November 15, 2004

3:30 PM

Is it worth buying an Apple 'lucky bag', or is it just a scam? The Apple Store in London opens on Saturday, and I might get try to get one if it's worthwhile.
posted by ascullion to (9 comments total)

Also - on the basis of other Apple store openings, how early would I have to get there to get one?
posted by ascullion at 3:31 PM on November 15, 2004

Well if you read the small print on that page it gives you a full list of what you could possibly get.
posted by Mwongozi at 3:33 PM on November 15, 2004

Yeah, but it's about the selection - I was wondering if anyone here had bought one and felt ripped off?
posted by ascullion at 3:35 PM on November 15, 2004

Dunno, but I'll be down there and I'll probably buy one. (If I'm early enough.)

You can peek in mine then. ;)
posted by Mwongozi at 3:36 PM on November 15, 2004

The guaranteed value is greater than the price of the bag, so I see no reason not to get one if you have the hours to kill. If you don't like what you end up with, you could probably turn it around for a tidy profit on craigslist or ebay...
posted by rfordh at 3:46 PM on November 15, 2004

how much is the encyclopedia worth? I think the "retail value" of those are quite high.
I bet people will end up with a bunch encyclopedias, Guides to London, and 10% off coupons...
posted by j at 6:48 PM on November 15, 2004

The 10% off coupon is an unexpiring, one-time deal good for anything, AFAIK. So, if you are going to be buying a new Mac setup, think about how much 10% would amount to. A lot.

The lucky bag (fukubukuro) was adopted from Japan, most retail stores do it, and they always contain merch of higher value than the price, and you hope you get lucky and get things you want. My neighbor recently lined up at 1:30 a.m. before the Osaka store opening the next morning, and still was too late to get a fukubukuro. Some of them contained iPod Minis, but not many, I think. No one can guarantee your luck.

Do You Feel Lucky? Well, Do Ya, Punk?
posted by planetkyoto at 7:26 PM on November 15, 2004

If you have the dosh, get two, and auction one off on ebay to offset the cost of the other.
posted by ikkyu2 at 10:38 PM on November 15, 2004

In previous Lucky Bag promotions (Ginza and San Francisco), all the bags have contained a certain set of products, with about 1 in 6 containing an extra bonus product (an iPod of some description).

After playing around with different combinations of products, I reckon that the iPod mini and iPod 20G are going to be bonus products, but you're pretty much guaranteed either an Airport Express or an iSight camera -- maybe even both.

Whether it's worth it for you to buy depends on whether you already own things like iLife '04 and the GarageBand Jam Pack, and how much you reckon you'll be able to resell things for. Also, they're limited to one bag per person per day (hah!), so you can't just buy a bunch and hawk them on eBay.

ifoAppleStore has some good first-hand information about the promotion, and there's an ongoing MacRumors thread about camping outside the night before.

Unless I get cold feet, I am currently planning on turning up on Friday evening with a folding chair and a thermos.
posted by chrismear at 12:12 AM on November 16, 2004