Summary: You can get your hands on the cheapest Apple notebook for just $799.99, though at what cost to the retailer?
Significant price cuts on Apple products are rare, and on Mac computers sales are even rarer. So it comes as quite a surprise that Best Buy is currently discounting MacBook Air laptops by $200, a whopping amount considering that Apple itself only offers 10 percent off its systems over Black Friday.
The deal started yesterday and continues through today only as part of the retailer's Winter Doorbuster Days promotion. That means you can purchase the base MacBook Air -- with 11.6-inch display, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB solid state drive -- for just $799.99.
As of this writing, only one configuration -- the most expensive Air with 13.3-inch screen, 4GB of RAM, and 256GB SSD -- is unavailable to order online, though that is liable to change at any time. Other options include the 11.6-inch version with 128GB SSD for $899.99 and the 13.3-inch model with 128GB SSD for $999.99.
While it's great news for those looking to purchase a MacBook on the cheap, will this provide a shot in the arm for the often-troubled Best Buy? With supposedly fairly slim profit margins at their regular price points, heavily discounted MacBook Airs will impact the bottom line, though the retailing giant is presumably hoping to offset the deal with purchases of Apple accessories and through extra store foot traffic. But Pando Daily points out that Best Buy lost money recently matching Walmart's aggressive price cut on the iPhone 5, and this time it's only competing against itself in the price cutting.
Is the $200 off enough to entice you to buy a MacBook Air from Best Buy today? Do you think such a deal is a good business decision for Best Buy? Let us know your thoughts in the Talkback section below.
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