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Buy in store or online

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blakemsf

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 10, 2004
27
0
I will be buying my first Mac ever and it will be the black macbook. I plan on doing a RAM upgrade by buying elsewhere. My first and last laptop is a Acer 710T so it was really old but I have been using my PC desktop for about 4 years now that I built myself.
My question is would it be better to buy online or in the store? I figured the first production models are the ones in the store and the later ones are the ones you order online. With this theory I guess buying online would better my chances of getting a non-problematic one?? Less production problems????

Any thoughts or comments.
 
M

mpw

Guest
Jun 18, 2004
6,363
1
Just consider yourself lucky that Apple will let you buy online. My last two Macs came from Apple's online store but they no longer let me shop there:mad: Grumblegrumblegrumbleetc.
 
B

blakemsf

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 10, 2004
27
0
amacgenius said:
I bought my first Mac in store, then 2 after that online, trust me go to the store, you save on the wait and shipping cost.
Click to expand...

Well shipping will be free for me (Education Discount) so price will be same either way but I will have to wait for the Macbook. I have seen them in two different stores and I really like them.
 
Josias

Josias

macrumors 68000
Mar 10, 2006
1,908
1
C'mon, any order above 100 bucks has free shipping. I would advise you to go to teh store though. They can give you personal advice, and it took them 4.5 minutes to have my upgraded MB ready. Teh store rocks!:rolleyes:
 
celebrian23

celebrian23

macrumors 65816
Mar 12, 2006
1,186
0
Under the sun
The store has one very big advantage- you can check it while you're there. If you live near an apple store, take the oppurtunity! Actually, this is why I decided today actually to just get the stock macbook. :)
 
M

mpw

Guest
Jun 18, 2004
6,363
1
count chocula said:
what did you do?
Click to expand...
LOL, they won't deliver to the Channel Islands since last October. It would appear they can't be bothered to refund the sales taxes from the UK online store or work out the postage rates, both of which they did before.

It would appear the IT infrastructure at the AppleStore Online isn't up to the standard of dozens of other online retailers:(
 
M

mopppish

macrumors 6502
Nov 27, 2005
356
1
I've bought the imac in my sig from the Mayfair Mall Apple store (Milwaukee/Wauwatosa), the ibook from Amazon with SUPER SLOW free shipping, and my ipod from the Apple online store. The slow Amazon shipping could be justified because I saved over $200 on the ibook with rebates/sale, didn't have to pay tax, and got a free mighty mouse. I had to pay tax on both the ipod and the imac and used my educational discount on both. To be honest, if the Apple store deal is just as good as anywhere else, I would go to the physical store if I were you. I had a very nice experience and walked out with a ton of stuff. Waiting for the ibook was MURDER, but as I said, it was justified with the price. A couple of years from now when I'm ready to get a new laptop, I'll probably go to a physical store assuming that I still live somewhat near one.
 
A

afornander

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2006
286
0
i would go to the store, open it there to see if there are any defects, if there are ask for a diffrent one.:D
 
B

bense27

macrumors regular
Feb 25, 2006
180
0
Clinton, NY
amacgenius said:
I bought my first Mac in store, then 2 after that online, trust me go to the store, you save on the wait and shipping cost.
Click to expand...
shipping is free unless you do the 2-3 day shipping.


I have bought both my macs online. No problems at all.
 
S

scotpole

macrumors member
Apr 4, 2006
38
0
Apple Online Store

I live in an area where the closest Apple store is three hours away. I have bought Macs through the Apple Store and have been very happy with these purchases. I have been able to design my system and they have delivered my built to order system fairly rapidly. My main bitch is that the price for memory from Apple always appears to be high.
But right now you can put a 500gig HD in an Imac and upgrade the video card to make an Imac a fairly hot system without losing a desktop. Or a 120gig HD in a black IBook. You may not be able to get these machines from a store, but you can build them online.
The main thing about buying from the online store is to buy Apple care. Apple is very good at resolving hardware problems. They will send you a mailer and you will have your machine back in a very short period of time. (It seems to me that apple had my machines back in under five working days from the time I got the mailer.)
The main problem with buying online is making sure someone is home to sign for your computer when it is delivered.
 
C

Caitlyn

macrumors 6502a
Jun 30, 2005
842
0
While it's true that you save on wait and shipping cost, if your apple store is in a mall, I suggest you buy the computer at the end of your shopping trip, as you'll have to carry the box around with you. :p But other than that, I don't see why you shouldn't buy it from the store if you can. :)
 
J

JulianC

macrumors newbie
Dec 23, 2005
3
0
I am wondering the same thing and am planning on buying the computer on Monday (Memorial Day) at the new 5th Avenue Store (open 24/365). I am concerned about the hard drive because I will be getting the Black MacBook and was wondering if 80gb is enough or should I upgrade to 100gb and then probably have to order online. Also do you guys think that the longer I wait to buy the MacBook the less problems I will have with it?
 
williamsonrg

williamsonrg

macrumors 6502
Sep 8, 2004
287
42
Denver, CO
Online cheaper?

I was at the Apple Store recently, and asking about the prices for a Macbook with the edu discount and updated RAM. She told me that it'd be $125 (or so, I don't remember exactly) to upgrade the RAM, but online, it says $90. They were busy, so I didn't press her about why it was different. Just something to look into...
 
celebrian23

celebrian23

macrumors 65816
Mar 12, 2006
1,186
0
Under the sun
I decided 60GB would be fine for me since I plan on replacing the hard drive after 2-2.5 years of use since it's so easy on MB. I figure by then I can get a good sized internal HD at a nice price.
 
D

Demon Hunter

macrumors 68020
Mar 30, 2004
2,284
39
williamsonrg said:
I was at the Apple Store recently, and asking about the prices for a Macbook with the edu discount and updated RAM. She told me that it'd be $125 (or so, I don't remember exactly) to upgrade the RAM, but online, it says $90. They were busy, so I didn't press her about why it was different. Just something to look into...
Click to expand...

It's because they factor in the RAM you replace. In the store you get two RAM chips, that's why it costs more.
 
williamsonrg

williamsonrg

macrumors 6502
Sep 8, 2004
287
42
Denver, CO
dferrara said:
It's because they factor in the RAM you replace. In the store you get two RAM chips, that's why it costs more.
Click to expand...

So one could (theoretically) sell the two original 236 RAM chips? Or does the store keep them? I'll probably just buy mine online, I'm just asking for idle curiosity's sake.
 
D

Demon Hunter

macrumors 68020
Mar 30, 2004
2,284
39
Yeah, if you buy RAM in the store you keep all the chips. If you buy online, they take your old chip(s).
 
Maxwell Smart

Maxwell Smart

macrumors 6502a
Jan 29, 2006
525
0
I noticed that that amazon rebate expires on the 30th of May. Does anyone know whether they will just make a new rebate with a later expiration or will they not have a rebate any longer.
 
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