Walmart begins selling MacBooks for first time ever, lists M1 MacBook Air for less than Apple Certified Refurbished

[Redaktion]

Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, will begin selling the MacBook Air directly for the first time. Walmart stores will offer the M1 MacBook Air at a competitive price that undercuts Apple Refurbished M1 MacBook Airs by $60.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Walmart-begins-selling-MacBooks-for-first-time-ever-lists-M1-MacBook-Air-for-less-than-Apple-Certified-Refurbished.813620.0.html

[The Werewolf]

As the largest retailer in the world, it's somewhat surprising that Walmart has never directly sold one of the most popular computers in the world.

Well, first, they're not that popular if you compare brand by brand, but regardless, the reason why Walmart hasn't carried them is simple.

First off, Walmart is basically a bulk goods reseller. They purchase in massive quantities from wholesalers who aggregate products in order to get prices down and then handle most of the redistribution of these goods to their outlets. Apple doesn't really work that way.

Also, Walmart is generally considered a low-end goods retailer. Again, not really fitting the Apple 'boutique' product model.

Finally, companies (like Apple) pay for display space in most retail chains, so it actually costs the OEM money if they want a booth or display that calls out their products - which is Apple's preferred mode. But with the typical Walmart customer, Apple would have to cut their margins significantly, so it's hard to see the benefit for them.

The real question here is what changed? And the answer is kind of obvious - these are M1 MacBooks - two generations old. So this is basically someone (possibly Apple) just dumping old stock to get something back for them rather than dumping them in a landfill.

Might be a good idea to learn about how companies OTHER than Apple work before writing about them.