Hoping to Score Deals at the New Apple Store on Black Friday? Think Again

Rumors began spreading last week that the site of Apple's latest store — located in Grand Central Terminal in New York — will be open and ready for business in time for Black Friday. And as exciting as that may be for weary travelers heading home after a long day of Thanksgiving family time, our research indicates that excitable Apple-philes would be wise to skip the grand Black Friday opening and shop at home instead.

That's because it's unlikely that the sales will be worth the time or money. In fact, you should skip the lines at all Apple Stores on Black Friday. As we reported in our predictions piece a few weeks ago, Apple typically offers modest discounts of about 5% to 10% off during its Black Friday sale. If you're buying a $1,000 system — and let's face it, you probably are — that can translate into $100 off.

Saving $100 is nothing to sneeze at, but in actuality, we see those sorts of discounts year-round from Apple resellers like Amazon, MacConnection, and MacMall. Plus, for the past two years, these resellers trumped Apple's Black Friday sales, in some cases taking up to 25% off select items. That's a potential savings of more than double what Apple will offer.

So if you do hope to visit the latest — and potentially greatest — Apple Store on Black Friday, heed this warning: you're more likely to encounter crowds and spectacle rather than genuine deals.

Front page photo credit: Racked