Best pricing on an iMac.....

[lwien]

So a 21.5" 3.6 with an i5 would run me 1880 out the door from Apple, but from MacMall, the same setup would run my 1674 out the door. That's over a 200 dollar savings. Like getting the i5 upgrade for free.

Is there any reason that one can think of that would make spending the extra 200 bucks at Apple worth it?

And what's with that 16 dollar recycling fee from Apple. Recycling what?

 

[IndustrialSpace]

I'm getting ready to buy an i7 and have the same question.

I'd like to avoid the state tax and get a reseller discount.

Seems like the reseller is the best bet in terms of price?

 

[thedon1]

If you know someone studying you can save a lot of money with the education discount.

 

[lwien]

Seems like the reseller is the best bet in terms of price?

The problem with most resellers though is that you can't get upgrades, like getting the i5 instead of the i3. This is not the case for MacMall though. Don't know of any other resellers that offer these upgrades. It seems like MacConnection does not and neither does Amazon.

But man, a 200 dollar savings is like getting an i5 upgrade for free as compared to purchasing it directly from Apple. That's nothin' to sneeze at, eh?

 

[Sammy Cat]

I just called Macmall to check on my order.

i3 base is on backorder until at least August 9th. i3 3.2ghz is in stock.

 

[rkahl]

I just bought my 27" i3 at BestBuy for $1699 - 10% educational discount (even tho i'm 38) they don't care. I just said "Cut me a deal, i buy all my stuff from you guys". I was only supposed to get $100 bucks off, but I'm not going to tell. $1699-$169=$1530

Plus they gave me a $30 BestBuy card for future purchases. They even sold me the computer before they had it in inventory.

 

[lwien]

I just bought my 27" i3 at BestBuy for $1699 - 10% educational discount (even tho i'm 38) they don't care. I just said "Cut me a deal, i buy all my stuff from you guys". I was only supposed to get $100 bucks off, but I'm not going to tell. $1699-$169=$1530

Plus they gave me a $30 BestBuy card for future purchases. They even sold me the computer before they had it in inventory.

Yeah, but then you have to add back in tax. Wouldn't going thru MacMall be a better deal than purchasing through a brick and mortar with an educational discount?

 

[rkahl]

Yeah, but then you have to add back in tax. Wouldn't going thru MacMall be a better deal than purchasing through a brick and mortar with an educational discount?

Actually No, even with the tax added in I came out ahead. Plus I got the computer that day and I can return it if I have any problems during my 45 day return period. How much will it cost you to send it back if something goes wrong? How long will it take for you to have to wait to get it back?

 

[Sammy Cat]

Macmall:

Base i3

$1,164.99
No Tax
Free 2-3 Day UPS Ground

It saved me approx. $50 even if I used a student discount.

 

[dmrowley]

Tax Free Weekends...

Don't forget many states have tax free weekends coming up. It is this weekend in SC, and I may bite the bullet and get myself an iMac...

 

[lwien]

Don't forget many states have tax free weekends coming up. It is this weekend in SC, and I may bite the bullet and get myself an iMac...

Really? Wow, I've never heard of such a thing. That'll never happen out here in Cali. We're ****ing going bankrupt as it is.

 

[thedon1]

I'm in the UK and with the education discount i got the following.

Imac 21.5 base model - £878 instead of £1000
Free ipod touch through rebate - Worth £130
Epson printer for £20 - Usually £90, £70 rebate.

If i sell the rebated stuff the computer works out to be about £688.

These prices include tax.

 

[beejam]

That'll never happen out here in Cali.

FYI, if you buy it for business purposes, the Cali Taxman WILL find you and make you pay taxes on the computer. Something about it being used here so it should have been charged tax in the first place... I dunno... but take it from first hand experience, it sucks to have to pay taxes on all your internet "tax-free" purchases all at once! https://forums.macrumors.com/images/smilies/mad.gif

 

[terry007]

Best pricing on an iMac

So a 21.5" 3.6 with an i5 would run me 1880 out the door from Apple, but from MacMall, the same setup would run my 1674 out the door.


hi, i guess i must be missing on something
someone mentioned a 21.5" 3.6 with an i5

I went on to the apple site and could only find 4 new Imacs and none came with an I5
am i wrong?

21.5-inch: 3.06GHz
21.5-inch: 3.2GHz
27-inch: 3.2GHz

27-inch: 2.8GHz

 

[steveotron]

I got my iMac (late '09) from Amazon.com for $1050 on Black Friday. Since that only happens once a year and still is quite awhile away, your best price would be education discount + education rebate (iPod+printer = $300+taxes - $300 rebate) and selling the iPod and printer. With my calculations, it brings the base model to about $1060ish (after receiving rebate and selling iPod+printer). Do whatever calculations you want on whatever model you're looking at.

I did this before with the MacBook Pro.Had Apple price match Microcenter (MBP = $1000) and then sold the iPod and printer on eBay for about $180 after fees and shipping.\

@terry: The 21.5 iMac that's more expensive can be upgraded to an i5, although for $200, it's quite the rip-off. Well, it IS Apple we're talking about.

 

[terry007]

best pricing on an iMac

Thank you for the reply..
so one can update its Imac!

so you guys believe its a rip off .
Ok i l stick to the base model then. I don t gaming but use Protools but don t record too many tracks at a time
I think the base model will do just fine..

Thank you guys.