Black Friday 2008: $300 MacBook Pro Discounts, iPhone App Sales

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/11/27/black-friday-2008-300-macbook-pro-discounts-iphone-app-sales/)


http://images.macrumors.com/article/2008/11/28/034239-blackfriday.jpg
(http://store.apple.com/us/browse/campaigns/black_friday?mco=Mjg0MzQ0OQ)

Apple has officially unveiled (http://store.apple.com/us/browse/campaigns/black_friday?mco=Mjg0MzQ0OQ) their Black Friday sales for their online and retail stores. The discounts are very similar to last year's sales. The only two Mac models that have discounts are the iMac and MacBook with discounts of up to $101 for the mid-to-high-end models.

Meanwhile, iPods are seeing $11-$21 discounts and a number of accessories are also on sale. This also means that analysts were once again wrong (http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=3092) after predicting discounts up to 15% from Apple this year.

Those looking for more significant Mac discounts will have better luck at 3rd party retailers.

Other Mac Discounts

We've updated our sales chart (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/11/26/black-friday-discounts-on-macs/) to include deals from MacConnection which may be the best available deals for new Mac purchases. BestBuy's sale ended on Wednesday night and so are no longer available. Best prices are in bold and link to the product. Most involve both instant and mail in rebates.

http://images.macrumors.com/article/2008/11/28/040323-chart.jpg (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/11/27/black-friday-2008-300-macbook-pro-discounts-iphone-app-sales/)

MacConnection charges sales tax in AL, CT, GA, IL, MA, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX. MacMall is believed to charge sales tax in MN, CA, IL, TN, WI, and possibly NY. Amazon charges sales tax in KS, KY, NY, ND, and WA.

iPhone/iPod Touch App Store Sales

AppShopper.com (http://appshopper.com/) continuously tracks new apps and price drops in the App Store. Many apps have been discounted in the past few days in anticipation of the holiday. Some highlights from AppShopper's price change list (http://appshopper.com/prices) are summarized here:

- Ambrosia (Now $0.99): Mr. Sudoku (http://appshopper.com/games/mr-sudoku), Mondo Solitaire (http://appshopper.com/games/mondo-solitaire), Aki Mahjong (http://appshopper.com/games/aki-mahjong).
- Igloo Games (Now $0.99): Dizzy Bee (http://appshopper.com/games/dizzy-bee)
- Gameloft ($2 off): Diamond Twister (http://appshopper.com/games/diamond-twister), Brain Challenge (http://appshopper.com/games/brain-challenge), Backgammon Classics (http://appshopper.com/games/backgammon-classics), Block Breaker Deluxe 2 (http://appshopper.com/games/block-breaker-deluxe-2), Midnight Bowling (http://appshopper.com/games/midnight-bowling),
- EA ($2 off): SCRABBLE (http://appshopper.com/games/scrabble), Spore Origins (http://appshopper.com/games/yahtzee-adventures>YAHTZEE Adventures[/url], , [url="http://appshopper.com/games/enigmo).
- Free for Limited Time: 2079 (http://appshopper.com/utilities/fastdial>Fastdial, , [url="http://appshopper.com/productivity/taptodo>TapToDo, Other Retailers[/b]

Black Friday sales pages at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=ur2&camp=1789&tag=linkcode-20&creative=9325&path=http://www.amazon.com/Black-Friday-After-Thanksgiving-Sale/b/ref=nav_swm_preBlackFriday?ie=UTF8&node=384082011&pf_rd_p=464436531&pf_rd_s=nav-sitewide-msg&pf_rd_t=4201&pf_rd_i=navbar-4201&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0QMHESWHDPF0RWQZNG72), Circuit City (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=ur2&camp=1789&tag=linkcode-20&creative=9325&path=http://www.amazon.com/DVD-Sale/b/ref=amb_link_82704351_24?ie=UTF8&node=172778011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=left-1&pf_rd_r=058NNRZ3ENXTM69EJMW5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=464767231&pf_rd_i=384082011>Amazon DVDs, [url="http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/tplclick?lid=41000000027051983&pubid=21000000000032556), Best Buy (http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-462641-10483113).

Article Link: Black Friday 2008: $300 MacBook Pro Discounts, iPhone App Sales (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/11/27/black-friday-2008-300-macbook-pro-discounts-iphone-app-sales/)

[brop52]

Nice. So the low end new Alum MB is 100 off instead of 50. Even better than the ed discount.

[SFStateStudent]

Dang, no discounts on the 3G iPhone; my sister-in-law will have to settle for "full pop!"...:(

[orpheus1120]

Great! Only if Apple has a black friday sales in Malaysia/Singapore.

[CrackedButter]

Apple does realise there is a recession? Does $51 -$100 really make a difference for you guys in the US when purchasing an item which isn't a must have? Is it a deal breaker if you're thinking of making a purchase for xmas?

In the UK a £60 drop in price on a £900 laptop is not worth very much to me and I wouldn't think to others either, but correct me if I am wrong. I'm not in a dire need for a new machine but I'm just making the point.

[SFStateStudent]

Yeah, I wonder if the EDU discount will be included?

[fendol]

This

"analysts were once again wrong"

No one's perfect, it happens... again and again :)

Thanks for posting lil' bot friend :apple: http://seoagora.com/img/589/f08t1014tvaz/cool.gif http://seoagora.com/img/308/s08e1024rvou/champagne.gifhttp://seoagora.com/img/459/k08q1024glza/ecstatic.gif

[CrackedButter]

Yeah, I wonder if the EDU discount will be included?

Nope.

[synth3tik]

Those ipod discounts are a punch in the nuts.

Why Apple even bothers is beyond me. These "discounts" are insulting.

[SFStateStudent]

Nope.

Actually, it's cheaper via the Apple Store by $1 on the base model MB. :D

$949 = EDU discount

$948 = Everyone discount

[SFStateStudent]

Those ipod discounts are a punch in the nuts. Why Apple even bothers is beyond me. These "discounts" are insulting.

I hear ya' b/c I've kept an eye on the iPod Touch for a few months, and the biggest discount I've seen so far has been a $4 difference, up until this sale...

[Jim Campbell]

I have to say, the UK discounts are pretty insulting, actually.

A quick calculation on the ones showing on the front page of the UK Store range from 6.5% (iPod touch) to a mighty 4% (iMac 20").

I also note that they aren't implementing the 2.5% reduction in UK VAT until AFTER the sale Edit to add: which they are not obliged to do, since the rate cut does not come into force until Dec 1st. However, all the major UK electrical retailers are already advertising the rate cut. It makes not one penny of difference to Apple how much VAT they collect on the government's behalf but would have made an extra £17 discount on that same 20" iMac.

To be honest, I don't know why they bothered.

Cheers

Jim

[podiki]

imacs should have way bigger discounts. they're last year's technology. Just look at those graphics cards...

[synth3tik]

On Black Friday consumer goods go on sale. If Apple wants to sell the iMacs and the MacBooks as consumer products they should discount them a little more. Especially in the current economy. Yeah Apple has a surplus of money, but without big sales they'll loose that.

[macboy676]

Hi Guys,

I am thinking of buying the best deal available from third party retailer on the Macbook Pro that is by Mac Connection. Since this is the first time I have heard its name I have two questions:

1. Is the site reliable....has anyone used it before?

2. Will apple honor warranty on the Macbook Pro if I buy it from Mac Connection? Actually Mac connection does not have the authorized reseller tag.


Thanks.

[arn]

Hi Guys,

I am thinking of buying the best deal available from third party retailer on the Macbook Pro that is by Mac Connection. Since this is the first time I have heard its name I have two questions:

1. Is the site reliable....has anyone used it before?

2. Will apple honor warranty on the Macbook Pro if I buy it from Mac Connection? Actually Mac connection does not have the authorized reseller tag.


Thanks.

1. MacConnection/PCConnection has been around forever so I think they are trustworthy. Here's a recent thread that people had reasonable experiences with them.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=585337

2. They are an authorized Apple reseller. I see the tag on their apple section.

arn

[Kelmon]

I have to say, the UK discounts are pretty insulting, actually.

A quick calculation on the ones showing on the front page of the UK Store range from 6.5% (iPod touch) to a mighty 4% (iMac 20").

For some reason I was hopeful of a substantial discount to the Apple TV, which I am now in the market for, and the discount available was a pitiful 4%. Given this I'll be putting that purchase on hold until either the device is more compelling at the current price or it comes down to something sensible, particularly given that owning one means that I'd be using the iTunes Store more often. £270 for the device with a mere 160GB disk drive is simply too high for what it does, which isn't much.

[MagicWok]

The "sales" from Apple are pretty insulting. Save £31 on a £768 iMac? That's barely even 5% for God's sake. And they even don't have any offers on any of the MBP's lol.

