Refurbished iBook?

[ErinGoBragh]

I'm thinking about buying a refurbished iBook from the Apple site. It costs $100 less than the education price on a new one, plus I have a $30 coupon.

Two questions:

1. Has anyone ever bought a refurbished model? Are they really as good as new?

2. Does the Apple Online Store charge sales tax? I tried to go as far as I could in the checkout to find out, but when it got to the part where it wanted my credit card, I decided it might be better to ask here.

I figure if I can save $130 PLUS sales tax (I had planned to buy at my local Apple store), then I won't feel too terribly bad if the iBooks get updated in the next couple months....

Thanks, folks!

[mkrishnan]

2. Does the Apple Online Store charge sales tax? I tried to go as far as I could in the checkout to find out, but when it got to the part where it wanted my credit card, I decided it might be better to ask here.

Yes, they do. Sad, but true. :( Maybe not if you don't have an Apple Store in your state, but since you do....

[joecool85]

They have to charge tax, the gov't makes them pay taxes on everything they sell and they have to get the money from somewhere. They should however charge whatever your tax rate is in the state you are in. Ex. - here in maine its a 5% tax rate, so when I order stuff online I get charged 5% tax.

[mkrishnan]

(Sorry, this is a long OT. I've never bought a refurb from Apple, but I'm tempted to. If it's an iBook, Erin, make sure you've thought about whether or not you can live without bluetooth, assuming that it doesn't come with it, since most refurb'd iBooks don't.)

They have to charge tax, the gov't makes them pay taxes on everything they sell and they have to get the money from somewhere.

Did this finally get settled at a federal level? It used to be that stores were not officially required to collect taxes in states in which they did not have a physical presence, but that individuals in many states were required to report as use taxes (yeah, right, like that happened) tax owed on anything purchased across state lines.

Actually, I can't see how it could have gotten settled at a federal level...that would almost certainly violate states' rights, as they are currently interpreted.

[ErinGoBragh]

Is bluetooth something that can be installed later if I decide I want it, or no?

[mkrishnan]

Is bluetooth something that can be installed later if I decide I want it, or no?

No, not easily. That's why. You can get an adaptor that plugs into the USB port, but it will stick out the side of the computer. :(