Apple, Samsung Among Active Discounters in Best Buy's Black Friday in July Event

Prime Day has passed, but Best Buy was giving customers a chance to hunt deals in a laid-back "Black Friday in July" event. Limited quantities were available of HDTVs, laptops and other products through Saturday, said the landing page from a Thursday email to customers. Apple products headlined the event, with $150 off select MacBook Air models, $125 off select iPad Pros (students save an extra $50), $200 off a 21-inch iMac and $50-$75 off Apple Watch models. An iPhone 8, 8 Plus X deal required a new line on Verizon and an eligible trade-in to get $300 savings, or $100 savings with an upgraded plan, it said. Sprint offered the 64 GB iPhone X to customers opening a new line for $20 per month under an 18-month lease, bringing the phone cost to $360, a savings of $390 over Sprint’s non-deal price and $639 off the phone’s full price. Savings are applied as bill credits, said Sprint. Apple gift cards were nipped by 15 percent, the 4th-generation Apple TV by $10 to $139 and Beats X earphones cut by $55 to $94, Best Buy said. Some Samsung TV prices were hidden until placed in the cart, coming in under the manufacturer’s minimum advertised price. A UN65MU8000 65-inch 4K TV was slashed by $300 to $999. The same model was also cart-priced at Walmart Friday, but for $1,349, down from a list price of $2,199, said the e-commerce site. Elsewhere at Best Buy, a 50-inch Samsung UN50M5300 smart HDTV was selling for $299, a $150 discount, it said, and Sony Blu-ray players were cut $50 each to $199 and $249. The retailer’s Facebook and Twitter accounts were low-key Friday, with Best Buy’s deals page on Twitter showing “Deal of the Day” vs. a Black Friday in July banner. In response to questions on timing of the event after Prime Day, low-key marketing and product selection, a Best Buy spokesperson emailed us the sale is a yearly summer event that’s getting standard marketing coverage “from website home page to emails.”