From a MR member perspective, I think this is a massive missed opportunity. What with Apple and their massive cash reserves they keep harping on about, they could have instigated a massive price reduction to increase their computer market share by a good few %. What with governments asking us to spend our way out of trouble, which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard since that's what got us into trouble, a 20% or 30% reduction for a few days would have got the public into a frenzy. And we all know Apple have fairly nice markups on their machines, they could have afforded to scrape the barrel as they comfortably sit on their cash pile - and rake in the future revenue from a expanded user base which Jobs can get all giddy about in another Keynote perspective.

From a consumer perspective, a measly ~5% savings are nothing. I'd rather wait till VAT is slashed to 0% in this country, then I'll buy. 0% VAT may finally tempt me into a MBP with that awful mirror screen and slap a matte-cover on top.

I hate the word, but... FAIL

[MagicWok]

For some reason I was hopeful of a substantial discount to the Apple TV, which I am now in the market for, and the discount available was a pitiful 4%. Given this I'll be putting that purchase on hold until either the device is more compelling at the current price or it comes down to something sensible, particularly given that owning one means that I'd be using the iTunes Store more often. £270 for the device with a mere 160GB disk drive is simply too high for what it does, which isn't much.

If VAT is slashed, that will represent a much better savings than these "sales". MUCH better savings.

Assuming Apple don't raise their prices in a moment of greed to gobble up the difference for their own pockets... I wonder if they can resist. Trading Standards would be all over them if they did.

[synth3tik]

I can think of one thing Apple really should do and they don't have to discount that much more. I got the idea when working at a music store. People would get turned off when we would hype up a sale that ended up being only 5%. So I got with the manager and we decided to up it to 7%. However instead of telling people we had a 7% off sale, we said "Hey, we'll pay the sales tax".

Sales taxs
VAT
it would all work.

[aidym]

I have to say, the UK discounts are pretty insulting, actually.



I couldn’t agree more! Some of these discounts barely amount to the UK 2.5%vat reduction.
I know apple “don’t do cheap”, but you would think they would use this opportunity to make their product line available to a broader market. AFAIK this is the only sale apple have and only goes to show how ignorant they are to the current economic state.

[SFStateStudent]

"Hey, we'll pay the sales tax".Sales taxs VAT it would all work.

Well, those of us in California, USA, range from 8.25% - 8.75% Sales Tax and it's more likely to go up next year, thanks to the $29,000,000,000.00 deficit...:mad:

[SWLinPHX]

I can think of one thing Apple really should do and they don't have to discount that much more. I got the idea when working at a music store. People would get turned off when we would hype up a sale that ended up being only 5%. So I got with the manager and we decided to up it to 7%. However instead of telling people we had a 7% off sale, we said "Hey, we'll pay the sales tax".

Sales taxs
VAT
it would all work.

Sales taxes in most cities I've shopped have been 8% or more.

[SWLinPHX]

Hi Guys,

I am thinking of buying the best deal available from third party retailer on the Macbook Pro that is by Mac Connection. Since this is the first time I have heard its name I have two questions:

1. Is the site reliable....has anyone used it before?

2. Will apple honor warranty on the Macbook Pro if I buy it from Mac Connection? Actually Mac connection does not have the authorized reseller tag.


Thanks.


I've used MacConnection (PC Connection) and MacMall (PC Mall) both, and they are well-established authorized resellers. Choose with the best deal on the model you want, but remember to figure in which one charges sales tax in your state.

[iOrlando]

yeah i was wrong....i was expecting 200 off macbook not 100....

seems to be pretty good deals on accessories and software...granted they might have been really expensive to begin with...but percentage wise...its pretty good...

so $1199 for macbook that has 2G memory and new graphics card along with a few other cool features vs.. $1199 when the old macbook was out that only had 1G, poorer graphics card and white case... pretty good deal i say....

[ruinfx]

$21 off the ipod touch!!!!! this sale is out of control!!!!!

[arepadetrigo]

I'm sorry, but I'm not impressed with Apple's Black Friday Sale. Neither the scope nor the depth of it. They don't even offer a discount on the MacPro! And $101 off the MacBook. Not impressive. It is more and more obvious to me that Apple just doesn't get it. Other secondary vendors can sell for less that Apple? this just shows that Apple is gouging for all they can get.

I have no doubt most of their customer base is unfazed by Apple's attitude. I will probably get skewered by a few fanboys for my opinion. I haven't been too complimentary of Apple lately, but they just seem to be very non-customer friendly these days. Their computers have been overpriced for more than three years now and they seem absolutely unwilling to lower their prices.

Apple should be offering their 15" MacBook Pro for $1700 or less during this sale. But they don't even cut the price one cent. They have a monopoly right now because of their great OS. Their machines are also top-notch. But other vendors can make similar quality machines (I am not saying Apple's equal though) for much much less. This will be over one day for Apple. It's a shame to me that Apple refuses to budge one bit just because they don't have to. There is more to good business than simply charging the highest price you can force people to pay. There is also a matter of goodwill among your customers. Apple has a lot of very loyal customers because they make the best computers available. But these customers are limited in number.

I am just disappointed that Apple seems so unappreciative of their customers. Go ahead and rake me over the coals fanboys.

[Pokerface]

The UK discounts are a real laugh. I'm actually insulted by this. Apple's big "one day sale" and they offer a pittance off.

I just ordered £7,000 worth of new equipment and software - from a different supplier (rather than directly from Apple) - and even they managed to give me £550 off the retail price! And the discounts were on top of the range stuff (MacBook Pro, 3.06GHz iMac, LED display, etc - not just the low end stuff.

[MatLane]

The UK discounts are a real laugh. I'm actually insulted by this. Apple's big "one day sale" and they offer a pittance off.

I just ordered £7,000 worth of new equipment and software - from a different supplier (rather than directly from Apple) - and even they managed to give me £550 off the retail price! And the discounts were on top of the range stuff (MacBook Pro, 3.06GHz iMac, LED display, etc - not just the low end stuff.

Im in England in the UK

Do you know where they are giving discounts on macbook pro?

[Uffffda]

Apple Store will price match MacConnection's price for MBP, right?

[vermonter16]

The federal government discount in the U.S. is also allowing me to include the sale. It's still not fabulous but here is some of the pricing for those Federal Government workers:

Ipod classics - $213.00
Ipod Nanos - $129.00
Ipod Touch - $194.00
Imacs w/20" screen - $1076
Imacs w/24" screen - $1590
Macbooks - $939
Macbook Airs - $1691
Macbook Pros - $1839.00

I guess I'll be order my imac today because that's the best pricing I've seen for it....and a nano for my husband...and a classic for me...

Hey - does anyone know if I can go to the store to get the Fed Gov. discount or do I have to buy it online... If I could do it in the store I would buy the upgraded 24" Imac so I could walk out with it.... Thinking about upgrading to the larger hard drive, video card.... What would you guys do - I'm buying it this morning even if I have to do it online!!!

[joeyroo]

The 101 is off the EPP pricing for me. I work for a company that gets a discount from apple, and the macbook aluminum is normally 1221 for us, and its now 1120. I am hoping as a previous person said that I can get the price in store, and not just the web.

[Pokerface]

Im in England in the UK

Do you know where they are giving discounts on macbook pro?


Try jigsaw24.com - not massive discounts, but still cheaper than Apple directly. Depends on the make/model.

[Jim Campbell]

I couldn’t agree more! Some of these discounts barely amount to the UK 2.5%vat reduction.
I know apple “don’t do cheap”, but you would think they would use this opportunity to make their product line available to a broader market. AFAIK this is the only sale apple have and only goes to show how ignorant they are to the current economic state.

Or, if you look at it another way: the price of that £799 iMac is going to come down by £17 on Monday anyway with the VAT reduction, so you're actually only saving £14 by buying it now - a discount of 1.8% on the price you'll pay on Monday regardless!

Cheers

Jim

[Jim Campbell]

Try jigsaw24.com - not massive discounts, but still cheaper than Apple directly. Depends on the make/model.

Unfortunately, I can't buy from them on principle! I've tried to order from them before and they always want to charge me carriage. Trouble is, their premises are about five minutes walk from my house, and I'll be damned if I'm going to pay £15+ for a courier to bring my goods 150 yards round the corner ...!

Cheers

Jim

[KindredMAC]

This has to be the worst one yet.

Why is iLife or iWork not on sale???? The replacements are coming out at MWSF09 most likely.

Seems to be things that people wouldn't ask for or need per say.

For me I'll just move along to the next vendor and hope for next year...... again.....

[firegun9]

I am in NC, and I am charged tax by MacMall.
Interestingly, they charge more tax than MacConnection and Apple Store.
For the high end Macbook, it's $148 instead of $101.

