Buying from PC World vs. Apple Store

[Xil3]

Here is my problem... I can buy from PC world tomorrow (since it's close to work) or wait till Saturday to buy from the Apple Store (cause it closes every other day before I get out of work).

My biggest concern is whether I can get the Leopard upgrade for cheap (5.95£ I think it was?) if I go through PC World to buy the laptop, or is that only if you go directly through the Apple store or buy online?

Anyone else buy their Mac through PC World? Pros & Cons?

[Queso]

Personally I would stay well clear of PC World. Wait for Saturday.

[OllyW]

Here is my problem... I can buy from PC world tomorrow (since it's close to work) or wait till Saturday to buy from the Apple Store (cause it closes every other day before I get out of work).

My biggest concern is whether I can get the Leopard upgrade for cheap (5.95£ I think it was?) if I go through PC World to buy the laptop, or is that only if you go directly through the Apple store or buy online?

Anyone else buy their Mac through PC World? Pros & Cons?

If you buy from the Apple Store on Saturday, you will get the Leopard disk included with the Mac.

Otherwise, if you get it from PC World, you will have to send off for the up to date upgrade from Apple. It costs £5.95 plus VAT.

[bartelby]

Do not go to PC World!!

[superleccy]

Be very very careful. At PC World (and other places but NOT the Apple Store) I've seen old, out-of-date models of Macs on sale being passed off as the latest models.

Personally I'd never buy anything from PC World or the rest of the DSG group.

SL

[Fuzzy14]

Yeah, but PC World are selling the MacBooks 2.16GHz £50 cheaper than the Apple Store. That'll offset the £6 Leopard fee.

[MacBoobsPro]

Do not go to PC World!!

Be very very careful. At PC World (and other places but NOT the Apple Store) I've seen old, out-of-date models of Macs on sale being passed off as the latest models.

Personally I'd never buy anything from PC World or the rest of the DSG group.

SL

Echoes my thoughts exactly!

iMac G5 Intel £799 :rolleyes:

[CortexRock]

PC World is to computer retailers as AOL is to the internet ;)

Don't touch them with a 10 foot pole!

[Xil3]

PC World is to computer retailers as AOL is to the internet ;)

Don't touch them with a 10 foot pole!

Yea, I know they are sketchy, but I guess I'm just really impatient and wanted the new laptop as soon as possible...

I'll just wait for the Apple store. :) :apple:

I was just in PC World today and they had really old price tags that displayed old hardware information, so that was really the main scare... never know if I'd get one of the latest models or just some old hunk of crap that they are claiming is the newest.

[Markleshark]

Do not go to PC World!!

Nothing more needs said.

[miniConvert]

Good on you for waiting, steer clear of DSG. It's sad really, PC World have a near monopoly on PC national retail in the UK, yet they make such a poor attempt at it. What a waste.

[OllyW]

Be very very careful. At PC World (and other places but NOT the Apple Store) I've seen old, out-of-date models of Macs on sale being passed off as the latest models.

Personally I'd never buy anything from PC World or the rest of the DSG group.

SL

Echoes my thoughts exactly!

iMac G5 Intel £799 :rolleyes:

It's true they haven't got a clue what they are selling.

You can use it for your benefit though, I got a 1.83GHz CD mini with SuperDrive for only £289 a month ago from my local PC World. I also bought my MacBook Pro off them for £799 last year.

[mavherzog]

Be very very careful. At PC World (and other places but NOT the Apple Store) I've seen old, out-of-date models of Macs on sale.
What do you mean? They have Mac minis, MacBooks, and Mac Pros at the Apple stores as well.

<rim shot>

;)

[OllyW]

What do you mean? They have Mac minis, MacBooks, and Mac Pros at the Apple stores as well.

<rim shot>

;)

That's a bit below the belt! :D

[ansalmo]

Yeah, but PC World are selling the MacBooks 2.16GHz £50 cheaper than the Apple Store. That'll offset the £6 Leopard fee.

If you buy from the Apple Store online, you can beat that price anyway - go through Quidco to get 4% rebate, and use the £23-off voucher at HotUKDeals (I can't get on the site right now, but I think it might be for first-time customers only). It should come with Leopard if you buy it towards the end of the week.

Then again, PC World have 2.5% Quidco rebate if you buy online from them :)

Or a sweet 8% at John Lewis, plus free 2 year guarantee......

[Edit] There's a £20-off-£100 voucher for John Lewis at HotUKDeals too, so with that and Quidco, you'll be saving 80-odd quid and you get the 2 years guarantee.

[tersono]

Don't buy from PC World whatever you do. Half the time their Apple hardware is old-spec, beaten up or just ex-demo. Even if you get something brand-new, correctly priced and perfect, their after-sales service is so lousy, it just ain't worth the hassle.

Buy from Apple online, an Apple store or one of the decent re-sellers (GH, Cancom, Jigsaw etc). John Lewis are fine, too

[millar876]

I was in the PC World in aberdeen a few weeks ago (to terrorise the staff because its fun) and noticed a sing offering $50 off M$ virtual PC when baught with a new iMac (shiney aluminium intel one) with the tag line "the only way to run windows programs on your mac!"

after throwing a small hairy fit to myself i found one of the plebs who works there and pointed the GLARING oversite that VPC wont even run on an intel mac, only works with power pc ect. and the official comeback was, the minimum system requirements said g3 or better and the intel one is better.

needless to say they took the sign down and didnt put it back up.

