Mac people.. is it a better deal to get a mac in a store such as bestbuy or online from apple?

[Ava]

I'm looking into getting one and hoping to order it by the end of the month. Before i do that though i'm trying to figure out the best place to get a good deal. Any suggestions?

[Deja Q]

1. I know their extended warranty is direct through Apple

but if you can get the computer for less, who cares where it's from?

(I'd always do the warranty for a laptop. The 'hidden market' being the replacement LCD cost, of course...)

[Oeditpus Rex]

2. If you buy anything at all from Worst Buy

you get a lot more than you bargain for. They have possibly the worst customer service on the planet.

Google "Complaints about Best Buy." It's mind-boggling.

[Deja Q]

3. 50/50 here

They fudged up the warranty on my laserdisc player -- but in turn they've been perfect with scanner replacements.

Geek Squad is ran by a troop of dorks too. Ones who are known to pirate software and take home your music and pictures. Maybe that's one reason why their employees do that; the pay is such garbage for all the hiccups one has to endure with PCs.

Complaints can be found about anybody. But BB, even though I dislike big box stores for wanting to get into every arena, kill competition by providing mediocre service with a big name attached, and then wonder why they get a bad rep, I've dealt with worse.

[Suich]

9. I hate that place

more than any other place on the planet! After reading some of the Google complaints, it's amazing that they have managed to stay in business.

[Sanity Claws]

10. I also curse Best Buy

I had an awful run-in with them this week.
I had a problem with my laptop and brought it in to Best Buy to describe the problem. I was sent to the Geek Squad who took it in for warranty service. They held it for three weeks, did nothing to it, and then claimed it wasn't covered by the manufacturer's warranty and that I should have bought Best Buy's extended warranty.
I was livid and refused to leave the counter without talking to a store manager who then told me to call the manufacturer. I did -- the manufacturer told me that Best Buy had not sent the laptop to them and that the problem did seem to be covered; they are sending me out a new battery and adapter cord to see if that resolves the issue.
I will never, ever step foot inside a Best Buy again and I told the store manager that.

I suggest that you go on line and buy directly from the manufacturer or go to an Apple store.
A good price is meaningless unless the seller is willing to stand behind the product.

[Deja Q]

28. Yipes. But a question:

How old was the laptop? And if you don't get BB's warranty, then after the first 30 days post-purchase period you'd have to deal with the manufacturer directly, without the help of the store that sold it (BB or any other store).

No words needed: :scared:. Any manufacturer's service dept is going to be far worse than the middleman retailer, big box or otherwise. Ironic, but true... I say that from experience.

Sadly, as you had described in detail your nightmare scenario, and enough to infer it was still under mfg warranty, Best Buy might have some improving to do. But then, if it was older than 30 days, Best Buy would have no reason (as far as I currently know) to support anyone after that 30 days and it would be up to the customer to deal with the manufacturer directly. Most stores sadly are like that. If I went into business as a competitor, I'd probably have to do the same thing at some point too. Again, that's where the warranty does come into place. Without it, as with anything, right down to blenders, there comes a point when the salesman will say 'no'.

But I wholly agree - one way or another they did not need to hold the thing for 3 weeks just to tell you they wouldn't work with it because they neglected to tell you the obvious upfront. That was really bad on their part.

Typically, it's the manufacturer that needs to stand behind their product; not the store. BB merely sells products and provides augmented service plans in the event of failure, some of which do allow for accidents as well. And they've typically been very good in this area. At least from my experience; but YMWV. Some people loathe Geek Squad and I can't entirely blame them either.

I will say this: For LCD monitors, scanners, and laptop computers (for LCD monitor and writable CD/DVD drive), the extra warranty is mandatory IMHO. LCD monitors are murder to replace (the cost is asinine and backlights typically die after 4~5 years of average use) and CD/DVD burning drives will fail due to heat death after writing 50~100 discs. That's inevitable; laws of physics and not as much the product being cheap. When CD-RW drives came out for $200, they had short lifespans. Today the lifespans are still just as short, despite being at a far more palatable cost. For that I've never had any real problems with their complying with their own extended warranties. But for how rarely I burn discs, I wouldn't buy the warranty for an internal CD/DVD burn unit. At 55% of the product cost and how the drive would last me 2 years anyway, it's not worth that cost. I wish more of their salesmen (in any chain) would be 100% honest and upfront with some of the finer print details.