[remmy]

Seems a bit pointless really the sale in the UK. £5 off a ipod nano isn't going to make you rush out and say I must have one. :confused:

[vermonter16]

So I just called one Apple store that opened at 8am and they said that I could not "double dip" with the sale - that it was either the Federal Employee discount or the sale... I told him that I could "double dip" online and he said that I would have to order it online then... that sucks! Has anybody else called an Apple store yet and heard anything different...I know it's early but post if you have! Thanks.

[jemonat]

Hi,

Does anyone know what Apple's online store actually charges for sales tax? Does it charge sales tax for the state you live in? I'm at the checkout stage for a $1120 13" 2.0GHz MacBook (Federal Employee + Black Friday discount) and it says:

Estimated tax: $56
NOTE: The sales tax listed on the checkout page is only an estimate. The final total sales tax will be reflected on your invoice and will include state and local sales taxes, as well as any applicable rebates or fees.

Thanks!

[mccldwll]

Apple should be offering their 15" MacBook Pro for $1700 or less during this sale. But they don't even cut the price one cent. ....... It's a shame to me that Apple refuses to budge one bit just because they don't have to. There is more to good business than simply charging the highest price you can force people to pay. There is also a matter of goodwill among your customers. Apple has a lot of very loyal customers because they make the best computers available. But these customers are limited in number.

I am just disappointed that Apple seems so unappreciative of their customers. Go ahead and rake me over the coals fanboys.


Okay. Since you asked. It's amazing that aapl has been able to stay in business this long and actually do fairly well without your (and others here) guidance. But I do hope such myopia isn't too contagious. Aapl charges what the product is worth, and the market validates that. As far as being "unappreciative of their [sic] customers", it shows far less appreciation for customers (and dumb business planning) to have a big sale. That doesn't reward customers, it burns customers who buy year round.

[SWLinPHX]

I am in NC, and I am charged tax by MacMall.
Interestingly, they charge more tax than MacConnection and Apple Store.
For the high end Macbook, it's $148 instead of $101.

If a company does physical business in your state, they are supposed to charge the sales tax for the city you're in I believe. But that big a difference (or a difference on the same order elsewhere) is a mistake. Do the math with your sales tax rate and decide what it should be. You should be able to at least ask any sales rep about.

I never pay sales tax (or buy at retail stores) on big ticket items if I can get them for the same price or less online, without tax. 8.3% off my $3000+ order is nothing to sneeze at!

[JoeDRC]

The UK discounts are a real laugh. I'm actually insulted by this. Apple's big "one day sale" and they offer a pittance off.

I just ordered £7,000 worth of new equipment and software - from a different supplier (rather than directly from Apple) - and even they managed to give me £550 off the retail price! And the discounts were on top of the range stuff (MacBook Pro, 3.06GHz iMac, LED display, etc - not just the low end stuff.

+1
£5 off an iPod Nano, absolutely shocking

Curry's Digital are selling the 8GB Model for £94

The Airport Extreme Base station isn't even in the sale!
Apple have really dropped the ball with their "big" sale

[minik]

No MobileMe discount? That's strange.

I am eligable to get education discout and planned to get the 2.53Ghz MBP, but it's in a weird situation for me. MacConnection is taxfree in WA, but mail-in rebate just doesn't work for me.

In less than 2 months, we have MacWorld S.F.

[Jim Campbell]

Okay. Since you asked. It's amazing that aapl has been able to stay in business this long and actually do fairly well without your (and others here) guidance. But I do hope such myopia isn't too contagious. Aapl charges what the product is worth, and the market validates that. As far as being "unappreciative of their [sic] customers", it shows far less appreciation for customers (and dumb business planning) to have a big sale. That doesn't reward customers, it burns customers who buy year round.

I think you'll find that the sentiment being expressed is broadly one that we would rather Apple didn't even pretend to have a sale, rather than sending us all e-mails announcing a "one day only" sale that turns out to amount to an effective 1.8% discount on a 20" iMac.

That's certainly how I feel, anyway ...

Cheers

Jim

[nyctravis]

lol, these discounts are almost rude.

[devjohnson]

haha. typo on the ipod touch one. they put 8gb instead of 32 gb!!!!! hehehehehehe!

[iCube]

$378 is a great deal for a normally $220 8GB iPod touch!!!!

[CalmEnvy]

I'm going to see if my Mom can go to the Apple Store to pick a MacBook up for me and I just pay her back. She lives pretty close to Yorkdale now and it's $101 in Canada to so a pretty damn good deal.

[BRLawyer]

Just bought 3 software programs on the Apple Store Suisse, 2 of them with reasonably good reductions (15 off CoD 4 and 15 off MacGenealogyTree)...there were also reductions on most Macs, but since I am happy with my iMac I have little else to buy (apart from an external HD for backup purposes)..!

[roland.g]

For those upset that Apple isn't giving more significant discounts, realize that Apple has probably done more than enough research to see that historically having some discounts is enough for them to get increased business on a traditionally busy shopping day and that they don't have to compete with the 3rd party retailers and etailers in order to maintain that level of foot traffic in their stores.

[koala]

I never pay sales tax (or buy at retail stores) on big ticket items if I can get them for the same price or less online, without tax. 8.3% off my $3000+ order is nothing to sneeze at!

You do know this is tax fraud, right? Unless I'm mistaken, every state that has a sales tax requires you to pay these taxes at the end of the year on your return if you didn't pay at the time of purchase.

Just sayin'. Do what you want to screw your fellow citizens, I suppose, but I wouldn't go around bragging about committing a crime.

[vermonter16]

Oh my gosh - you are right! I forgot all about that. On the Turbo it always asks me about items I bought that I now have to pay sales tax on.

[EpsilonExordium]

2 Fridays ago I bought a new 2.53ghz Macbook pro w/ my EPP discount @ the Apple store ($2299).

Is there any way to get some store credit today due to the price drop? How would I go about doing this?

[roland.g]

2 Fridays ago I bought a new 2.53ghz Macbook pro w/ my EPP discount @ the Apple store ($2299).

Is there any way to get some store credit today due to the price drop? How would I go about doing this?

what price drop?

[SWLinPHX]

You do know this is tax fraud, right? Unless I'm mistaken, every state that has a sales tax requires you to pay these taxes at the end of the year on your return if you didn't pay at the time of purchase.

Just sayin'. Do what you want to screw your fellow citizens, I suppose, but I wouldn't go around bragging about committing a crime.

Wow, you really are a newbie! Are you new to shopping online too?!? LOL, committing a crime? Sssshhh, don't let the retailers find out that they're not supposed to charge tax if they don't do business in your state. I thought everyone knew that by now, or at least those who shop online. It's been that way for many years.

And what "sales tax" are you required to pay at the end of the year??? Do you know the difference between sales tax & income tax? Damn.

[koala]

Wow, you really are a newbie! Are you new to shopping online too?!? LOL, committing a crime? Sssshhh, don't let the retailers find out that they're not supposed to charge tax if they don't do business in your state. I thought everyone knew that by now, or at least those who shop online. It's been that way for many years.

And what "sales tax" are you required to pay at the end of the year??? Do you know the difference between sales tax & income tax? Damn.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_tax

[vermonter16]

I hate to say it but Koala is right. If you use Turbo Tax it will ask you if you've purchased anything online that you did not pay sales tax on. If you say yes, you have to put in all the information and then pay the sales tax in your state. But I don't want to get into any arguments. Trust me - I got audited by the IRS once and it wasn't pretty - thankfully this was before I started buying anything online because somehow, someway, those Nazi's would have figured it out...they probably keep master logs of it all anyway.

[SWLinPHX]

2 Fridays ago I bought a new 2.53ghz Macbook pro w/ my EPP discount @ the Apple store ($2299).

Is there any way to get some store credit today due to the price drop? How would I go about doing this?

Yeah, I posted the same thing earlier, but I purchased from MacMall and it's now $150 cheaper. Just bought it this month. What kind of discount did you get? Is EPP education? That is the machine I bought and it lists for $2499, and I got it for $2394 after rebate, and now it's $2249, for everyone at MacMall!

[EpsilonExordium]

what price drop?

Well, the price has dropped everywhere else, and they pricematch right?

Yeah, I posted the same thing earlier, but I purchased from MacMall and it's now $150 cheaper. Just bought it this month. What kind of discount did you get? Is EPP education? That is the machine I bought and it lists for $2499, and I got it for $2394 after rebate, and not it's $2249, for everyone at MacMall!

EPP = Corporate Discount through your place of employment

[vermonter16]

Ok - I've been waiting all morning to place my order for my new imac.... I'm doing it now....don't know why I'm so nervous about it...I guess because it's going to be completely different to what I have now...

