4 ms·

Dunno why, but I've always felt Apple (and others too) seem to chintz out on the 'upsell' portion. I just configured a new Mac Pro for $13k, and I still need

Dunno why, but I've always felt Apple (and others too) seem to chintz out on the 'upsell' portion. I just configured a new Mac Pro for $13k, and I still need to tack on another $69 for a trackpad. WTH? Couldn't they say - "hey, you're buying a machine for over $5k - would you like a complimentary mouse or trackpad with this?" EDIT: yes, I do know why. It feels stingy. That's why.

davisr 13y ago
Try looking at it from an ecological standpoint: if someone already has a working keyboard and mouse, why should they need new ones and create more waste?
- k-mcgrady 13y ago
  Make it a free configuration option. That way people can choose it if they need it (e.g. someone coming upgrading from a MacBook won't have a keyboard/mouse).
sn0v 13y ago
13k? Was that top of the line, or is there room for more? Also, yeah, I really don't see why Apple can't throw in a keyboard and mouse for free if you were to want one.
- mgkimsal 13y ago
  It was a mac pro will all the trimmings (well... except for the keyboard and mouse!). Oh, and 4k monitor for $3500, so...the computer itself was around $9500. And they want to ding me for $49 for a keyboard. Make it optional and free if the configuration build is > $5k ???
sbuk 13y ago
If you're prepared/have $13k to spend on a Mac Pro, what's $69?
- sanswork 13y ago
  An improved feeling towards the company for giving you a freebie.
  - mgkimsal 13y ago
    Exactly, and I should have stated that more explicitly.
- scrrr 13y ago
  This reminds me of: If you are paying 20k for a car whats 500 extra for the CD-changer? What about the heated rear view mirrors? These things add up. Just saying be careful with that thinking in general. :)
  - mgkimsal 13y ago
    Agreed, except these are even smaller. Well.. maybe not on a $3500 computer - a keyboard/mouse extra is 3% of the sales price. but... When you configure it to be $6k, or $10k... dinging someone for an extra $100 just feels cheap/stingy.
  - newman314 13y ago
    Welcome to the Porsche configurator :)
giarc 13y ago
If you are contemplating buying a $4K computer, I don't think a free mouse is going to be the piece that makes your decision.
- girvo 13y ago
  It's not about the purchasing decision, it's about goodwill after the sale. When I sold retail electronics, after I closed a decent sale, id throw in something small for free at the very end. Even if it was a $10 mousepad (cost of $3) on a $3k sale, it made people happy! And on a selfish note, made me a lot of ongoing sales and excellent customer relationships.
- diydsp 13y ago
  That's a textbook rational response. However, it doesn't address the emotional side of this kind of purchase. Many people don't know the specs and other technical details of what they're buying. They don't really know, or have no way to tell, if they're getting good silicon value for their money. However, they're keenly aware of the emotions surrounding this machine and its corporation: How much it will fascinate them, fascinate others, how much it will support them and their efforts, how reliable and comforting it will be, who it will put them in touch with, etc. These people don't perceive themselves as making a capital purchase with an anticipated return; rather they perceive themselves as entering into a business _relationship_. They expect this relationship to address their emotional appetite. Logical appetites are based on comparisons like "dollars per GHz." Emotional appetites are based on evaluations such as, "I'm taking care of you, are you taking care of me?" After paying a bunch of money, the emotional appetite expects "to be taken care of." PP has latched onto the idea of a free gadget as a way to be emotionally taken care of. To him/her, this anticipation of his/her needs validates his/her emotional decision. To him/her, getting nickeled and dimed annihilates, or at least attenuates, the valence of the emotional response. Buyers with diminished emotional response, who are additionally tone-deaf, ignorant or otherwise ill-equipped to evaluate the technical/capital qualities of their purchase, have little left to stand on. At best, forcing them to consider the purchase from a perspective which concentrates on different features, facilitates their own insecurity. So, for a technical company looking to profit off their buyer's emotional insecurity, it would make sense to simulate an emotional entity. Of course, no one really cares that much, and PPP is simply producing outrageous examples as a diversion from a theoretically more worthwhile pursuit, but I hope my wisdom helps someone, somewhere, someday.
BenjaminN 13y ago
I had a free keyboard by just asking when I bought my iMac three years ago. Just go to an Apple Store if you want a free trackpad.
- FireBeyond 13y ago
  Just don't expect to get anything but the "base" model at the Apple Store (by base, I mean any one of the default option entries on the online store).
smackfu 13y ago
Probably because the keyboard is too big to fit in the box.
mikeash 13y ago
Personally, I would be annoyed. I know that TANSTAAFL, and so I'm ultimately paying for that trackpad, which I don't want.

