Good news for those of you ready to lay down your hard earned cash for a new iPad at your local Apple store. With the help of 7 on Your Side and Dianne Campbell, Apple has overturned their credit and debit card only policy and you are now able to make your iPad purchase with cash and gift cards. The only thing Apple would like you to do for them is set up your Apple account in-store.
"As of today, anyone can pay for an iPad with cash as long as they set up their Apple account at the store. Apple accounts are needed for the iPad anyway, so that is not putting anyone out."
Originally it was thought this policy was set in place to make sure iPads did not end up on the black market but Apple claims this was not the case rather just a simple way to make sure the devices were fairly distributed during high demand.
[7 on Your Side via Mac Rumors]
Reader comments
Apple changes policy, now accepts cash for iPads
Great. Now how is she going to purchase paid apps?
@MrAnonymous: um, I don't know... Maybe with a card linked to the iTunes account? Or with an iTunes gift card?
Bunch of clowns should have done this awhile ago.
How is this new? I paid cash for my 1st iphone and 3gen ipod at apple store and used a credit card for everything else. If these people can't get credit which I understand. Why can they not get a bank account and use a debit master charge or visa? If you are person that can't get credit or a bank account because you have collectors after you and stuff like that. Maybe these people should be worried about taking care of business with that instead of buying high priced merchandise that they can't afford.
@Bill
If that's the case then why didn't she just get a card in the first place?
Isn't refusing to accept cash illegal?
Well, since they've been doing it for a while, I suppose not.
First they control what you can do/use with the products, now they are controlling which currency you use to pay for the product!
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple starts implementing its own currency. Apple Dollars. And you can only use that to buy their prodcucts.
@Ryan: No, that whole thing about must take cash is for debts. There is no debt at the retail POS. It is an exchange of goods. The flipside is if you eat at a restaurant then go to pay with cash, there is a debt where the legal tender of cash would satisfy the debt.
Re #4, Macboy15, who are "these people?"
Why is there a Flash cube where the picture should be ? And why didn't apple do this in the first place ?
You know, I paid cash for my iPad the day after they were released. I wasn't even asked if I had a credit card, nor was I asked for my Apple MobileMe account.
Doesn't seem like much of a policy was in place.
i would love to have someone tell me i couldn't use cash. i would shove a hundred dollar bill in the apple store clerk's mouth like ted dibiase(million dollar man) used to do on wwf...and probably get arrested.
I thought the same thing Sasha
Sasha.....you must be new here if you don't know about the macboy. See, he lives in upstate new York, makes "85" a year, and thinks he knows everything. And, I bet he could tell you a thing or ten about "those people".
When I bought my first iPhone I tried to pay cash but they wouldn't let me. The easy (if not silly) work around was to buy an Apple gift card with the cash and then use it to buy the phone. Pain in the a$$ but i still walked out with a phone.
@Scott What are you FBI or a stoker? You don't know shyt about me. And yes I do know I a lot. But not everything I forgot everything you know.
@sasha. I know where you think I'm trying to go and you are wrong. By "these people" I mean people that have low income and have to save up for months so they can get a iPad. These are the kind of people like I said in my previous comment who have money problems and don't have a credit card. The reporter in the clip is a moron as well telling her she changed the world. Apple has been accept cash for years now. I bought my iPad with cash and accessories with the credit card with no problem. This is not something new apple just decided to do these week. As you can read there are others who paid cash as well. Maybe it's state by state thing or something. I'm not sure as I do not know everything like secret serviceman Scott thinks I do. But where I live and you know where that is thanks to FBI Scott it was no problem.
I don't know about you guys, but i purchased/pre-ordered my iPad with a gift card way before this happened. However, I did do it online...
@macboy: it was, of course, absolutely predictable that some jerk would start talking trash about people who can't get credit. Because being poor isn't punishment enough... low income people should also have to listen to smug @ssholes who sit in judgment of how they spend the money they do have. Here's an idea - how about letting people decide for themselves how to spend their money?
@Sean This " jerk" don't give two shyts how people spend there money. I'm just saying for someone like this lady who is on a fixed income to purchase a over $500 device. The income must not be that fixed. But it's ok though cause just like many she cried about a company because she didn't like the way they did things and she got one for nothing.
@Macboy15. Straight up agree with you. You're simply pointing out the obvious. It doesn't make sense for those in a certain income bracket to buy an iPad. Apple knows this, their pricing by definition limits the iPad to a demographic with a certain amount of disposable income. It's as obvious as saying that a high school student making minimum wage in a part time job at subway probably can't afford buying a Bentley.
@macboy the more you type, the further your foot goes down your throat.
I think this bull considering I paid cash for my iPad the very first day on the wifi release date!
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