[SWLinPHX]

I hate to say it but Koala is right. If you use Turbo Tax it will ask you if you've purchased anything online that you did not pay sales tax on. If you say yes, you have to put in all the information and then pay the sales tax in your state. But I don't want to get into any arguments. Trust me - I got audited by the IRS once and it wasn't pretty - thankfully this was before I started buying anything online because somehow, someway, those Nazi's would have figured it out...they probably keep master logs of it all anyway.

OMG, who sits there and lists everything they bought all year on their tax returns? I guess you guys would also go the bank and give the teller a $100 bill if you happen to find one on the street somewhere too.

This could go on and on, but I was talking about normal practice. Where have you been in all the forums and discussions (including these) online for many years now where people constantly talk about which is the best deal without tax? You are either brand new or spend hours/day policing the shopping tips forums calling so many people criminals. I guess half of America is going to jail too!

[uricmu]

BTW, for those interested in a touch,
Amazon is selling the 16GB first gen today (black friday) as a deadl of the day for 200, and the 2nd gen for 270$

[mynameisraj]

Hahaha…

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/campaigns/black_friday

check out the iPod Touch 8GB… apple needs to fix that

like someone else said, it's normally $220, but today, you can get it for a great price of $378! OMG

[vermonter16]

OMG, who sits there and lists everything the bought all year on their tax returns? I guess you guys go the bank and give the teller a $100 bill if you happen to find one on the street somewhere too.

This could go on and on, but I was talking about normal practice. Where have you been in all the forums and discussions (including these) online for many years now where people constantly talk about which is the best deal without tax? I guess half of America is going to jail too!

Haha - I didn't say that I actually listed it now did I ;) ? Just that Koala had a point that one is supposed to. I agree - I'm sure we would all be in jail by now but then the IRS would no longer get any revenue...they have to let some of us out to pay taxes :)

[koala]

This could go on and on, but I was talking about normal practice. Where have you been in all the forums and discussions (including these) online for many years now where people constantly talk about which is the best deal without tax? I guess half of America is going to jail too!

http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-common-practice.html

[roland.g]

Well, the price has dropped everywhere else, and they pricematch right?

EPP = Corporate Discount through your place of employment

EPP at Apple is Employee Purchase Program and is almost always a little bit more than even these 3rd party retailers discounts, not to mention you wouldn't get the EPP discount off of the sale price, but it would still be better than the sale price. Assuming you didn't config your system, and it was stock model, what you paid was not Apple EPP, but a Corporate discount through your place of employment and Apple.

Yeah, I posted the same thing earlier, but I purchased from MacMall and it's now $150 cheaper. Just bought it this month. What kind of discount did you get? Is EPP education? That is the machine I bought and it lists for $2499, and I got it for $2394 after rebate, and not it's $2249, for everyone at MacMall!

I bought my MacBook over 2 weeks ago and have been enjoying it and using it since then. Would it have been nice to save a little $$, sure. But I didn't wait. Neither did you.

[BigHat]

I hate to say it but Koala is right. If you use Turbo Tax it will ask you if you've purchased anything online that you did not pay sales tax on. If you say yes, you have to put in all the information and then pay the sales tax in your state. But I don't want to get into any arguments. Trust me - I got audited by the IRS once and it wasn't pretty - thankfully this was before I started buying anything online because somehow, someway, those Nazi's would have figured it out...they probably keep master logs of it all anyway.

And why would the IRS give a crap about local/state "use tax"?

I'm a single guy making about $320,000 in W-2 and 1099 accounted for income. I am getting SCREWED beyond belief at the Federal and state level. No way am I going to track internet purchases so I can send them more when the 40% of this country pays zero INCOME taxes.

[ChristopherJ]

I've seen some posts about education discounts not combining with today's sale, but it appears the EPP (corporate employee purchase program) discount does stack for an additional few %.

Now the great debate - whether to pick up a dually discounted MB today, or get a previous gen 2.5Ghz MBP off clearance/refurb a roughly similar price?

[The Monkey]

Are these discounts or rounding errors?

Stupid tone deaf Apple.

[vermonter16]

And why would the IRS give a crap about local/state "use tax"?

I'm a single guy making about $320,000 in W-2 and 1099 accounted for income. I am getting SCREWED beyond belief at the Federal and state level. No way am I going to track internet purchases so I can send them more when the 40% of this country pays zero INCOME taxes.

Believe me....my husband and I get royally screwed on taxes too. We don't even make half of what you do but we still pay 30% of it to taxes and we don't make enough to make huge donations to places to get a break. It took 8 months to get an audit resolved because of the IRS's mistake....and they included the state as well. It was not fun at all!

[BigHat]

Not even worth the bother. Most of the good products not offered at any discount.

I was thinking of upgrading one of my AL Powerbooks to a MacBook Pro. After looking at these prices I think we'll stick to my initial plan to buy in Jan after I see what happens with the economy.

I bet Apple is in for a big disappointment in online BF sales. Not going to impulse buy today.

[cameronjpu]

On Black Friday consumer goods go on sale. If Apple wants to sell the iMacs and the MacBooks as consumer products they should discount them a little more. Especially in the current economy. Yeah Apple has a surplus of money, but without big sales they'll loose that.

Keep on thinking that.... I'm sure Apple with post a HUGE loss this quarter because they didn't cut prices to your liking...

[robanga]

You do know this is tax fraud, right? Unless I'm mistaken, every state that has a sales tax requires you to pay these taxes at the end of the year on your return if you didn't pay at the time of purchase.

Just sayin'. Do what you want to screw your fellow citizens, I suppose, but I wouldn't go around bragging about committing a crime.

Nope. Not every state requires this and indeed, there are two states including my own that have no sales tax.

[The Monkey]

Keep on thinking that.... I'm sure Apple with post a HUGE loss this quarter because they didn't cut prices to your liking...

But it is worth noting for the legions that believe Apple is some sort of benevolent entity out there doing work for the good of man. It's not. Apple is a corporation just like any other. It just happens to make good products.

[BigHat]

Keep on thinking that.... I'm sure Apple with post a HUGE loss this quarter because they didn't cut prices to your liking...

I'm a BIG Apple product fan but their products are not demand inelastic.

They're not stupid of course and know about the market, but I have to think they missed a chance to spark a bit of impulse buying today. They have great margins on their products, I think a nice bump in sales at 5% less in profit wouldn't have killed them.

By the way, I bet 3rd/4th quarter sales will greatly trail 2007 numbers and they couldn't discount their products enough to stop that.

[cameronjpu]

Wow, you really are a newbie! Are you new to shopping online too?!? LOL, committing a crime? Sssshhh, don't let the retailers find out that they're not supposed to charge tax if they don't do business in your state. I thought everyone knew that by now, or at least those who shop online. It's been that way for many years.

And what "sales tax" are you required to pay at the end of the year??? Do you know the difference between sales tax & income tax? Damn.

Your post would be funny if it wasn't 100% incorrect.... Well... maybe that does make it a little funny...

[akadmon]

I checked the EPP store, and the BF discounts stack on top of regular EPP discounts. For example, 32GB iTouch is $354.

[cameronjpu]

But it is worth noting for the legions that believe Apple is some sort of benevolent entity out there doing work for the good of man. It's not. Apple is a corporation just like any other. It just happens to make good products.

What dummy believed that about Apple? Is anyone here that stupid? Most of the posts I see here illustrate the same greed that they blame Apple with.

[SWLinPHX]

http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-common-practice.html

Nice link, very sanctimonious of you. ....koala, isn't there a church you can go to today if you are new to the forum yet are here hell-bent on preaching to grown people? Is this the "holier-than-though, self-righteous forum for prospective sainthood"?

Geez... There is a BIG difference between stealing & dishonest practice, and going overboard to the point where you're unrealistically doing everything you can to make sure you or no one else gets any breaks or advantages financially. Why even look for sales, just pay full retail and feel good you are helping the economy then as a good samaritan. People are merely talking about which vendors legally don't charge tax in their state. If your moral fiber cannot stomach that why do you post or read here?

[Yaya Yaya]

I'm sorry, but I'm not impressed with Apple's Black Friday Sale. Neither the scope nor the depth of it. They don't even offer a discount on the MacPro! And $101 off the MacBook. Not impressive. It is more and more obvious to me that Apple just doesn't get it. Other secondary vendors can sell for less that Apple? this just shows that Apple is gouging for all they can get.

I have no doubt most of their customer base is unfazed by Apple's attitude. I will probably get skewered by a few fanboys for my opinion. I haven't been too complimentary of Apple lately, but they just seem to be very non-customer friendly these days. Their computers have been overpriced for more than three years now and they seem absolutely unwilling to lower their prices.

Apple should be offering their 15" MacBook Pro for $1700 or less during this sale. But they don't even cut the price one cent. They have a monopoly right now because of their great OS. Their machines are also top-notch. But other vendors can make similar quality machines (I am not saying Apple's equal though) for much much less. This will be over one day for Apple. It's a shame to me that Apple refuses to budge one bit just because they don't have to. There is more to good business than simply charging the highest price you can force people to pay. There is also a matter of goodwill among your customers. Apple has a lot of very loyal customers because they make the best computers available. But these customers are limited in number.

