Another Look at Mac VARs
eWeek’s Channel Insider takes a look at the state of Mac value-added resellers. This rehashed a lot of the anxiety and “Tell on Apple” gripes that Apple Specialists have had for the last several years. But the emphasis on services, especially for PCs is interesting for software vendors.
I get mixed signals from my channel contacts when it comes to margins on Macs: a very wide variance between what’s been told to me by a big boy reseller vs what the small time Apple Specialists get. Across the board though, they say that customers can take a retail quote from a retailer and have it matched by the Apple Store. There’s no real option for competing on price. Channel Insider’s article also reiterates that Mac only shops have to depend on services to survive (some small timers would say this is based on the tiny margins they get on a CPU).
So what’s the story on software? I think you’ll find almost all the little stores buy from the same distributor, and there’s little there for variation on pricing (this same distributor serves the Apple Store as well). There’s no mistaking the service angle. Resellers I know have said Apple’s been telling them to do that for years. It is a smart way to add value. But with software, Ive never see a reseller carry the same or more titles as an Apple Store or CompUSA for that matter, even though carrying differentiating software titles could be another way that differentiates them from the Apple Store. In other words, don’t take Mac VARs hunger as a signal they will buy your software product — even though they should. They seem content, for the most part, to sell whatever is on the shared distribution menu.