Well, I'm finally ready to pull the trigger on a new MBP purchase. I was just wondering if people have an opinion if there is any difference between buying online, in store or by phone. How long does it actually take from ordering to being in your hand (as oppose to out the door, which Apple quotes seem to mean), and does this vary between the options? Also, I've heard that you might be able to get a better deal if you order by phone and talk to the person. Is this true and would "deal" be in terms of a price discount, discounted upgrade or would they just try to sell you another product at a discount? I would call them myself, but it might be one of those things that they don't offer until you've locked in. (I'm also a little uncomfortable with giving away my credit card number over the phone.)
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Buy Online, In Store or By Phone
- Thread starter commander.data
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Either way your talking to idiots. I have been mislead way too many times by Apple sales people it is ridiculous. Make sure you know what you want and go online so that only you can screw it up.
I don't think it matters in terms of shipping times. If you want a stock model, you can do in-store and walk out with it the same day. But if you want some upgrades, you'll end up ordering it online in the store, which is what you could have done from the comfort of your home.
The time to ship a machine is pretty much what Apple says it's going to be, unless they run into unforeseen problems. How long it takes to make the trip to you depends on how you choose to have it shipped.
The time to ship a machine is pretty much what Apple says it's going to be, unless they run into unforeseen problems. How long it takes to make the trip to you depends on how you choose to have it shipped.
I was planning on getting the base model and upgrading to a 160GB HDD. So if I were to get that in a Store they would just direct me to the website? I was hoping to at least get a paper sales receipt.
Yes, they'll direct you to one of their computers and have you order it online...they'll assist you if you want. They can probably provide with a paper receipt there, but I'm not sure why you'd need it...you'll get one by e-mail soon after ordering.
The Apple Store only has the base models available — they just don't have the room or resources to do customizations on hard drives and such on-site.
For 90% of people, the base models are fine. You can pick it up and walk out of the store with your machine. If you really must customize the internals however, you'll order it online. (The Mac Pro being a semi-exception as the store should have the upgrade parts.)