I am just disappointed that Apple seems so unappreciative of their customers. Go ahead and rake me over the coals fanboys.Go look up the definition of monopoly in the dictionary.

[arepadetrigo]

Okay. Since you asked. It's amazing that aapl has been able to stay in business this long and actually do fairly well without your (and others here) guidance. But I do hope such myopia isn't too contagious. Aapl charges what the product is worth, and the market validates that. As far as being "unappreciative of their [sic] customers", it shows far less appreciation for customers (and dumb business planning) to have a big sale. That doesn't reward customers, it burns customers who buy year round.

Thank you sir, may I have another?! :o

[dwsolberg]

I just looked at the Mac Connection rebate, and the terms of the rebate state that full manufacturer's price must be paid for the rebate to qualify, yet all the Apple products are discounted. This requirement is printed in red.

I have no idea whether they will actually send a rebate anyway, but rebates in general make me nervous, and ones will written terms that automatically deny the rebate make me even more nervous.

[BRLawyer]

Keep on thinking that.... I'm sure Apple with post a HUGE loss this quarter because they didn't cut prices to your liking...

"Indeed"...Apple is probably the ONLY IT company in the world today with very positive results, despite the financial bottomless pit that people like Alan Greenspan and Ben Shalom Bernanke put the US in right now.

[sishaw]

Apple does realise there is a recession? Does $51 -$100 really make a difference for you guys in the US when purchasing an item which isn't a must have? Is it a deal breaker if you're thinking of making a purchase for xmas?


I agree. The discounts at the Apple store are not significant, especially on the basic iMac. It will be interesting to see how Apple does this holiday season.

[Yaya Yaya]

I agree. The discounts at the Apple store are not significant, especially on the basic iMac. It will be interesting to see how Apple does this holiday season.

They will do just fine. I know many are waiting for them to post some bad results so that they can say I told you so and how Apple are a bunch of arrogant pricks.

[pimentoLoaf]

I BF'ed Apple for a clear acrylic case (via Belkin) for me iPod Touch 2g.

Now I can have a fingerprint-free backside for a change. :cool:

[The Monkey]

They will do just fine.


And on what economic indicator are you basing this assumption?

[cameronjpu]

I agree. The discounts at the Apple store are not significant, especially on the basic iMac. It will be interesting to see how Apple does this holiday season.

And when they do better than everyone else selling computers does, should we expect to see all the whiners back here admitting they were wrong?

[cameronjpu]

Go look up the definition of monopoly in the dictionary.

Yeah, and let us know if the definition includes the phrase "niche player" or "less than 10% market share".

[pimentoLoaf]

Sales taxes in most cities I've shopped have been 8% or more.

Come to Milwaukee, WI, which only has a 5.6% county tax. :)

[grinnelljd]

OMG, who sits there and lists everything they bought all year on their tax returns? I guess you guys would also go the bank and give the teller a $100 bill if you happen to find one on the street somewhere too.

This could go on and on, but I was talking about normal practice. Where have you been in all the forums and discussions (including these) online for many years now where people constantly talk about which is the best deal without tax? You are either brand new or spend hours/day policing the shopping tips forums calling so many people criminals. I guess half of America is going to jail too!

Well, since you did ask...I am one of those people that lists all the items I bought online on my tax return if I wasn't charged sales tax by the vendor at the time of purchase. I simply print each invoice to a pdf and save it in a folder for that year. Do I like doing this? No, I do not. However, use tax is the law of the land here in Massachusetts and in many other locations as well.

I am not ignorant to the fact that many people do not pay this use tax, including some dear friends and family, but I am not going to use that as justification for breaking the law myself.

[cameronjpu]

And on what economic indicator are you basing this assumption?

That's just the thing - how one company does is not dictated by ANY economic indicator. That's why everyone seems to be so crazy pessimistic these days - you hear about all the economic indicators which are *so* bad, and you think the whole world must have stopped all work. But the fact is, the economy is currently in a slight recession (which will almost certainly get worse) which is resulting in economic activity contracting less than 1%. Yes, that's right, 99% of all economic activity is still going on as planned.

Apple will do just fine because they have a good product that the world wants to buy, at nearly any price. The VAST majority of the USA still has the same buying power that they did 6 months ago, and an even greater percentage of the market segment that Apple targets is doing just dandy. Our stock portfolios are down but those of us who have lived more than 7 years understand that stock portfolios go up and they go down, but over the long run they go reliably higher.

So stop panicking and actually go take a look at an Apple store and tell us all how they are doing. I can tell you the Apple store in Clarendon VA is busy as all get out this morning, how's that for an "economic indicator"?

[mr.steevo]

Hi,

My iBook seems snappier.

s.

[Solemony]

Hmmm..I'm not surprise about the sale price for black friday. It'd be decades until Apple decide to lower the price up to 15% or maybe never.....

[justind01]

I placed an order earlier this morning for a 2.5Ghz MBP from MacConnection. I've purchased a MacBook from MacMall and a first gen MBP from Amazon in the past.

MacConnection called me to confirm my order, and then proceeded to grill me about my employer, my work phone number, and my work email address. I initially was willing to confirm some information, but then stopped when I realized that they were expecting me to call or email them from my office to confirm my order. Apparently, this is part of their security process when the person placing the order uses a cell phone as a primary contact number. Like a lot of people, I don't have a landline anymore. When I refused, citing the fact that I was out of the office, and that on principle I wasn't going to involve my company information in this transaction, they said they'd have to "research and call me back." Apparently verifying billing/shipping address with the credit card company is not enough for them.

So, just a warning to folks out there who are purchasing from MacConnection and who only have a cellular phone, you may get less of a smooth transaction than you bargained for. I'm not sure it was worth the $50 savings from MacMall now.

Update:
MacConnection just called back after calling my employer. Although I gave them the name, I am very unhappy that they went to these lengths to verify who I am. I was asked to provide a specific piece of information from the voicemail, which I begrudgingly did. I should have canceled my order, but the cheap bastard in me winced when thinking of that $50. I guess I sold my privacy for that $50.

[bobertoq]

Apple does realise there is a recession? Does $51 -$100 really make a difference for you guys in the US when purchasing an item which isn't a must have? Is it a deal breaker if you're thinking of making a purchase for xmas?

In the UK a £60 drop in price on a £900 laptop is not worth very much to me and I wouldn't think to others either, but correct me if I am wrong. I'm not in a dire need for a new machine but I'm just making the point.Recession? What? A $100 is a huge difference to me, anyway, weather there is a recession or not.

[pimentoLoaf]

Hi,

Does anyone know what Apple's online store actually charges for sales tax? Does it charge sales tax for the state you live in? I'm at the checkout stage for a $1120 13" 2.0GHz MacBook (Federal Employee + Black Friday discount) and it says:

Estimated tax: $56
NOTE: The sales tax listed on the checkout page is only an estimate. The final total sales tax will be reflected on your invoice and will include state and local sales taxes, as well as any applicable rebates or fees.

Thanks!

YOUR state tax, not someone else's. They have a huge set of calculators to figure where you live. (Something to do with zip codes ...)

[The Monkey]

That's just the thing - how one company does is not dictated by ANY economic indicator. That's why everyone seems to be so crazy pessimistic these days - you hear about all the economic indicators which are *so* bad, and you think the whole world must have stopped all work. But the fact is, the economy is currently in a slight recession (which will almost certainly get worse) which is resulting in economic activity contracting less than 1%. Yes, that's right, 99% of all economic activity is still going on as planned.

Apple will do just fine because they have a good product that the world wants to buy, at nearly any price. The VAST majority of the USA still has the same buying power that they did 6 months ago, and an even greater percentage of the market segment that Apple targets is doing just dandy. Our stock portfolios are down but those of us who have lived more than 7 years understand that stock portfolios go up and they go down, but over the long run they go reliably higher.

So stop panicking and actually go take a look at an Apple store and tell us all how they are doing. I can tell you the Apple store in Clarendon VA is busy as all get out this morning, how's that for an "economic indicator"?

Wow, this is one of the most simplistic and myopic analyses of the current economic environment that I have seen in some time. A good example of why we will continue to be mired in this disaster for some time to come.

In your more than seven years on this earth, please tell me the last time you saw an environment such as this? Unless you are around 90 years old the answer is never.

As for your indicator, anecdotal reports of crowds in a store are not something I would take any comfort in whatsoever.

[abijnk]

Arn,

You might also want to note that if you have access to the EPP program through your employer your discounts count on top of the black friday discount in the online store. It's a pretty negligible difference for a lot of companies, but it is there nonetheless.