[eji]

PC World is staffed by cretins. I went looking for a FireWire hub and a sneering clerk at the Leeds branch told me with great authority that "No one uses FireWire anymore" because "USB 2 is better." No one, eh? Better, huh? I won't dispute USB's dominance, but FireWire has neither gone the way of the dodo, nor has its performance been upstaged by any iteration of USB.

Then I noticed the two battered iMacs in the window. "Out of curiosity," I asked, "where's your Apple section?" Because lifting his finger to point would have required too much effort, he motioned with his chin in the direction of the two battered iMacs and said with a contemptuous little laugh, "You're looking at it." Keep in mind that this jerk was the only staff member I could find who knew what a FireWire hub was.

I found a FireWire hub at a nearby Maplin. It's a shame PC World has such a monopoly on computer sales in the UK, but to me that seems to be just one indication of the direction the country's headed.

Anyway, to the OP: Go with the Apple Store. Also, to save a few bucks on the MacBook, consider buying refurbished (http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/ukstore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=AA9C1547&nclm=Certified) from the Apple Store online. My next Mac notebook purchase is definitely going to be refurb.

[cervaro]

Or if you're going through an airport in the UK owned by BAA, e.g. Gatwick, Stansted, Heathrow, etc., try Dixons Tax Free to save the VAT, e.g. base MacBook just under £600. I know their staff are basically the same numptys as in PC World being part of DSG Retail too, but the stock is obviously more up-to-date (even if it takes them a month or so to catch up on the latest models sometimes).

[bigandy]

You can use it for your benefit though, I got a 1.83GHz CD mini with SuperDrive for only £289 a month ago from my local PC World.

how in the heck did you manage that? i've never seen them sway on apple kit, because they know even less (somehow) about them than other stuff...

[Stuipdboy1000]

Just went into my local PC World. Saw the new iMacs finally (they had obviously just got them in the past few days as I was in last week and they still had the old ones). Anyway, I asked them if they would have Leopard in for Friday, the man didn't even know what I was talking about. I explained and he said they don't get OS's in for a while after they are released. I knew this was utter BS so I am just going to get it at the Apple Store. Do NOT go there. They suck. We must boycott them.

[Stuipdboy1000]

It's true they haven't got a clue what they are selling.


I know. I bought my MacBook from them (wish I hadn't now). The guy tried to sell me Anti-Virus software for it. I told him that Macs don't get viruses. He was really annoyed at me.:):apple:

[Fuzzy14]

I was in the PC World in aberdeen a few weeks ago (to terrorise the staff because its fun)

Ah! One of my favorite pastimes! Ask them where the Mac software section is, well they sell the computers you would think they would sell the games to go with them.


If you buy from the Apple Store online, you can beat that price anyway - go through Quidco to get 4% rebate...

Or a sweet 8% at John Lewis, plus free 2 year guarantee......


Never heard of Quidco (http://www.quidco.com/) but I think I'm now converted!
I would rather give the business to John Lewis anyway as they've been loyal to Apple, especially in Glasgow before they opened the Apple Store.

[ansalmo]

Never heard of Quidco (http://www.quidco.com/) but I think I'm now converted!

:) If you buy a lot of stuff online, you can make a pretty penny over the course of a few months through them. Particularly for things like house and car insurance.

[OllyW]

how in the heck did you manage that? i've never seen them sway on apple kit, because they know even less (somehow) about them than other stuff...

I haggled with the manager. They originally wanted £329 but obviously wanted to get rid of it so he dropped the price :cool:

[davidjearly]

It makes no difference really.

There are staff working in DSG who actually know what they are talking about, however, there are plenty that do not have a clue.

That only matters to you if:

1. You want to be friends with these people.
2. You want to make it your personal responsibility to make sure that each and every one of them gets properly trained.
3. You have no idea what you are looking for.

If you know what you want, and PC World have it, go buy it there. As for the warranty nonsense, PC World, like any other Apple Reseller in the UK, will honour the guarantee from the manufacturer if something goes wrong.

Besides, you don't have to use PC World if something goes wrong. You can take your Apple product to the Apple Store or call Apple tech support. The warranty is with Apple, not PC World (unless you purchase an after-sales support agreement).

David

P.S. Yes, you will still get the Leopard upgrade for £5.95 from Apple by purchasing from PC World as they are an Apple Authorised Reseller.

[és:]

I'll throw a quick question in here, instead of making my own thread but feel free to split it if you like, mods.

I've just got off the phone to Apple and I am getting a new 20'' 2.4GHz aluminium iMac to replace my 2.16 C2D white plastic iMac under the warranty (long story).

Now, I know I won't get Leopard installed and I also know that I won't get a leopard disk in the box, but will I have a coupon or anything? Something that lets me buy the disks for cheaper? If so, where is it redeemable?

Thanks in advance.