Do we get a discount on hamburgers?

Sure, why not?

I want my click back.

office depot is still in business? i hear if you buy an ipod at office depot you can get one of those kitty mouse pads. if that is true i'm freaking THERE!

Boy...what a friendly little bunch.

Cool...if I ever want to not buy a mac, I'll know where to go. Thanks for all your help.

Office Depot has a technology department?!

If? Are you kidding? You'll have the whole Apple line in a few short months if you base it off of iPod sales...

I really don't like the Office Depots (or Staples) they have nothing Mac related. Worse than Futureshop to be honest, and I used to work at Futureshop.

Okay, so a guy tells you that a shop that didn't use to sell any Apple products is now selling some Apple products and maybe more in the future... and you start making fun of him?

Office Depot isn't going to sell any other Apple products, no matter how many iPods it sells. The only national retailer who sells Macs is CompUSA, and they're doing a great job at it, because they have Apple employees full time in about two thirds of them. There's a reason Best Buy no longer sells them in the stores, nor Circuit City, nor Sears, etc. Office Depot is an office supply store, not a computer store, and people won't go there looking for a Mac.

I can certainly understand some skepticism regarding OD selling Apple stuff. I'm an avid Mac user, as are a couple other guys in my store, but the general opinion on OD is that we are an "office-supply" only store. The fact is, about 70% of my stores business is in technology (a little higher than average), and if corporate plays their cards right on this one, I think we could do quite well as an Apple reseller. In my little corner of Colorado, the closest CompUSA is a 45 minute drive away (one of two in the state that I know of), and the closest Apple Store is over an hour away. On the other hand, there are 3 other OD stores within a half hour drive of my store. I think we're a little more spread out than CompUSA, but I agree that it's probably a better setup with an actual Apple employee working their little store-within-a-store. Not all OD stores are "Macified" like mine.

INFESTED, you mean ?

-t

Been to Best Buy lately... they sell Macs there.

...lying idiots full time in about two thirds of them, who couldn't tell you the difference between a PowerMac and a ShopVac. If I ever want to not find the Mac software I want to purchase, I go to CompUsa and look at both of the pieces of software they have in their awesome inventory. Sorry, but CompUSA is a joke. Cut the Office Depot guy some slack, he's excited about maybe turning some people onto Macs.

Where? I go to Best Buy frequently, and I was an Apple Solutions Consultant, working out of a CompUSA, so I know who sells Macs and who doesn't. I'm very familiar with the programs Apple has to determine who sells Macs.

I hate to surprise you, but CompUSA is the largest national Mac retailer, period. The two thirds of the stores that have Apple Solutions Consultants in them move tremendous amounts of Macs, period, and they are Apple employees, period. Apple put their own employees in most CompUSAs, within in the last three years, and the sales of Apple products have gone through the roof, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year! Maybe you're visiting a small volume store, without an ASC, but I know that the inventory of software comprises well over one hundred titles in the stores. I sold it for two years.

I'm glad the OD guy is excited about Macs, but the facts remain that OD is not going to sell Macs.

I really do think we could sell Macs, if we had them priced competitively, and we moved a good chunk of the line in-store, rather than order only, like it is now. I talk to at least 3-4 people a day in my relatively low-volume store who are just so frustrated with Windows and the constant need for extra software (anti-spyware, anti-virus, etc.) that I think they would be fairly open to a Mac. I know there are Mac users around here too, as we've gotten over two dozen various old Macs in the recycle program we have going now. It's kind of cool actually. I've seen several Mac Classics, and even a full box set of the first PowerPC based Mac. If these users knew they could get stuff in store (and at all the other OD stores) I think we could do well. But, unfortuntely, I don't make these kinds of decisions...

Yes, it is unfair of me to lump 2/3 of CompUSA employees together and call them lying idiots. In the spirit of honesty and accuracy, I must admit that there are not many lying idiots at CompUSA. Typically, they specialize, and are either liars or idiots.
Not every adventure into CompUSA has sucked, but I've overheard and been told enough disinformation from people who work there, that it raises my skepticism level a wee bit. Unfortunately, it is not just CompUSA. Most big chain retailers suffer from a glut of uninformed sales people, whether it be Best Buy, Home Depot, or Petsmart. I believe in a correlation between low price and low service.
All that being said, my first Apple, my trusty Blue Dalmation iMac, was purchased from CompUSA.