I also do know, FWIW, Ritz Camera and Amazon.com both use the same extended warranty service provider. Now take note as to which seller claims they will cover which accidents and which won't. :D

Still, think of all the people who go to walmart, who is now competing against all the big box chains; for electronics and those extended warranties. If people think BB is out for the money, wallyworld puts everyone else to shame in terms of ineptitude. I'd rather risk a bad day at BB.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Sanity Claws]

29. Let me give you further details to explain my frustration

1. I did not seek warranty service when I went into the store. I brought the laptop in and talked to a sales clerk and explained the problem. He said that sounds like a warranty issue and TOLD me to go to Geek Squad. That's why I went there.

2. The Geek Squad also thought it was a warranty issue (everyone knew that I did not have a BB warranty -- after all, I had the sales receipt showing what I did buy) and took it in and said they were going to send it to the manufacturer for repair.

3. When I went to pick it up three weeks later, the Geek Squad said the manufacturer tried to call me to ask if I wanted to pay costs involved in the repair but the phone rang and rang without a pick up. That is a lie. The number is a cell phone and all unanswered calls go into voice mail automatically after 4-5 rings. I asked them to check the number called; yep, it was my cell phone. This lie bothered me tremendously.

4. I then wanted to cover why the manufacturer didn't just fix it under warrany and why it felt it had to call me. We went through the problems. One was cosmetic (DVD draw cover) and the write up was that it was not covered. Nothing was said about the laptop's inability to charge --- the reason I brought in the laptop.

5. I was livid to find that no explanation at all was offered regarding the failure to repair the problem for which I had brought in the laptop.

6. I demanded to speak to the store manager. He was an idiot who kept saying he can't control the manufacturer. He gave me the number for the manufacturer and I called. The manufacturer told me that the laptop had never been sent to them; it must have been sent to BB's warehouse. Another lie that made me saw red.

7. The manufacturer said the problem was within the warranty and it is in the process of sending me a new battery and adapter cord. I'm supposed to get it today.

So my anger is based on BB's lies to me. If BB had told me to call the manufacturer when I got in the store the first time, none of this would have happened. Instead, they wanted to send it to their warehouse which apparently wanted to charge me for something but couldn't because they didn't know that you have to let a phone ring four times before it goes into voice mail.

They're dishonest and/or incompetent. Either way, I'll never do business with them again.

As for your opinion of Walmart, it may indeed by worse than BB but so what? I'm not going to shop at a bad store just because there's worse out there. My solution is to buy from the manufacturer on line. I would have been better off in this instance, for sure.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

4. Try Amazon.

I got my Macbook with a $100 rebate, so in the end, it was slightly under $1,000.

:hi:

[TommyO]

5. Pricing from most vendors is going to be pretty close to Apple's in-store or online pricing

however you may be able to avoid sales tax up front (though still subject to use tax in your state).

[Seedersandleechers]

6. Apple is running a student special right now

with $200 off on a laptop and a free i-pod if you order from their website.

[Ava]

7. i'm not getting a laptop

i'm getting an imac and if i get it from the website i can get imovie preinstalled and cheaper than buying it by itself

[Kutjara]

13. All new iMacs come with iLife '08 preinstalled.

iMovie is a component of iLife, so you'll get that anyway, no matter where you buy.

[Ava]

16. i don't know why i said imovie, i meant final cut express

:hi:

[Kutjara]

17. Ahh, I see.

Yes, it would be nice to get that preinstalled. :hi:

[begin_within]

27. I bought Final Cut Express at the same time I bought my Mac from Apple.

At that time they were offering Final Cut Express for $99 if you bought it pre-installed at the same time you bought the Mac, from the Apple store. I don't know if they are still offering that or not. I love Final Cut Express, but iMovie is also great for simple video work and it's easy to learn. If you really want to get into working with video heavily and at the professional level, Final Cut Express and then eventually Final Cut Pro is the path to take.

[InternalDialogue]

8. I'd go direct through Apple and get the student discount

http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/routingpage.html

I've never bought my Macs anywhere except direct through them. And I've never been jobbed by bad customer service. As long as they're doing that as well as they do, I'm not going to change.

[AlCzervik]

11. go through apple, either at the store on online.

[Auggie]

12. I bought mine from a small Mac dealer in town.

He's a certified Apple reseller -- comes to the house and sets it up. I like that he's available for consultation and support -- even makes house calls for the tough stuff. So much better than calling tech support. If you live in a metropolitan area, or even a good-size town, look around for reseller like this. Same price as you'd get from Apple but the service and support is invaluable.

