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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,296
30,382



MacMall has announced their Black Friday sale which will runs from now until midnight P.T. on Friday, November 28th. Last year's MacMall sale delivered some of the largest discounts available online. This year, however, MacMall faces stiff competition from BestBuy who is offering a number of $100-$150 instant discounts on Macs. This compares favorably to MacMall which tends to combine both instant discounts and rebates.

As usual, it can be difficult to sort through the full list of discounts which confusingly intermix both old and current inventory.

This summary chart, however, lists the discounts on current Macs from both retailers with the "best" deal highlighted and product linked in bold.

Note: BestBuy Links removed since their sale is over

Click on prices to link directly to product​
For those willing to buy previous-generation Macs, discounts can be significant compared to their original retail prices (example, $1149 for original MacBook Air), but requires a bit more research to balance the cost saving vs. buying older technology.

Apple may offer some slight discounts on products for their own Black Friday sale, though historically these have only been up to $100 on a few select models.

* Combines instant + mail-in rebates.
MacMall and BestBuy are site affiliate partners and sales benefit MacRumors financially

Update: Amazon prices added.

Update 2: BestBuy's sale over.

Article Link: Black Friday Discounts on Macs Have Begun
 

eidrunner247

macrumors 6502
Jul 4, 2006
310
5
Good deals, but obviously not something worth waiting all night for. If you plan on getting something though, this is the time.
 

Unspeaked

macrumors 68020
Dec 29, 2003
2,448
1
West Coast
Good deals, but obviously not something worth waiting all night for. If you plan on getting something though, this is the time.

With all the doom and gloom coming from retailers this year, I wouldn't be surprised if they break with habit and actually do another significant discount on Apple products between Black Friday and Christmas...
 

ltldrummerboy

macrumors 68000
Oct 15, 2007
1,534
9
Thanks for the fantastic chart. Will you be expanding it as other retailers come up with better deals?
 

illidian

macrumors 6502
Mar 27, 2008
340
0
Cincinnati, OH
If you don't need a top of the line Mac, getting a refurbished unit is a much better idea! You can seriously save hundreds of dollars. I got a 24" iMac for $1300 instead of $1800. Awesome deal. Highly recommended. This is also an awesome way to get a cheap iPod Touch or previous gen Nano.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

Especially as there is an abnormally large selection of notebook computers available at this time.
 

schubes

macrumors regular
Jul 14, 2008
109
0
British Columbia
so can we expect the apple stores and the website to have similar discounts?

I figured so since all the talk about Apple pricematching retailers
 

bobbleheadbob

macrumors 6502a
Feb 6, 2007
653
0
Massachusetts
I could be totally off, but my perception is that MacMall's customer service is pretty poor. So if you have a problem with your purchase from there, good luck getting it resolved. I'd much rather buy direct from Apple, or from Amazon, or even BB.

I agree that refurb is a great option. Got a 20" iMac refurb from Apple a couple years ago and it worked out fine. :D
 

billystlyes

macrumors 6502a
Jul 5, 2004
569
6
Meh, Amazon runs comparable discounts and rebates everyday of the year on Macs. Plus, you don't pay sales tax in most cases.
 

dal20402

macrumors 6502
Apr 24, 2006
290
0
If anything at all goes wrong with your MacMall purchase, you're going to be twisting in the wind.

Be aware that your discount is actually a risk premium.
 

137489

Guest
Nov 6, 2007
840
0
I could be totally off, but my perception is that MacMall's customer service is pretty poor. So if you have a problem with your purchase from there, good luck getting it resolved. I'd much rather buy direct from Apple, or from Amazon, or even BB.

I agree that refurb is a great option. Got a 20" iMac refurb from Apple a couple years ago and it worked out fine. :D

I don't know. I bought my macbook (iWork, Quickverse, Aperature, Final Cut Express, modem, mini DVI->VGA, mini DVI->DVI, AppleCare, Memory upgrade, [think that is it]), from MacMall. they are an authorized reseller. I did not have any problems. The only thing is some of the stuff came in a separate shipment (was not charged extra - they automatically credited back the extra chipping price) - probably because one item they ran out of stock on. It came 2 days later.

I never had a problem with my system and Love it. the only bad thing is (and this is with most companies) - I heard getting your rebate can be 50/50 - but they were always there to ensure I followed the process correctly.

In all I spent a little over $2500 with them and while the price is a shock -was very happy and still am.

*Edit - my only complaint? Should've probably went with 4gb ram instead of 2, rendering videos in iMovie 6 HD (yes, using an oder version so as to have more control over the effects) takes a while - but then again I add a lot of effects, splice parts from other videos, etc.

Check out my youtube channel, and you will see what I mean.
 

Detlev_73

macrumors 6502
Jul 20, 2004
279
0
Roswell, GA
MacMall no sales tax!

You'd be crazy NOT to buy from MacMall:

1. No sales tax (unless in California)
2. Free shipping on orders over $99.

Best Buy:
1. Ooh, $1 more off the price MacMall carries, but...
2. you have to pay sales tax

MacMall is the place to do business with. And, please don't start with how it's your duty to pay sales tax. The government gets enough of my money as it is. Screw them.
 

jmcguckin

macrumors regular
Nov 26, 2008
121
0
Akron, OH
if I didn't already have all the Apple stuff I need for the next couple years, I'd still avoid buying anything Apple from anywhere other than an Apple Store (online/in-person)...

especially Best Buy- when I was still browsing around before I bought my iMac, the associate there told me that they couldn't honor my student discount and would instead be given a $100 Best Buy card- first issue. then I was told that they don't offer Apple Care and was instead referred to Best Buy's "it's much better than Apple Care" warranty (i.e. "we'll ship your device out, hopefully have an update on it within 2wks, then get it serviced, and have it back to you within 1mo" as opposed to Apple's "we fix it right in the store and have it back to you within 2days")- second issue. so I just walked out... I'll never buy anything else from that place.
 

Mindflux

macrumors 68000
Oct 20, 2007
1,987
1
Austin
You'd be crazy NOT to buy from MacMall:

1. No sales tax (unless in California)
2. Free shipping on orders over $99.

Best Buy:
1. Ooh, $1 more off the price MacMall carries, but...
2. you have to pay sales tax

MacMall is the place to do business with. And, please don't start with how it's your duty to pay sales tax. The government gets enough of my money as it is. Screw them.

For arguments sake, even when you buy online you are supposed to file a "USE TAX" around tax time. It's close to (if not the same in some states) as Sales Tax.

At any rate, yes, MacMall is great. I bought mine at Best Buy over a week ago and then got the other $150 (for the new promotion) refunded back to me since I was in their pricing guarantee period. I'm happy with it.
 

lexi73

macrumors newbie
Nov 26, 2008
2
0
so depending on the apple BF deals and if the price match rumor holds true we should be able to price match at apple to get these same prices in store correct?
 

Duke2

macrumors newbie
Sep 4, 2008
14
0
You'd be crazy NOT to buy from MacMall:

1. No sales tax (unless in California)
2. Free shipping on orders over $99.

Best Buy:
1. Ooh, $1 more off the price MacMall carries, but...
2. you have to pay sales tax

MacMall is the place to do business with. And, please don't start with how it's your duty to pay sales tax. The government gets enough of my money as it is. Screw them.

OK, what did I do wrong, I don't live in CA and went to put in a order @ MacMall and it showed charging me tax. I backed out of it but can anyone explain? TIA
 
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