Japanese Apple Fans Line Up for Annual 'Lucky Bag' Discounts
Tech in Asia reports on the Japanese tradition of "lucky bags" in which retailers celebrate the new year by offering customers grab bags filled with unknown items at a substantial discount from their retail prices. In exchange for the substantial discounts, customers must simply accept whatever products are in the bags.
Apple lucky bag with iPad 2, Smart Cover, Camera Connection Kit, headphones, and more
Apple offers some of the most highly sought-after lucky bags, with customers paying hundreds of dollars for bags hoping to receive their favorite big-ticket items. This year's lucky bags from Apple were sold for 33,000 yen, or the equivalent of about $430.
Apple lucky bag with iPad 2, Smart Cover, Camera Connection Kit, headphones, and more
Apple offers some of the most highly sought-after lucky bags, with customers paying hundreds of dollars for bags hoping to receive their favorite big-ticket items. This year's lucky bags from Apple were sold for 33,000 yen, or the equivalent of about $430.
I always considered myself a pretty big Apple fan, but this event seems to bring out the most hard-core fanboys. Back in 2010 I tried to queue for a lucky bag, arriving at the store at 5am only to find that overnight campers had filled all the spots. This year the bag cost 33000 yen (about $430), and most customers are hoping that there will be a big ticket item inside like an iPad 2 or a Macbook Air.
Japanese blog Macotakara posts a gallery of photos showing the contents of several lucky bags, with the biggest prize being an 11-inch MacBook Air bundled with a sleeve for the computer, a Magic Mouse, and a pair of headphones. Other lucky bags shown in the gallery offered either a 16 GB Wi-Fi iPad 2 or an 8 GB iPod touch as the main item.Top Rated Comments
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20 weeks ago
You would be pretty pissed if you got a load of cheap items though, no?
I thought the value of the bags was always greater than the price. They may not be things you want, but I don't think you lose money on the deal.
arn
20 weeks ago
This would never work in the U.S. because of the "it's all about me" attitude. You would be pissed if you got an iPad and the guy behind you got a MacBook Air. Japanese can handle this, we can't.
20 weeks ago
Why cannot we have this :'(
People returning their bags for a refund because they didn't get the Air?
20 weeks ago
I wish I lived in Japan.
Primarily to watch Godzilla fights, though this is also quite good.
Primarily to watch Godzilla fights, though this is also quite good.
20 weeks ago
What fun! I would totally do this... however... in the USA:
It would not go over here, though. Americans want what they want when they want it (and nothing less so help them God). They would never be willing (in droves) to just accept whatever's in the bag.
Even if they signed a consent form saying they would abide by the rules, the minute they were disappointed after opening their swag bag, here'd come the tears/swears. They would try to find a way around the NO RETURN rule and there would be a lot of pissing/moaning/fit throwing. They'd make the whole situation impossible and miserable.
I'm American and I hate to admit it but I know how much of this society acts/thinks. I'm not that way (and would accept a less than stellar bag), but most are (and wouldn't).
Sad but true.
It would not go over here, though. Americans want what they want when they want it (and nothing less so help them God). They would never be willing (in droves) to just accept whatever's in the bag.
Even if they signed a consent form saying they would abide by the rules, the minute they were disappointed after opening their swag bag, here'd come the tears/swears. They would try to find a way around the NO RETURN rule and there would be a lot of pissing/moaning/fit throwing. They'd make the whole situation impossible and miserable.
I'm American and I hate to admit it but I know how much of this society acts/thinks. I'm not that way (and would accept a less than stellar bag), but most are (and wouldn't).
Sad but true.
20 weeks ago
That's the coolest tradition I've ever seen. As there's nothing in the Apple store I wouldn't want!
20 weeks ago
For those asking why Americans don't have that, its simple. Americans don't like losing, especially in todays "everyones a winner" society.
At the local mall in my town, we have this thing every year and the mall buys thousands of bananas and you buy a ticket, and get a banana and theres a sticker on each banana you peel off the sticker and theres a percentage discount and the name of a store. Its fun because theres a lot of bartering between customers for different bananas. All the guys want the gamestop bananas and the females want the ones for Torrid or Kays Jewelers.
Its fun :) and its like a midnight event as well, so all the stores are open till 3am.
At the local mall in my town, we have this thing every year and the mall buys thousands of bananas and you buy a ticket, and get a banana and theres a sticker on each banana you peel off the sticker and theres a percentage discount and the name of a store. Its fun because theres a lot of bartering between customers for different bananas. All the guys want the gamestop bananas and the females want the ones for Torrid or Kays Jewelers.
Its fun :) and its like a midnight event as well, so all the stores are open till 3am.
20 weeks ago
I'd be annoyed if I paid $400 and got a sleeve, a pair of socks and a $10 iTunes voucher!
20 weeks ago
I think apple stopped running this in the US because of people complained about it not being fair or just complaining (to be honest I don't know for sure, but I know they used to do it, but don't anymore).
we camped out for the SF Union Square apple store in part to get lucky bags. They were $250 for those ones and the big ticket items were ipods - yes, that's how long ago this was. None of us got any ipod - here's what came in most of the lucky bags:
http://www.ifoapplestore.com/stores/lucky_bags.html
It'd be cool if apple brought that back to the larger retail store openings, unfortunately I don't have the freedom & flexibility to camp out these days.
we camped out for the SF Union Square apple store in part to get lucky bags. They were $250 for those ones and the big ticket items were ipods - yes, that's how long ago this was. None of us got any ipod - here's what came in most of the lucky bags:
http://www.ifoapplestore.com/stores/lucky_bags.html
It'd be cool if apple brought that back to the larger retail store openings, unfortunately I don't have the freedom & flexibility to camp out these days.
20 weeks ago
For those asking why Americans don't have that, its simple. Americans don't like losing, especially in todays "everyones a winner" society.
Everyone from America is selfish, everyone from France is rude, the British have terrible teeth, and everyone from Japan glows in the dark, right? :p
Stereotypes are silly, I'm sure an event like this would go over just fine in the U.S.
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