So it's not a great deal.
$87 gives you 4GB from OWC, yet $100 only 2GB extra from Apple.
That's $13 more for half the amount of RAM.
I see where you're going but I think there's more to it than that.
I actually value my time at a lot more than the $13 difference. The luxury/assurance of having it pre-installed for me when my laptop arrives (and by a vendor like Apple) is worth quite a bit to me too. Also, even though it's $100 for only 2GB "extra" vs. 4GB, in the end I'm looking at it as 4GB of RAM in my laptop. I'm really not going to do anything with the 2GB factory RAM I take out of the MBA. As far as I know RAM sitting in my drawer doesn't help my computer speed up.
Anyway, I mentioned that it's a
great deal because I think $100 is worth the marginal cost of doubling your RAM.
Saying that it's a great deal doesn't mean you're saying that it's better than every other possible deal out there. I'll say it again: it's a great deal.
The end result is 2GB RAM difference. Ever tried selling official Apple RAM online? You get big bucks for that.
The time and effort associated with that isn't worth it to me. But if you think that selling 2GB of RAM on eBay is "
big bucks," it's probably worth it to you. It's just a matter of perspective.