Apple has never been known for its deep price cut strategies. That was proven last year, when former Apple businessman Ron Johnson – the guy who came up with the Apple Retail Store concept – took the company’s “no sales” strategy to his new role as the CEO of J.C. Penney. The strategy failed horribly for the department store chain and Johnson was ultimately ousted from his very temporary position at the head of the company, but since then, Apple has continued to roll on with high luxury prices and an unwillingness to slash them. Quite simply, Apple’s products are so in demand these days that the company can usually get by without offering frequent sales or discounts.

With that said, many were still disappointed with Apple’s Black Friday strategy this year. Rather than offering the common door-buster deals that the day after Thanksgiving is known for in the retail world, Apple instead kept everything at regular price and offered Apple Store holiday gift cards for purchases on popular items. In other words, a purchase of a computer or iPad might net a customer a $50 or $75 gift card, but that discount could not be applied to the transaction at hand.

Still, Apple’s Black Friday strategy wasn’t a bad one. A purchase of an iPad Air, for instance, would get a Black Friday shopper a $75 gift card to the Apple Store. If they wanted to, that person could then turn around, purchase an iPhone in a separate transaction, and use the gift card to drop the price. In essence, Black Friday at the Apple Store was encouraging shoppers to buy multiple different Apple products, but to purchase them in individual transactions rather than all at once.

The problem for Apple was that other retailers were offering superior promotions on the same products. Shoppers looking for Macbook computers may have been swayed by the $150 gift card offered alongside the purchase in the Apple Store, but Best Buy’s $150 to $200 instant discounts were infinitely more attractive.

As for the iPhone 5S and 5C, the newest and shiniest items in the Apple product stable, buyers looking to purchase them in the Apple Store received neither discounts nor gift cards. In contrast, Walmart was offering a $75 gift card with the purchase of one of the new iPhones.

The question, of course, is whether or not Apple is losing out on sales potential by being too stingy with its discounts and promotions. Consumers are still attracted to the Apple Store for its vibrant environment and helpful, knowledgeable staff, but with better deals on Apple’s products available almost everywhere else, it may be time for the Apple Store to get a bit more tapped in with its customers wants and needs – at least when it comes to a free-for-all shopping event like Black Friday.