power-point and so on.  The only place apple products are widely used; are iphone and ipads for corporate emails and doc sharing. Even that is changing with many companies allowing android to access corporate servers as security concerns are addressed.

Secondly, even for IT specific jobs related to coding, it only allows you to develop for apple products.  Remember that it is not the language but the platform that is being provided and how widely it is used.  Apple is proprietary and is notorious for protecting it's eco system and staying away from open source.  With swift, you are ONLY locked to Apple and developing for it's products.  And apple computers share in the global market is around 7% only.  The remaining is all PC's.

So unless you plan to work developing apps for Apple or work directly for apple; in the wider market, usage of swift for job opportunities is absolutely useless.

Work for apple? My dream. I sound obsess with this product, I know. This is because my librarian ask me to read biography of Steve jobs, since then his hard work stuck in my mind. but Yes yes I know what they do to thousand of workers in china and its a pity.

But, for now, I consider your advice and will stick with no apple brand unless apple contact me and ask me work for them. Thank you so much for the advice!

So, allow me to asks: what brand, which processors will you recommend for me?
The requirements are: need to be strong enough for editing and designing. Also need to be fast on surfing internet. I'll need to work on visual studio, developing games (through app or website), excel, Microsoft access, my sql. That kind of level.