[Dora]

14. Use your student discount, avoid the middleman.

Buy through the website or at an Apple store.

I also recommend you buy the extended warranty if you can. We had a first-gen eMac hit the skids after two years of light use, and the extended warranty would have been a help.

[colinmom71]

23. Also chiming in to mention an extended warranty...

Just asked my Mac tech husband his suggestions, and he said if you purchase an iMac through a "big box" store (ie. - Best Buy, etc.), do NOT purchase their warranty as it is not as good for Macs as for other PCs. If you feel you need an extended warranty, go to Apple.com's store and purchase their AppleCare plan.

We forgot to buy AppleCare when our limited warranty ran out on my old iMac last year. And of course this year it turned out to be the only Mac we ever had that had a total melt down (dead logic board - $900 repair. Ouch!). I'm now on my black MacBook we bought through Apple's refurbished items store since it only cost another $200 than the repair for the iMac. Had we bought the AppleCare plan, the iMac would have been repaired under warranty within just a few days, but... Still, I like my new MacBook, and as chance has it, the iMac got replaced with a newer model iMac a month ago as a gift from Apple.

You might find a few decent deals on newer iMacs at the refurbished items store at Apple.com as well. Don't know if they also do the student discounts, but I don't see why they wouldn't. But yes, most of the posts above have it right in that Apple's prices don't really vary from store to store so significant deals are often hard to come by. I personally think Macs are worth the extra money and that lone aforementioned iMac problem aside, I've always had little to few problems with all the Macs I've owned (about 6, not counting my husband's several laptops) over the last 12 years.

Good luck and I hope you find what you need!

[Poiuyt]

15. If you buy from Amazon, you can get free shipping

You might also want to check Macmall.com. They usually have special bundles. You might also want to check Apple's web site to see if they have any refurbished models that you're interested in. (I just got a refurbished iMac because I didn't like the new ones that just came out).

[Redstone]

18. You can get damn good deals on used Macs here, if you want to save some $$:

http://www.megamacs.com

I've dealt with them for years, and have always found them to be honest and dependable.

Redstone

[Ava]

19. thanks!

just sent them an email about their graphics specs on an imac.. thanks!

[edbermac]

20. I won a $750 gift card to BestBuy so I got my IMAC thru them.

Otherwise I would have gone to Apple. I've had my MAC for a year and have had no problems.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

21. as a Mac owner

And a graphics person... I order my Mac's from Apple - If you go to the nearest Apple store, you will most likely get great service and a lot of useful information. Since Apple price fixes their computers and iPods, you wont be getting a "deal" of any kind - The deal you get is you will have a great computer with the best operating system on the planet - The software bundle is amazing.

Check out the deals that Apple is offering and make sure that you look at the type of processor and the GHz -

Currently, I have a MacbookPro with the Intel Core 2 Duo Processor. I would recommend this computer to anyone who is interested in a laptop.

I would be cautious of "markdowns" as there is a good reason -- usually they are a model which is considered obsolete - Pay the extra dough to get the latest technology.

[huskerlaw]

22. Use Apple.

You'll need to get their warranty anyway. Plus, they're far more pleasant to deal with than Best Buy.

Also, if you buy a Mac at Best Buy and take it there to get repaired, they'll just ship it to Apple. Which somehow takes WEEKS, when the Apple store could fix it in a day or two.

[Kutjara]

24. It doesn't matter where you buy it,...

...the Apple Store will still repair your machine (or send it back to Apple) if you take it in to them. Any Apple store anywhere in the world will fix (or try to) any Apple product that is still supported by Apple.

And you can also but an AppleCare warranty directly from Apple, no matter where you bought the computer.

[MrScorpio]

25. I need a new mouse

I'm going to the Post Exchange

[CatholicEdHead]

26. MacMall.com has the best service

[Lydia Leftcoast]

30. Find out if there's an Apple Store in your area

Not only are the sales clerks knowledgeable about Apple products, but if you have problems, you can get free consultations from their "Genius Bar." For example, when I first tried to set up a wireless network at home, I couldn't get my former iBook to recognize the Airport router. They had me bring in the router and the iBook, and they fiddled around with it until everything worked--at no charge.

Many major shopping malls have Apple Stores.

Your second-best bet is an authorized Apple specialty retailer (like The Computer Store in Oregon or FirstTech in Minneapolis.)