List the best places you will recommend to buy a Macintosh based on past experience for price, customer service, return policy, etc...(both online and direct stores)
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Best (and Worst) Places to Buy a Mac
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This survey is of limited value, as many of the choices are local and will vary in their policies.
Before deciding on where to buy a Mac, check with your local Authorized Apple dealers to see what their policies are. At an independent Apple dealer, although you will not usually get any discounting on price, you may have a wider choice of thir-party options (RAM, drives, accessories, software) and the ability to try machines out in the store before buying.
Before deciding on where to buy a Mac, check with your local Authorized Apple dealers to see what their policies are. At an independent Apple dealer, although you will not usually get any discounting on price, you may have a wider choice of thir-party options (RAM, drives, accessories, software) and the ability to try machines out in the store before buying.
Xephian said:
I gonna have to go with this one as I always go for the education discount. Of course...it helps to have a mother that's a teacher.
If my wife wasn't home schooling and I couldn't use the EDU discount from Apple, I'd go with one of the catalog guys (MacMall, Club Mac, etc.). They always seem to offer free RAM upgrades, printers, speakers, and laptop cases along with their "competitive with Apple" pricing.
technically, the most expensive place to buy a mac is at an apple store or apple.com
many of the catalogs like mac mall, mac warehouse, mac zone and others give you free ram and printers and rebates that apple inc won't give you...and they are well established and generally have as good a track record, or better, than apple inc
i bought my first mac from a friend used and it served us a couple of years, and the mac i am using now is a loaner since he has extra macs at home (like some of you guys here), but i did once buy a new ibook, full list price, from an apple dealer and even though i didn't get a free printer or free ram like the catalogs, i was still extremely happy with the machine and glad i didn't get a pc
many of the catalogs like mac mall, mac warehouse, mac zone and others give you free ram and printers and rebates that apple inc won't give you...and they are well established and generally have as good a track record, or better, than apple inc
i bought my first mac from a friend used and it served us a couple of years, and the mac i am using now is a loaner since he has extra macs at home (like some of you guys here), but i did once buy a new ibook, full list price, from an apple dealer and even though i didn't get a free printer or free ram like the catalogs, i was still extremely happy with the machine and glad i didn't get a pc
If I am looking at off the shelf equipment, I prefer one of the four Apple Stores near me. I would rather open the package and inspect it before I leave (if it is hardware). Plus I get the instant gratification. Software is better from the online store though (edu discount an all).Xephian said:
powerboy said:
I agree. I purchased a 15" PB with $200 rebate, and more recently a Mini with a $25 rebate. The Mini came with the 1.5Gh CPU and 64Mb VRAM even though it was stated to be 1.42/32.
However, at Amazon, you're out of luck if you want to buy with extra RAM or a larger hard drive.
If you're a student, teacher, or a federal government employee then Apple Store Online or any Apple retail store are best. I've bought all my Macs with a student discount and have receiverd something free nearly each time - twice I got bundled printers that I subsequently sold on eBay, and once I got a free iPod mini, which I also sold on eBay. Not only are you getting a decent discount, but if you have no need for the occasional freebie they hand out, you can get an even better deal.
If you're not getting the educational discount, my first choice would probably be the Apple store, closely followed by a local Apple reseller. I really don't like buying expensive things online. I see few (if any) advantages, and several disadvantages, like having to wait for it to arrive, and inconvenient return/exchanges processes. If you are getting the educational discount, you really don't have much of a choice other than a college bookstore (where I bought both of my Macs) or an Apple Store.
Let's open this outside of the US a little.
In the UK - probably the best choice would be John Lewis - no free craptastic Lexmark printer, but all their computers come with a minimum 2 year warranty as opposed to Apple's standard twelve months. Another advantage, if anything goes wrong with it, you take it back to the store and get seen to pronto. No waiting outside the Applestore to get in the queue for the "Genius". And then wait. And wait. And wait several hours more to get your purchase pronounced well and truly broken, as happened to me recently with a Shuffle. What a waste of a Saturday, that was.
Second choice - if flying anywhere from Heathrow, or any UK airport with a branch of Dixons, you don't pay VAT - even if travelling within the EU. That's a big saving on a powerbook. I bought mine when they were spendier and saved nearly £300. You can even order online before you travel (http://www.dixonstaxfree.co.uk), though it doesn't show everything in the shop. The Nanos and Shuffles look a bit of a ripoff, though.
In the UK - probably the best choice would be John Lewis - no free craptastic Lexmark printer, but all their computers come with a minimum 2 year warranty as opposed to Apple's standard twelve months. Another advantage, if anything goes wrong with it, you take it back to the store and get seen to pronto. No waiting outside the Applestore to get in the queue for the "Genius". And then wait. And wait. And wait several hours more to get your purchase pronounced well and truly broken, as happened to me recently with a Shuffle. What a waste of a Saturday, that was.
Second choice - if flying anywhere from Heathrow, or any UK airport with a branch of Dixons, you don't pay VAT - even if travelling within the EU. That's a big saving on a powerbook. I bought mine when they were spendier and saved nearly £300. You can even order online before you travel (http://www.dixonstaxfree.co.uk), though it doesn't show everything in the shop. The Nanos and Shuffles look a bit of a ripoff, though.
weckart said:
that's what i thought when it came to lexmark and printers
i bought the lexmark free printer from a guy who got it with his mac
i have had epson printers and hp printers, and the lexmark has outlast them all and is extremely efficient and reliable
however, for color, i think the hp was slightly better, but the epson was the best...but i usually find myself printing text most of the time so the lexmark has been perfect for me