Where to buy AirPods?

[chino-rican]

Got tired of waiting for the new ones to come out, so I'm going to buy these for myself for Christmas. Question is where should I buy them? Here are the places I've looked:

- Apple: $159 plus 5.3% tax. Delivered by next week, or immediately in-store.
- B&H: $159 no tax. Available in 4-6 weeks.
- Amazon: $151.05 (5% Amazon Prime credit card rebate) plus tax. Availability is spotty, except for price-gouging 3rd party sellers.
- Best Buy: $149.45 (after Citi rebate and Ebates) plus tax. Not available within 250 miles of me, and they won't ship it directly to customers.
- eBay: Not even gonna try.

Seems that my best bet right now is Apple, but I want to make sure I covered all my bases. If I'm missing something, please let me know!! Thanks.

Update: Also looked at Target: $151.99 (Red Card) plus tax. Available in-store only. This is probably my best option right now assuming they actually have it in stock (their website is sometimes wrong).

 

[Ralfi]

I’m not familiar with the retail stores you mentioned (other than Apple), but I’d pay the little extra if it meant the better after sales support - your batteries may need looking at ~18 months down the track, so the store which provides the best service for a potential replacement of them would be my suggestion (Apple?).

Edit...
Since you’re in the US, you may not be covered by warranty over 1 year anyway, so it may not make a difference, but Apple could make a replacement happen.

Maybe note in your calendar 11 months from now to monitor battery life...if it’s significantly depleted, then take it back to Apple for a replacement.

 

[chino-rican]

I’m not familiar with the retail stores you mentioned (other than Apple), but I’d pay the little extra if it meant the better after sales support - your batteries may need looking at ~18 months down the track, so the store which provides the best service for a potential replacement of them would be my suggestion (Apple?).

Edit...
Since you’re in the US, you may not be covered by warranty over 1 year anyway, so it may not make a difference, but Apple could make a replacement happen.

Maybe note in your calendar 11 months from now to monitor battery life...if it’s significantly depleted, then take it back to Apple for a replacement.

Thanks for your reply and advice. Shouldn't make a difference where I get them in terms of warranty. It's 1 year, regardless. The only difference I see is if I decide to return them (unlikely), Apple will take them back and not charge me a restocking fee, like some stores do.

 

[Derek87]

Thanks for your reply and advice. Shouldn't make a difference where I get them in terms of warranty. It's 1 year, regardless. The only difference I see is if I decide to return them (unlikely), Apple will take them back and not charge me a restocking fee, like some stores do.

if you buy with a credit card with extended warranty benefits, this would give you 2 years.

 

[chino-rican]

if you buy with a credit card with extended warranty benefits, this would give you 2 years.

This is true, and I intend to. Thanks!

 

[ApplePersonFreak]

I’m glad I got mine for $145 when they were on sale at walmart.

 

[chino-rican]

I’m glad I got mine for $145 when they were on sale at walmart.

I remember that sale. Missed my chance. Still hard to believe these things are in short supply 2 years after being released. I'm sure we'll see a price increase on the updated models.

 

[baller1308]

I'm sure they'll be on sale again, $20 off. I would just wait.

 

[chino-rican]

Quick update: Bought my Airpods at Target. Now I'm regretting not using my credit card with extended warranty instead of the Red Card with 5% off. Contemplating doing a payment method exchange, but that's beside the point.

My concern is this: I'm considering getting a SquareTrade Protection Plan, since Apple doesn't offer AppleCare+ for these. It costs $35 and covers 3 years. $55 with accident protection. Anybody out there have experience filing claims with SquareTrade?

 

[Petey07]

Bought my AirPods from Sams when they had it for $120, when they had their November one day Saturday sale.

 

[1rottenapple]

I’m glad I got mine for $145 when they were on sale at walmart.

You have Costco? They have the AirPods for sale for $139 plus $5 shipping on their online store. I took the ad to bestbuy, showed them my membership for Costco. They matched it for $139.

If you can wait that is. It shows up online from time to time. But what’s $20? It’s a great product and this was my second set of AirPods after the first one’s battery degraded significantly being left in the car during the summer. I would pay full price for this if given no other alternative prices.
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Quick update: Bought my Airpods at Target. Now I'm regretting not using my credit card with extended warranty instead of the Red Card with 5% off. Contemplating doing a payment method exchange, but that's beside the point.

My concern is this: I'm considering getting a SquareTrade Protection Plan, since Apple doesn't offer AppleCare+ for these. It costs $35 and covers 3 years. $55 with accident protection. Anybody out there have experience filing claims with SquareTrade?

I’ve heard they’re great. I would get the warranty which is advice I should have used lol.

 

[jhearty99]

If the extra coverage doesn’t cover lost/stolen then there is no point in paying for it in my opinion.