Black Friday Shopping for Apple Stuff

If you are in the market for something from Apple for the holidays, either for yourself or someone else, you may be planning to shop during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday rush. Below are some resources and tips you may find useful. 

• Apple seldom has sales. Third parties often do. Support (from Apple) is the same for new gear no matter where purchased. Apple’s Black Friday deal is an Apple Gift Card of up to $250 with purchase from November 28, 2025, to December 1, 2025. 
• A physical Apple Store (e.g., Bridge Street in Huntsville) and the online Apple Store will have the same prices, but if you are eligible for a discount through one of the special “stores”, you’ll need to tell them about it at the physical location. Below are the online stores. Discounts vary by item, and many items aren’t discounted. Discount stores are for:
  
  • Education Savings
    • College students and their parents
    • Faculty and staff of schools (any grade level)
    • Homeschool teachers (any grade level) 
  • Veteran/Military Store
    
    • Verify with ID.me
  • State and Local Government Purchase Program
    
    • Current and retired employees and contractors of local or state governments
  • Federal Government Purchase Program
    
    • Current and retired employees and contractors of the federal government – PIV Card or retiree badge should work for ID
• The Apple Refurb store has some good discounts; the warranty is the same as for a new purchase, and quality is typically like new
• Costco and Best Buy have pretty deep lineups of Apple gear. Costco provides discount, Best Buy has specials. Costco gives an extra year of warranty coverage for a Mac, but not for iPads or other Apple devices.
• Walmart currently offers an entry-level MacBook Air (M1/8GB/256GB) for $599. Not saying it’s the best value, but that’s likely the cheapest new Apple Silicon Mac you’ll find. Don’t buy an Intel Mac at this point. 
• iPads and iPhones are pretty widely available at Cellular and Big Box stores, though not always the current models 
• Buying Online: Don’t buy from random no-name stores. For a big purchase like a Mac or an iPad, use an Apple Authorized reseller, like:
  
  • Apple
  • Adorama
  • Amazon
  • B&H Photo
  • Best Buy
  • Costco
  • DataVision
  • Expercom

• Some stores (online or in person) will price match, even more will refund the difference if their own price drops within some period of your purchase

Other Shopping Tools

• MacRumors buyers guide has info on where in the lifecycle devices fall
• Apple Insider Price Guide tracks online retail prices for most Apple gear across several vendors
• Deal tracker sites like DealNews (https://www.dealnews.com) or Slickdeals (https://slickdeals.net), but be careful!