Apple turns the screws on reseller channel

Channel bully boy Apple is halving the early settlement discount for resellers across Europe in a phased rollout.

Standard payment terms are 30 days. Previously dealers that paid invoices within 15 days were eligible for a 1 per cent rebate on the order, but this is falling to just 0.5 per cent, further squeezing Apple's beleaguered network of dealers.

"This is being introduced across Europe but is being implemented in France first," one channel source who asked to remain anonymous told El Reg.

Apple is turning the screws on its loyal reseller base after a string of record-beating financials and its supplanting of energy conglomerate ExxonMobil as the most valued stock on the planet.

Resellers are already battling Apple Stores for the attention of consumers, but are increasingly fending off the vendor's direct sales team in B2B markets.

Barring channel firms from flogging its OS X Lion and the Final Cut Pro X software released during the summer also served to fuel paranoia in the Apple community that resellers are being gradually edged out of the business.

The latest development with rebates is likely to hit the smaller Mac specialists the hardest, as it can make a "material difference" to sales, said one Apple Premium Reseller.

Apple was unavailable for comment. ®