Purchasing Dillema: What would you do.....NO, its not another MacBook vs MacBook Pro

[Planner Dude]

OK.

As a student I qualify for a free ipod, if I buy a brand new mac (no refurbs).

I could buy a macbook for $1049 and a nano, and then resell the nano for say $150 (I have a 4g 20gig ipod already), bringing my net purchase price to $900.

or

I could buy refurb macbook for $949.


I realize that the free ipod is after rebate. I was wondering if you think the extra $50 I'd save would be worth it, given the money up front I'd pay, the trouble with reselling the ipod and the hassle of rebates.

 

[wako]

One thing you might want to keep in mind is that when you risk the nano as a way to get money back, you might not get that full 150 back that it is worth. You might get back less than that. Also depending on how you sell it and payment method, there might be some fees.

 

[kaboutertje]

Even if I wouldn't get the nano I would still go for the brand new one. But that's just me.

But refurb is just as good! I don't care I want a new one . Just get the new one and sell the ipod for $100 shouldn't be such a big problem.

 

[steamboat26]

Why didn't apple make it so you could knock the value of the free ipod off of the price, for people who already own ipods?

 

[mmmcheese]

One thing you might want to keep in mind is that when you risk the nano as a way to get money back, you might not get that full 150 back that it is worth. You might get back less than that. Also depending on how you sell it and payment method, there might be some fees.

Expecting a $50 "loss" on a nano seems reasonable though. If he was trying to sell it as the same price as new, I could see a few people prefering to buy directly from Apple.

 

[mmmcheese]

Why didn't apple make it so you could knock the value of the free ipod off of the price, for people who already own ipods?

Because they want to sell iPods, not give you a discount on a machine. Many times they do this to clear out old inventory. This may mean something new is coming out in September. Anything from the rumoured new design, to simply 1GB/4GB/8GB configurations (and no 2GB, which they are giving away). They did the same thing with the mini.

 

[jvan]

a new macbook, and it's 50 bucks cheaper? yes i'll go with new macbook!

 

[Keebler]

to sell more macs

Because they want to sell iPods, not give you a discount on a machine. Many times they do this to clear out old inventory. This may mean something new is coming out in September. Anything from the rumoured new design, to simply 1GB/4GB/8GB configurations (and no 2GB, which they are giving away). They did the same thing with the mini.

to also sell more macs..chances r that ppl who have an ipod...have a mac already so their current offer lures the current peecee owners. that is my opinion...plus, i believe it has to do with accounting purposes and what they can write off...ie. show more profit with a non-discounted imac etc... etc..

 

[velocityg4]

I would also prefer to get the new machine. As the refurb seems more likely to have dead or stuck pixels. Since that is one reason for people to return the machine. Which they could easily have done if the macbook was not originally bought directly through Apple.

As to the question of why they don't just offer a discount if you already own an iPod. It seems obvious that the reason why they offer the free iPod nano is not only to help sell computers to students. Once the student has an iPod that means potential iTunes store sales, positive word of mouth advertising if the person is pleased with both Mac and iPod, and sales of iPod accessories (possibly Airtunes too).

 

[mmmcheese]

I would also prefer to get the new machine. As the refurb seems more likely to have dead or stuck pixels. Since that is one reason for people to return the machine. Which they could easily have done if the macbook was not originally bought directly through Apple.

As to the question of why they don't just offer a discount if you already own an iPod. It seems obvious that the reason why they offer the free iPod nano is not only to help sell computers to students. Once the student has an iPod that means potential iTunes store sales, positive word of mouth advertising if the person is pleased with both Mac and iPod, and sales of iPod accessories (possibly Airtunes too).

Also, most students think (or do) need a new machine when going to school...if it's the choice between 2 machines that are similarly priced and equiped...and one comes with a trendy music player that all their friends have...which one are they going to choose?

 

[auxplage]

I would do the latter because selling items bought in the education store for a profit is techincally not only unethical but also illegal.

 

[Planner Dude]

to also sell more macs..chances r that ppl who have an ipod...have a mac already so their current offer lures the current peecee owners. that is my opinion...plus, i believe it has to do with accounting purposes and what they can write off...ie. show more profit with a non-discounted imac etc... etc..

Not to mention that Apple is banking on some people either filing late or incompletely hence void the offer. That way they just get more ipod sales

 

[Core Trio]

Why didn't apple make it so you could knock the value of the free ipod off of the price, for people who already own ipods?

Because the purpose of this deal is to clear out iPod inventory to make room for new models, not give you a discount. This IS apple we are talking about.

 

[Makosuke]

Not to mention that Apple is banking on some people either filing late or incompletely hence void the offer. That way they just get more ipod sales

Everybody seems to also be forgetting that iPods sell for more than they cost Apple to make, even in the Edu store. So giving away a $150 (edu) iPod is not the same as giving away $150--probably more like $125, or even less (I'm not sure what the actual markup is, but it could be quite steep, especially on models that have been out for a while).

Regardless, if you don't care about the difference between refurb and new (which, personally, I don't--had very good luck with refurbs), I'd go with the lower hassle method. Rebates are a pain in the butt (plus you end up hacking up your brand new computer's pretty box!), selling an iPod is probably a pain in the butt, and if you're selling the iPod online you're also tacking on auction fees, potential PayPal fees, the chance of not getting the full $150, and of course the small chance you get scammed.

When all is said and done you'll probably have put in a moderate amount of work, had your bank account/credit card sans $150 for a while, and taken some risk for less than $50. I'd save the time and hassle.

 

[cmmcintosh]

Because the purpose of this deal is to clear out iPod inventory to make room for new models, not give you a discount. This IS apple we are talking about.

I agree with this, apple can also claim more sales of ipods this way making the finance investors happier.

 

[QuarterSwede]

I would do the latter because selling items bought in the education store for a profit is techincally not only unethical but also illegal.

I don't see how that is illegal or unethical. Its not like he is selling the macbook for profit. He is selling something that is thrown in that he doesn't need so there is certainly no ethical issue.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a refurb from Apple. A friend of mine has a refurb 15" PB and the only thing wrong with it is the trackpad button which is recessed and is a pain to use. So much so he uses the tap feature (which I personally hate in OS X). Then again, I'm not too sure what the return policy is on a refurb. If you can return/exchange it then there is no problem.

 

[auxplage]

I don't see how that is illegal or unethical. Its not like he is selling the macbook for profit. He is selling something that is thrown in that he doesn't need so there is certainly no ethical issue.

Let us not start a legal debate.

It is somewhere on Apple's website. It has been discussed here before.

Not to say that I would not do what he is doing, I am just lazy; therefore, the $50 is really not worth it.

 

[chris y.]

when I got my free ipod nano with my macbook purchase I decided to sell it right away. I pretty much got multiple offers for my asking price of 150 within one hour of posting the ad on craiglist and easily finished the transaction by meeting up with the buyer before the end of the day.

in my case it was painless and definitely worth the small amount of effort to gain 150 bucks back toward the macbook. i used the money toward the much needed ram upgrade for the macbook.

it was funny when I was in line at the apple store buying my macbook there were two other people in line waiting to get a 2gb Ipod nano. I was tempted to offer mine to them right there on the spot, but I didnt because I started worrying if that would be a wise decision if I ever wanted to return back to the store in the near future. LOL.