[pimentoLoaf]

... Apparently verifying billing/shipping address with the credit card company is not enough for them. ...

Imagine your cell is stolen. What kind of personal junk do you have on that thing? The thieves order a Mac, get asked a bunch of questions, something doesn't check out and voila! No sale.

No landline? Get used to the grilling.

[cameronjpu]

In your more than seven years on this earth, please tell me the last time you saw an environment such as this? Unless you are around 90 years old the answer is never.

It's funny - they come out and say that every time a recession rolls around. People never seem to learn. Amazing. That's why the rich get richer - they have the long view to see that the pain is temporary and use times like these to buy when everyone else is running around like their hair is on fire.

[MacTosh321]

This green/white image is made up of a bunch of mac products, but there's one I don't recognize: Center column, near the top third one down, below the new nano and touch. Looks a bit like the first generation shuffle - but isn't.

Any ideas?

[vermonter16]

I finally did it! I ordered the 24" imac with the upgraded video card and wireless keyboard (I'll upgrade the mouse and memory later). I also went ahead and bought Applecare for $149 and one ipod nano and one ipod classic. With the Federal Government pricing and Black Friday Deal the total with taxes of $100 something came to: $2411.85. It would have been around $2,000 probably if I hadn't tacked on the ipods...but what the heck, I was already spending a fortune. Better cash in some more leave time I guess!

[dornoforpyros]

This green/white image is made up of a bunch of mac products, but there's one I don't recognize: Center column, near the top third one down, below the new nano and touch. Looks a bit like the first generation shuffle - but isn't.

Any ideas?

Probably either the iPhone's bluetooth earpiece or the apple remote.

[MacTosh321]

Probably either the iPhone's bluetooth earpiece or the apple remote.

Yep, looks like the iPhone's bluetooth earpiece to me. Thanks.

[berkscanuck]

Or, if you look at it another way: the price of that £799 iMac is going to come down by £17 on Monday anyway with the VAT reduction, so you're actually only saving £14 by buying it now - a discount of 1.8% on the price you'll pay on Monday regardless!

Cheers

Jim

Jim - thats not correct. You can take advantage of the new 15% UK VAT today. If you look at the UK Apple Store page, you will see "Learn more about the VAT rate change". Click on that, and you get:

VAT rate change


What is the VAT rate change?

From 00.00 hours on Monday December 1st, the standard rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the UK will be reduced by the UK Government from 17.5% to 15%.


How is pricing displayed on the Apple Online Store?

All prices displayed on the Apple Online Store during our one-day shopping event are inclusive of VAT at the current rate of 17.5% but exclusive of delivery charges unless otherwise indicated.


How will the VAT rate change affect me?

If you order a Mac from the Apple Online Store during our one-day shopping event, the price displayed during the checkout process and in your Order Confirmation email will include VAT at the current rate of 17.5%. However, since your order will ship on or after Monday December 1, your order will be subject to VAT at the new rate of 15%.


What happens if I order additional items with my Mac?

If you order any additional items at the same time as your Mac, these items will be shipped together with your Mac as a single order, and will also be subject to VAT at the new rate of 15%.

[137489]

Just a little note. MacMall continues to be great.... I bought my macbook through them in April and was extremely satisfied.

Wednesday, I recieved an email flyer from them with their BF sales (that started Wednesday), however I waited until today just to see if there were any secrets that would only show up today.. seeing there wasn't, I clicked to order (directly from the email) some of the software I wanted. One of them showed a different price than in the flyer. I went directly to the website and that showed the different price also, so I called them.

They honored the price in the email flyer. my software will be here on Monday (and at a huge discount). Although what is showing on the website is a huge discount already (60% off).

If you receive their flyers through email - they will honor the price in the flyers (what I wanted showed 84% off on the flyer), if their website shows something different. Also, besure to look around the website - I found another piece of software I wanted listed $10 below newegg's price (suprising since newegg has really competative pricing).

If all goes well on Monday, looks like I will be able to trash my parallels XP setup and reload it to optimize for the 10 remaining Windows software apps I use (still looking for a native mac version for those).....

[canucksfan88]

hmmm i have a coupon so...101 + 125 off
may as well buy a new macbook now

[DaBrain]

lol, these discounts are almost rude.

Hey IM celebrating this SALE by Apple! It's GREAT! It has saved me hundreds of dollars! How so you may ask? Simple! IM not buying! ;)

[xDYLANx]

i don't need MS Office...but a 350 dollar discount, that is huge...



Hey IM celebrating this SALE by Apple! It's GREAT! It has saved me hundreds of dollars! How so you may ask? Simple! IM not buying! ;)

your fly avatar always scares the hell out of me. lol, it always makes me want to flick my screen

[Rt&Dzine]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_tax

"Typical exemptions include [edit] and purchases via 'casual sales' by individuals not in the ordinary course of business."

???

[SwordOfHumanity]

I just wanted to say that even with the 300 dollar discount on the high end mbp on mac connection, its only 5 dollars cheaper then the regular price here in canada, which usualy hovers around $2200 depending on the exchange rate. And on everything else, u'll probably get it cheaper here regular priced then in america with a discount. Soooooooo, if u live in the north, might be worth it to make the trip.

[ezsober]

Anyone seen any discounts on these?

[kinchee87]

LOL BeeHiveIM.

[137489]

i don't need MS Office...but a 350 dollar discount, that is huge...





your fly avatar always scares the hell out of me. lol, it always makes me want to flick my screen

I mentioned that to DaBrain serveral time - I think it is an Ant rather than a fly. anyway... that MS office is the one I was talking about in my macmall post. appears mactopia (Microsoft's mac website) is showing the same as my flyer - so I would call macmall on their advertised price vs what shows when you click the link. they honored the price.

Just incase you have trouble seeing the screen shot.

Dealer
Dealer Product Description Price
In Stock

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition - Full Version FWA-00013 69.99
Yes

[mrwalker]

Really impressive.

NOT.

NO SALE!!!

[wizard]

Personally I hope people take this insulting pricing as a sign not to do business with Apple this holiday!

I'm also shocked that Apple didn't try to clear out inventory of MacMinis as they are obviously EOL. Really they could have done a 20% off while supplies last deal on these.

[RTiii320]

thats cool that they are offering deals on the apps. Great idea if you ask me. Another way to get people involved in the app. store that otherwise never would of checked it out.

[cameronjpu]

I'm also shocked that Apple didn't try to clear out inventory of MacMinis as they are obviously EOL. Really they could have done a 20% off while supplies last deal on these.

I agree. That way they would have sold the same amount (all that are left) and earned 20% less! What a great idea!

[CashGap]

Personally I hope people take this insulting pricing as a sign not to do business with Apple this holiday!


Wow... I didn't think that the "Victim Culture" including reading an insult into anyone who doesn't give a discount!


I'm also shocked that Apple didn't try to clear out inventory of MacMinis as they are obviously EOL. Really they could have done a 20% off while supplies last deal on these.

You make the assumption that they are EOL, and that Apple has significant inventory, and that the inventory is more than they will normally sell between now and the next mini announcement, and that the yield on the inventory at MSRP-20% is greater than at MSRP. With today's cost of funds, they'd need to have several years worth of minis to make a 20% discount beat the NPV.

That's a LOT of assumptions!!!

[macboy676]

Guys,

I was thinking of buying the previous generation of MacBook Pro from MacMall. Is it a good idea to buy the previous generation even though the new one is out?

[137489]

Please do not delete this post, as there has been many discussions on this matter and it related to buying during a Black friday or tax free weekend.

"Typical exemptions include [edit] and purchases via 'casual sales' by individuals not in the ordinary course of business."

???


You guys talking about that use tax? It varies state to state and in some cases leads to double taxation. Here is what I mean (I live in North Carolina).

1. NC automatically assumes people buy at least $500 worth of merchandise yearly online; and therefore taxes you a flat rate anyway based on the $500 when you submit your state income tax return. - you just been taxed whether or not you bought online that year or not.

2. NC law states any resident buying things out of state are subject to a usage tax, regardless of whether or not you were charged sales tax in the state the purchase was made (good luck trying to deduct the other state's sales tax if you are not a business - because then that takes into account if you itemize, limits, etc). - you just been double taxed.

3. Here is the tricky one. Let's say I buy something online and when they ask my zip code, they calculate the sales tax and charge me that. Supposingly that means you were charged sales tax as if it was an in-state purchase and the company is supposed to submit the revenue to your state. Turns out, if the online retailer is based in another state - you could be hit with the usage tax as well. - you just been double taxed.

all purchases made on tax free weekend (provided they meet the criteria for tax free) should be exempt - good luck.

So when you people talk about paying sales tax, usage tax, and whether your Black Friday discounts would be a true saving over the tax/usage tax you would be normally wacked with - better check your facts with your state.

