Why Apple's Black Friday Deal Is Better Than It Seems

Black Friday!

It's a time for deep doorbusting discounts at most retailers.

Apple, however, is the exception. It's not really doing much of a discount.

Instead, it's offering an Apple Store gift card if you buy stuff. An iPad Air gets you a $75 gift card at the Apple Store. A new Mac gets you a $150 gift card. A new iPod gets you $50 in store credit.

It would have been nicer to have those discounts immediately applied to the products you're buying, but alas, you'll have to wait until you get another Apple product.

While it may not seem like a great deal, Brian White at Cantor Fitzgerald argues that this is actually a great deal for consumers.

White, who it should be noted is a mega-Apple bull, runs through the numbers to come up with the following analysis of Apple's deals:

Big Changes to the "One-Day Apple Shopping Event." This morning, Apple announced the products that are included in this year's "one-day Apple shopping event" and the associated pricing discounts. This year, Apple made big changes to its Black Friday discounts by offering Apple Store Gift Cards, instead of cash discounts. If you are a frequent buyer of Apple products, we believe this represents a better deal as the percentage discounts are higher than last year. For example, this year's discounts on Apple devices average approximately 15% (i.e., calculated at the entry price level) versus approximately 9-10% last year.

Basically, he says that if you buy one Apple product, odds are that you'll buy a second Apple product, so the discount will eventually happen. You just need patience.

If this sounds convincing, head over to Apple's site for the Black Friday deal >