davisr 13y ago

Try looking at it from an ecological standpoint: if someone already has a working keyboard and mouse, why should they need new ones and create more waste?

k-mcgrady 13y ago
Make it a free configuration option. That way people can choose it if they need it (e.g. someone coming upgrading from a MacBook won't have a keyboard/mouse).

sn0v 13y ago

13k? Was that top of the line, or is there room for more? Also, yeah, I really don't see why Apple can't throw in a keyboard and mouse for free if you were to want one.

mgkimsal 13y ago
It was a mac pro will all the trimmings (well... except for the keyboard and mouse!). Oh, and 4k monitor for $3500, so...the computer itself was around $9500. And they want to ding me for $49 for a keyboard. Make it optional and free if the configuration build is > $5k ???

sbuk 13y ago

If you're prepared/have $13k to spend on a Mac Pro, what's $69?

sanswork 13y ago
An improved feeling towards the company for giving you a freebie.
- mgkimsal 13y ago
  Exactly, and I should have stated that more explicitly.
scrrr 13y ago
This reminds me of: If you are paying 20k for a car whats 500 extra for the CD-changer? What about the heated rear view mirrors? These things add up. Just saying be careful with that thinking in general. :)
- mgkimsal 13y ago
  Agreed, except these are even smaller. Well.. maybe not on a $3500 computer - a keyboard/mouse extra is 3% of the sales price. but... When you configure it to be $6k, or $10k... dinging someone for an extra $100 just feels cheap/stingy.
- newman314 13y ago
  Welcome to the Porsche configurator :)

giarc 13y ago

If you are contemplating buying a $4K computer, I don't think a free mouse is going to be the piece that makes your decision.

girvo 13y ago
It's not about the purchasing decision, it's about goodwill after the sale. When I sold retail electronics, after I closed a decent sale, id throw in something small for free at the very end. Even if it was a $10 mousepad (cost of $3) on a $3k sale, it made people happy! And on a selfish note, made me a lot of ongoing sales and excellent customer relationships.
diydsp 13y ago
That's a textbook rational response. However, it doesn't address the emotional side of this kind of purchase. Many people don't know the specs and other technical details of what they're buying. They don't really know, or have no way to tell, if they're getting good silicon value for their money. However, they're keenly aware of the emotions surrounding this machine and its corporation: How much it will fascinate them, fascinate others, how much it will support them and their efforts, how reliable and comforting it will be, who it will put them in touch with, etc. These people don't perceive themselves as making a capital purchase with an anticipated return; rather they perceive themselves as entering into a business _relationship_. They expect this relationship to address their emotional appetite. Logical appetites are based on comparisons like "dollars per GHz." Emotional appetites are based on evaluations such as, "I'm taking care of you, are you taking care of me?" After paying a bunch of money, the emotional appetite expects "to be taken care of." PP has latched onto the idea of a free gadget as a way to be emotionally taken care of. To him/her, this anticipation of his/her needs validates his/her emotional decision. To him/her, getting nickeled and dimed annihilates, or at least attenuates, the valence of the emotional response. Buyers with diminished emotional response, who are additionally tone-deaf, ignorant or otherwise ill-equipped to evaluate the technical/capital qualities of their purchase, have little left to stand on. At best, forcing them to consider the purchase from a perspective which concentrates on different features, facilitates their own insecurity. So, for a technical company looking to profit off their buyer's emotional insecurity, it would make sense to simulate an emotional entity. Of course, no one really cares that much, and PPP is simply producing outrageous examples as a diversion from a theoretically more worthwhile pursuit, but I hope my wisdom helps someone, somewhere, someday.

BenjaminN 13y ago

I had a free keyboard by just asking when I bought my iMac three years ago. Just go to an Apple Store if you want a free trackpad.

FireBeyond 13y ago
Just don't expect to get anything but the "base" model at the Apple Store (by base, I mean any one of the default option entries on the online store).

smackfu 13y ago

Probably because the keyboard is too big to fit in the box.

mikeash 13y ago

Personally, I would be annoyed. I know that TANSTAAFL, and so I'm ultimately paying for that trackpad, which I don't want.