Thus why I only buy out of state or online, if the savings are tremedous over buying in-state at a local retail store (or online store where they are based in state). If I am going to be double taxed, then the discount (for me) has to equal be greater than the cost of the double taxing.

[vermonter16]

Hey IM celebrating this SALE by Apple! It's GREAT! It has saved me hundreds of dollars! How so you may ask? Simple! IM not buying! ;)

I thought there was a gnat on my screen - thanks. :)

[Eric S.]

I finally sprung for the 2.4GHz aluminum MB. I got $97 off from my corporate discount plus the $101 Black Friday deal so I am reasonably happy. Time will tell if it's a wise purchase. :cool:

[137489]

Guys,

I was thinking of buying the previous generation of MacBook Pro from MacMall. Is it a good idea to buy the previous generation even though the new one is out?

If you are going to get a huge savings, and not need what the latest one has (which I think is just dual/better graphics, ALU Body, and the new trackpad) - sure with a caveat (see below). At least you would not have all the rev A issues some people talk about.

Depends on your usage. Just get applecare to protect you for 3 years. I would do the same and sell my whitebook, but I do not have the money and my whitebook is only 7 months old.

Here are the caveats (you may want to just get a new macbook for the same price).....

I see why, looks like MM is offering $600 off a pro. But consider this, you can get a new ALU macbook with better specs for the same price from MM (just it is 13 inch, and depends if FW is your big dela or not).

Mac Mall:

Apple
15.4" MacBook Pro Glossy Screen - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz, 2GB Memory, 120GB Hard Drive Notebook


Save $694 (35%)
Price: $1,499.99
Rebate(s): $200.00(13.3%)
Your Price: $1,299.99



Apple 13.3" MacBook Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 2GB, 250GB, SuperDrive - Aluminum MB467LL/A

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 2GB DDR3, 250GB SATA/100, 256MB DDR3 Nvidia GeForce 9400M, 13" Display 1280x800, Super Drive(DVD+-R/CD-RW), Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n WLAN, Bluetooth, OS X 10.5 Leopard
Price: $1,499.99
Rebate(s): $50.00(3.3%)
Your Price: $1,449.99

Apple 15.4" MacBook Pro - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz 2GB, 250GB, SuperDrive - GLOSSY MB488LL/A

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz, 15" TFT, 2GB DDR2, 250GB SATA, Nvidia GeForce 8600 512MB, 8x SuperDrive, Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T, Airport Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR & iSight, OS X 10.5 Leopard GLOSSY

MacMall Part#: 7691238 Platform: Macintosh
Mfr.Part#: MB488LL/A Manufacturer: Apple
Availability: Generally In Stock Visit our Apple store.
Usually Ships: Usually Ships Same Day
Price: $1,599.99
Rebate(s): $150.00(9.4%)
Your Price: $1,449.99
Quantity:

[MacOldTimer!]

No MobileMe discount? That's strange.

I am eligable to get education discout and planned to get the 2.53Ghz MBP, but it's in a weird situation for me. MacConnection is taxfree in WA, but mail-in rebate just doesn't work for me.

In less than 2 months, we have MacWorld S.F.

Why would you want to pay Apple to continue to beta test MobileVista.

They should be giving it away for free until they have all the advertised features working stable and the system is stable for more than a few hours at a time.

I got tired of not getting my mail and switched to a GMail account. Not as many features (I don't need) and it's free.

[MacOldTimer!]

It appears that Apple's Stock is taking a small hit related to the lackluster BF Sale.

Let's hope it dips a few more days so Apple understands how badly it is gouging it's customers and we're tired of it.

Not to mention having to beta test everything they put out in first and second rev.

[SFStateStudent]

I'm headed out the door to ask some questions of the Apple Store Employees, so I'll check out the sales and possibly a 3G iPhone for my sister-in-law. I'll post my results on the EDU discount in conjunction with the BF sale...:eek:

[cameronjpu]

It appears that Apple's Stock is taking a small hit related to the lackluster BF Sale.

Let's hope it dips a few more days so Apple understands how badly it is gouging it's customers and we're tired of it.

Don't count on it. Stores were PACKED today.

[137489]

Why would you want to pay Apple to continue to beta test MobileVista.

They should be giving it away for free until they have all the advertised features working stable and the system is stable for more than a few hours at a time.

I got tired of not getting my mail and switched to a GMail account. Not as many features (I don't need) and it's free.

Dig deep into the settings of GMAIL - you would be surprised at what it can do. I have 3 personal emails.

AOL - for my junkmail - I have to have an AOL account for my employer's IM.
GMAIL - my personal mail.
ME - I don't use it for my mail, but for everything else.

I use GMAIL and took avantage of every possible settng they offer, even works great on my palm phone. Also Buy Busymac I can use it to sync my GMAIL and ME calendars across each other (neat).

[MacOldTimer!]

Dig deep into the settings of GMAIL - you would be surprised at what it can do. I have 3 personal emails.

AOL - for my junkmail - I have to have an AOL account for my employer's IM.
GMAIL - my personal mail.
ME - I don't use it for my mail, but for everything else.

I use GMAIL and took avantage of every possible settng they offer, even works great on my palm phone. Also Buy Busymac I can use it to sync my GMAIL and ME calendars across each other (neat).

Thanks, I will.

[groovenu]

Why would you want to pay Apple to continue to beta test MobileVista.

They should be giving it away for free until they have all the advertised features working stable and the system is stable for more than a few hours at a time.

I got tired of not getting my mail and switched to a GMail account. Not as many features (I don't need) and it's free.


...interesting - I've had a .mac / MobileMe acct for a few years now and aside from the brief annoyance of the transition / iPhone 3G glitches I've had no problems with the service. Apple doled out 4 months free to 'apologize' for the inconvenience and doubled the storage capacity to 20GB during the switch, which was fine by me. I primarily use the service for mail, calendars, archiving my podcast and storing files / documents - everything syncs up fine and I can even access my iDisk via my iPod Touch in any WiFi hotspot, such as my university campus (thank you App Store!).

sorry, no crashes every few hours, I get my mail, my calendars are updated every hour without fail, and I store files online for myself and others to access in an apparently trouble-free manner.

maybe I'm just lucky... ;)


don't get me wrong though I'm not slagging Gmail - it's has some great features and if you're not needing online storage space than it's a good option


:apple: 15" Macbook Pro 2.53Ghz / iPod Touch 32GB

[minik]

Why would you want to pay Apple to continue to beta test MobileVista.

They should be giving it away for free until they have all the advertised features working stable and the system is stable for more than a few hours at a time.

I got tired of not getting my mail and switched to a GMail account. Not as many features (I don't need) and it's free.

MobileMe sync works flawlessly on my Macs and iPhone. Sure, the transition from .Mac to MobileMe wasn't smooth, but it's getting better.

Since you mentioned the word Vista, Vista isn't that bad IMHO.

[Boston135]

Just bought a 2.4Ghz MacBook. Waited in line for about 5 minutes, listened to the Apple sales guy try to sell me MobileMe and everything else, he went and got it, did the sale on his portable thing, printed it out, and I was done in about 10 minutes.

Got it home and it's been great so far. Couldn't get the ethernet Migration Assistant to work with my old 12" PBG4, so I tried wireless and it was going to take 17hrs so I stopped it. I'll plug them both into a wired router when I get a second cable from work.

Oh, and I also got a $40 DLink Wireless-N router from Circuity City to replace my aging Airport Extreme. Nice Christmas weekend for me :)

[xbjllb]

Wake me up NEXT Black Friday 2009 with the deep discounts on Blu-ray burner equipped Nephalem Mac Pros and new matte cinema displays.

Steve might just get my money. Might. After two years it's probably glued to the inside of my wallet.

:apple:

[Eric S.]

Dig deep into the settings of GMAIL - you would be surprised at what it can do.

Doesn't gmail parse your mail (both incoming and outgoing) in order to subject you to "targeted advertising"? I would never support any service that did that.

[Mac Brown]

It appears that Apple's Stock is taking a small hit related to the lackluster BF Sale.

Let's hope it dips a few more days so Apple understands how badly it is gouging it's customers and we're tired of it.

Not to mention having to beta test everything they put out in first and second rev.

If anything, the dip in stock should send a signal to speculators and the public to not always fall for rumors about big discounts. The only people I know that are disappointed are the ones that were expecting the 15% discounts that were being hyped up.

[daverman]

Did somebody else catch this typo on the sale page?

http://i38.tinypic.com/66x5hy.png

[Trajectory]

I will give a recommendation for MacConnection. I've bought a lot of Apple hardware from them over the years and have never had a problem returning or exchanging anything.

I've had the opposite experience with Best Buy and will never buy anything from them ever again. Horrible customer service.

