Is there a "best" place to buy a Mac Pro Laptop?

L

Lvdragon

n00b
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
13
I have noticed that some stores offer "store-based benfits" like "improved" AppleCare. For example, BeatBuy offers better insurance for the iPhone (new phone if phone is damaged, including water damage). Is there a "best" store from which to buy apple products due to the additional store-based add-ons?
 
Lvdragon said:
I have noticed that some stores offer "store-based benfits" like "improved" AppleCare. For example, BeatBuy offers better insurance for the iPhone (new phone if phone is damaged, including water damage). Is there a "best" store from which to buy apple products due to the additional store-based add-ons?
Click to expand...

Oy... another one of these threads.

No. Apple themselves are preferred. Applecare is going to be far better than any third party bundling their own insurance/warranties. The only exception is if you're buying actual insurance... as in it's insured by a policy from an insurance organization like Farmers, Statefarm, Allstate... etc... generally not needed unless you're in an industry that needs that. You can still choose to buy from a third party if you want to. But I wouldn't buy their warranties, just buy Applecare. I personally only buy from Apple directly anyway, if you prefer a third party, that's up to you.

For future reference, you can just continue asking questions in the same threads rather than making new ones. Or alternatively you could just ask all your questions at the same time.
 
Oh. This is a common thread? Sorry. Just thought I would ask. I will do,a thread search on AppleCare. I am sure that question has been asked before!
 
Right. New to apple. New to use of a Forum. I will put questions together in the future.
 
lol, I suppose it isn't. I guess you could call this a bit of a trial by fire, although I personally don't intend it to be.
 
Lvdragon said:
I have noticed that some stores offer "store-based benfits" like "improved" AppleCare. For example, BeatBuy offers better insurance for the iPhone (new phone if phone is damaged, including water damage). Is there a "best" store from which to buy apple products due to the additional store-based add-ons?
Click to expand...

I guess it all depends if you're interested in buying new, used or refurbished....
 
If you're looking at New, the best option is the Apple online store. You can go buy it from the education area, and save a lot of money. I think I saved about $350+tax vs. buying it at a Best Buy. (High end MBPr, AppleCare, and spare AC adapter). There were no extra requirements like having a univeristy e-mail address. And, if you're going to have to LEARN OSX, then you're certainly EDUCATING yourself. Close enough for me ;)
 
Biggest thing about apple care is that they don't warranty against accidental damage. Third party warranties will sometimes cover that. I work at BestBuy so take this as you will but the warranty they sell on the macs is well worth it. Basically you pay additional $$ upfront and you get coverage for drops, spills, etc. It does not cover fire, theft, full water submersion, or "excessive damage". From my experience sending out macs the repair cost almost always exceeds the cost of the warranty, especially liquid spills. They will repair the laptop if they can or if they can't get parts or it costs to much they will simply give you a new laptop.

That being said I think the apple refurb store is a fantastic place to buy since you get basically a new laptop with full warranty for significant savings.
 
voklskier4452 said:
Biggest thing about apple care is that they don't warranty against accidental damage. Third party warranties will sometimes cover that. I work at BestBuy so take this as you will but the warranty they sell on the macs is well worth it. Basically you pay additional $$ upfront and you get coverage for drops, spills, etc. It does not cover fire, theft, full water submersion, or "excessive damage". From my experience sending out macs the repair cost almost always exceeds the cost of the warranty, especially liquid spills. They will repair the laptop if they can or if they can't get parts or it costs to much they will simply give you a new laptop.

That being said I think the apple refurb store is a fantastic place to buy since you get basically a new laptop with full warranty for significant savings.
Click to expand...

If you want or need that kind of coverage in the first place, I would skip Best Buy and go straight to Farmers. Real insurance.
 
Wait for a refurbished (by apple) sold at apple.com

That's what I do. Same warranty. can't tell the difference at all b/w refurbished and non refubrishe.
 
OP if you have the time and your interested in knowing your policy i suggest calling up the additional coverage providers including Apple, Bestbuy and whoever and asking them for the legal documentation in regards to their policies.

From there you can see and have proof of how their policies work, and whats covered and whats not. Its tedious, but informed consumer beats (to an extent) sneaky salesguy and corporation any day
 
Ehh hit or a miss. But if your looking to get into a mac for a low cost then refurb would be the last thing I`d consider. Used or anything else is not worth it.
 
what are you talking about samm? that's not accurate advice
 
According to the many threads I have read with Apple refurbished, they are king in the refurb segment. They don`t offer too much in differentiating their new products from their refurb products aside from the brown box most of their items ship in versus the new box new products ship. Same warranty just lower price.

