Apple Computers made an unusual move this week. Unusual, at least, for a company that has had great success doing things just the opposite of everyone else for the last twenty-five years.  Apple lowered their prices on some of their hottest selling items.

In true Apple style, they did lower their prices in a different way than most companies.  They did it quietly, almost apologetically.  This isn’t the first time Apple cut prices.  When they first released the iPhone a few years back, they gouged the ‘gotta have it first’ crowd for 600 bucks a pop before slashing the price in half just a few months later.  But then, as now, there was a note of apology along with the price cut.  Apple gave all of those early adapters a $100 coupon to use at Apple’s online store to make up for the gouging.

The whole counter-culture vibe is a huge part of Apple’s appeal.  Apple users relish their role as the underdog, the rebel.  They make Bill Gates the butt of their jokes and scoff at Windows’ users who get unintelligible error messages at random intervals on their PCs.  Ever since Apple’s famous 1984 commercial back in… 1984, the company’s paradigm has been to present themselves as the outside of the mainstream alternative to the same old same old offered up by faceless corporate giants and gobbled up by the unknowing masses.  And it works to a large degree.  Although their market share in the computer marketplace is small, their devotees are rabidly loyal.

The introduction of the iPod has brought renewed attention to Apple and their alternative appeal.  The thing is, when you’re part of the counter culture, you don’t want EVERYONE to join you, or else you’ll just be part of the culture.  So, Apple has to walk the fine line of trying to get everyone on board that they can, while still looking like a rebellious alternative to the norm.  That means you lower your prices, but don’t make a ballyhoo about it.  I could be wrong, but I think someone has finally found a way to have their cake and eat it, too.

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