Apple Products Reportedly To Get An Expanded Presence On Amazon.com

Apple is teaming up with Amazon.com to expand the choices for products such as the iPhone and iPad that are available on the mammoth e-commerce site, according to a report.

The report, from CNET, also indicates that authorized Apple resellers will get preference on the marketplace over nonauthorized sellers.

[Related: Apple Sees 'Strong' Mac Sales Ahead Of Air And Mini Refreshes]

Amazon did not comment on the specifics of the report, which said that Amazon and Apple have reached a deal that will bring more new Apple products—such as the recently introduced iPad Pro—to Amazon.com. Amazon did confirm that its e-commerce site will offer an expanded Apple selection in the future, however.

"Amazon is constantly working to enhance the customer experience, and one of the ways we do this is by increasing selection of the products we know customers want," Amazon said in a statement provided to media outlets including CRN. "We look forward to expanding our assortment of Apple and Beats products globally."

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The CNET report also says that independent sellers of Apple products on Amazon that are not authorized resellers will have their listings removed as of Jan. 4. That would serve to give preference to authorized Apple resellers, while allowing Apple to exert more control over pricing for its products on the site.

While resellers with accommodating business models might benefit from the change, some channel partners could be "nervous" to see Apple and Amazon joining forces in this way, said Douglas Grosfield, founder and CEO of Kitchener, Ontario-based Five Nines IT Solutions.

"That kind of thing never really bodes well for the channel business," Grosfield said.

Hardware is "already low-single-digit profit margins," he said. "Now you're making that even more painful by potentially undercutting price-wise. Amazon is pretty good at selling things very inexpensively. Perhaps that's not a great thing for Apple partners."

For the many channel partners—particularly those that are using hardware simply as a gateway for finding services revenue—this sort of move should be less of an issue, however.

"For our enterprise customers this shouldn't have any impact," said Marco Nielsen, vice president of managed mobility services at Norcross, Ga.-based Stratix, in an email to CRN. "Quantity discounts and such have to come from the channel, together with Apple enterprise sales teams."

On the other hand, for major Apple retailers, "right before Christmas this is probably a major bummer," Nielsen added.