HOWEVER that being said, I personally have had a terrible record with their refurb products. Your trading in one problem for another (at least you know the issue plaguing the device you have versus who knows what happened to the refurb unit). My First iPhone 3G developed a snag with the GPS unit after updating to 4.1. Went to the Apple store, got a new one. That one had a sticky/stuck home button. Next one had a misaligned charger port (aka could not charge it). Got another replacement, this one would loose cell reception (mind you this is not an iPhone 4 so no antennagate), Got another replacement and this had some weird bug, were when a I got a incoming call, the device would ring, the screen would go dark. So i could hear the incoming ringtone, but no way to answer it......However Apple being Apple replaced my device after that with a new retail device and that device works perfectly till this day.

So from that I usually state the following for those considering Apple Products:
If you have the money, 1st consider a New device (sales etc but new is new)
2nd consider a Apple Refurb.
Optional 3rd: I don`t recommend used unless you know the seller well, and their usage habits.

My experience is NOT a scientific study, but rather an opinion from my experiences I have gathered throughout my time owning different devices. Some may say its inaccurate, but
hey its facts for me :)
 
Purchasing a phone is really different from purchasing a refurbished system. I've purchased two separate Apple Macs and never had any issues with them being anything other than dead reliable.

Buying used is buying used. If you're concerned about people's Macs I suspect then you should be equally paranoid about everything on CL and on eBay, and therefore never use either. They're no different than purchasing any other electronic device. Buyer beware, sure, but I trust myself and anything I can get my hands onto and test. Heck, eBay always sides with the buyers these days, so a transaction goes sideways you'll probably be fine. And needless to say, I only buy from people with long histories and good feedback.

In an ideal world, sure everyone would purchase new. The reason people don't isn't because they don't want a new device, it's because they have practical limitations in terms of how much they can afford to spend. I was able to max out my iMac and save $500 because I purchased a refurb. I wouldn't have been able to do that if I had purchased it new. Or I could talk about the majority of my camera gear which I build my business on. A majority of it is second hand and I've saved at this point literally thousands of dollars doing so. I could continue the same series of statements with my guitar gear or computer parts (before I made the Apple switch), or really any electronic device I own.
 
Last edited:
See this is what I love about forums; Devils advocate aka a counter view or experience. Buying a smartphone and a laptop are relatively the same since the product's inherent design is the same. Both are mobile devices that are used by people on the go. They both share a common setup, screen, mainboard, processor etc. Repair wise, at least for apple they exhibit the same degree of difficulty (due to components being soldered together for thinness). And recently they seem to be coming out of the same factories Apple outsources their mfg duties too, so expectations of quality control are similar. My experiences are with their mobile devices (iPhones, iPods, and iPads). And thus far, my experiences with their refurbished units are that they`re not great. But again I`m one statistical data point in a set of hundreds, so you can`t really say oh your experience is incorrect, its just the way it is.

But One think I will generalize and stand behind, is that if your buyer, and you want to invest your hard earned money (and were talking about a macbook not that budget laptop for $199) then I always will suggest you don`t buy from someone who can`t offer you a warranty. The reason I say this is, if your considering a Mac, you have the capital invest it safely (caz this aint your DIY wonderland like some PCs are). Buy from a retailer (I have seen some discounts on mac prices so its not impossible), or buy refurb. If you are one to take risks, maybe consider an eBay or CL purchase, but again depends on a variety of factors (Price savings with all costs considered etc).
 
well that aside it's important to note that apple refurbs carry the same warranties as new devices. in the event, however possible, that a defect occurs it's a simple matter of exchanging the device for another. the same thing can happen with new devices but be that as it may samm's advice to avoid apple refurbs is really only important for those who don't live near an apple store or can't wait for replacement via mail.
 
Personally I would buy a refurbished from store.apple.com if you can wait. Amazon Warehouse Deals would be the next choice as well - tax-free that way and they have a good return policy. The laptops should be in good shape as well since they are thirty-day returns.

I just bought my current rMBP new from Small Dog Electronics - they had the custom configuration I wanted and it was tax free :)
 
Gah! Yeah, good point that is becoming more common. I will be sad the day a distribution center ever pops up in Michigan :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top