[Wolffie]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100036&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-34-100-036-_-Product
Newegg.com and a New Mac Pro

$1,489.00
Free Shipping*

[Poirot818]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100036&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-34-100-036-_-Product
Newegg.com and a New Mac Pro

$1,489.00
Free Shipping*

You can get that from ebay for ~1100-1300 after cashback and coupons.

[GSPice]

Doesn't gmail parse your mail (both incoming and outgoing) in order to subject you to "targeted advertising"? I would never support any service that did that.

::yawn:: old news. GMail is great.

[cameronjpu]

Doesn't gmail parse your mail (both incoming and outgoing) in order to subject you to "targeted advertising"? I would never support any service that did that.

Amazing that what, 2 years after this scare, there are still people that don't know how it actually works.

They don't send you any ads, but when you view your email through the gmail web site you'll see the same kind of ads that you see when you do a google search. Are you alarmed that google "parses" your google search to "send" you targeted ads? It's the exact same thing.

Gmail... best email service out there, AND it's free. IMAP, ability to sync contacts and calendars, so many great options, all free.

[11800506]

Bought a Macbook Pro from MacConnection today :D. It'll be so nice once it gets here so I can finally sell this old HP.

[The Toddfather]

Apple does realise there is a recession? Does $51 -$100 really make a difference for you guys in the US when purchasing an item which isn't a must have? Is it a deal breaker if you're thinking of making a purchase for xmas?

In the UK a £60 drop in price on a £900 laptop is not worth very much to me and I wouldn't think to others either, but correct me if I am wrong. I'm not in a dire need for a new machine but I'm just making the point.

If price is a major issue, a PC should be the choice. I really don't understand complaining about a discount.

[zenntench_oni]

i wanted to get a macbook but i didnt have enough. crap. its okay.
ill wait till spring 2009

[The Toddfather]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834100036&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-34-100-036-_-Product
Newegg.com and a New Mac Pro

$1,489.00
Free Shipping*

This has the old graphics processor, isn't this the "old" MBP?

[CashGap]

Couldn't get the ethernet Migration Assistant to work with my old 12" PBG4, so I tried wireless and it was going to take 17hrs so I stopped it. I'll plug them both into a wired router when I get a second cable from work.

That really should work...

Suggestion, I'll bet the PB can't handle anything but 10MB... I'll bet if you set the Ethernet port on your new machine to these settings, it works.

[Mac Brown]

If price is a major issue, a PC should be the choice. I really don't understand complaining about a discount.

Thank you! Dell is discounting theirs to like $500 today, which is good because you'll have to buy at least 2 replacements within the year.

[137489]

Doesn't gmail parse your mail (both incoming and outgoing) in order to subject you to "targeted advertising"? I would never support any service that did that.

I do not know... :confused: All I know is the service is free and works great. All my SPAM/Junk mail usually comes through my AOL. Very rarely do I get anything unwanted from google - if I due, it is usually because I get ads form people I do or did business with.

[137489]

Amazing that what, 2 years after this scare, there are still people that don't know how it actually works.

They don't send you any ads, but when you view your email through the gmail web site you'll see the same kind of ads that you see when you do a google search. Are you alarmed that google "parses" your google search to "send" you targeted ads? It's the exact same thing.

Gmail... best email service out there, AND it's free. IMAP, ability to sync contacts and calendars, so many great options, all free.

Just a question - how do you get your contacts to sync on gmail? I have not been able to do it. there at one time was an app, but it was for developers to embed in other applications. Contact sync is the only piece I am missing..... I would love to do that, so that I can sync my contacts on my iMail, which would then automatically sync with what little contacts I have in mobile me.

[arepadetrigo]

You have accused Apple of gouging its customers! You will invoke the wrath of the Apple Fanboys! You will be called stingy and unable to understand how business works. You will be blacklisted off the list of people who would pay $1000 for a cardboard box if it had an Apple logo on it and then criticize you for not doing the same.

Anyone who criticizes anything about Apple will not be tolerated. Nevermind that they too are customers who are typing their criticisms from a Mac keyboard. They are "upsetting the Apple-cart" and that is not good!

You have been warned!:eek:

It appears that Apple's Stock is taking a small hit related to the lackluster BF Sale.

Let's hope it dips a few more days so Apple understands how badly it is gouging it's customers and we're tired of it.

Not to mention having to beta test everything they put out in first and second rev.

[cameronjpu]

Just a question - how do you get your contacts to sync on gmail? I have not been able to do it. there at one time was an app, but it was for developers to embed in other applications. Contact sync is the only piece I am missing..... I would love to do that, so that I can sync my contacts on my iMail, which would then automatically sync with what little contacts I have in mobile me.

Actually yeah, I misspoke - I've only ever synced calendars, not contacts. I did look around and found two options that may work for you. I'm sure more than a few people would be interested in your results if you do try them.

http://www.companionlink.com/products/android.html
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/13/synchronize-outlook-gmail-and-cellphone-contacts-with-soocial/

[stockcerts]

I was waiting for Black Friday to order a Touch for my daughter (Christmas), but it was still cheaper by quite a few dollars from Amazon. Kind of dissapointing that Apple couldn't have done better.

[lyngo]

I just purchased that Brenthaven Bag and a Sleeve for my Macbook. Savings of about $40 which isn't bad at all!

- Jay

[137489]

Actually yeah, I misspoke - I've only ever synced calendars, not contacts. I did look around and found two options that may work for you. I'm sure more than a few people would be interested in your results if you do try them.

http://www.companionlink.com/products/android.html
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/13/synchronize-outlook-gmail-and-cellphone-contacts-with-soocial/

Companionlink you must buy and looks like companionlink only works with Windows/Outlook. Looking at Soocial (which is free buy the way).

Update (Soocial): Address book <-> Soocial works good. It had been so long since I logged into my ME account via the web, I almost forgot my password. Looks like ME is working good too. No matter where I did the edit (MM, Soocial, Addressbook) the others updated respectfully. Thing with Soocial is that most components are still in either beta or alpha stages. For my palm centro - it is not natively supported. Palm requires a download for the contact syncing clients ($20+), not sure if it will be worth it. Do not be discouraged though, they already have iphone information (supported natively through itunes or the OS X client) and other phones are supported (or they are working on it - seems like Palm is the sticking point) Also, for gmail - there are some forums that the initial sync could take hours if the servers (gmail or soocial) are busy. After that should go quickly. I am still waiting on the initial soocial/gmail sync...

Looks like if you still want an all-in-one package ME may be the way to go (so far push from cloud to addressbook is instantaneous), now that most problems are fixed. Otherwise get ready to spend an initial (one time; not a subscription fee) for busy sync to sync your calendar between gmail and iCal. You can already setup iMail to work with gmail (even through imap), and then play with Soocial for your contacts.

One thing I do like about soocial is, it will backup your contacts every time before syncing. all you have to do is go to the vault and down load the backup.

Based on this testing I am torn - Keep gmail, or just keep everything in MM. I'll edit this post again once the gmail/soocial sync occurs (2 1/2 hrs and still waiting; this is just a frustrating as the first days of MM).

Ok, it is 1:00 am here on the east coast. almost 6:00 am in Nederland (not sure if they mean Netherlands, but the parent company is out of Switzerland -the webclient goes by their local time). How busy can these servers be? If anyone wants and update on the gmail<->soocial, email me directly. I am tired of waiting and going to bed.

P.S. - if I ever get this soocial/gmail sync to occur, this would be the least expensive route.

GMAIL -> Free
Soocial -> Free
BusySync -> One time purchase of like $20 or so.
Other webhosting options (discussed many times in the early MM glitch days (free or equivelant to about $100 / year (cheapest ones found); search for your bargain-many out there.).

Mobile Me -> $100 yearly subscription. But nice thing is, glitches seem to be gone or severly minimized. All in one concept. $100 / year is not bad for an all-in-one.

*Edit - Sickening, it is now 10:30am here on the east coast and Soocial is still saying the GMAIL is being setup and waiting activation - I think Soocial may be a NO GO, I will give it until the end of today. If still not working, I am cancelling and just use GMAIL/Busy sync for the calendaring and MM for the contacts. I am going to try resetting up the connection, but it seems to connect fine and let me in when it asks - just it will not connect and syncmy contacts.

Soocial is a NO GO - after reading more forums, other people have complained on the initial gmail activation/sync not occuring for 2-3 days and also other syncing issues. nice concept, but has a lot of work needing to be done. I finally gave up after 15 hrs of waiting. I deleted my account, and will report back if I find another option.

*Last Edit - For those of you following this post looking for options. I ended up going with Syncman found at http://wateree.net/syncman/. I will have to buy it for $15 once my 30-day trial expires. It does not do my phone, but appears owning a palm, it would be expensive or difficult anyway. Busymac is suppose to come out with a contact sync. I contacted them and they do not have a timeframe in mind yet.

So all you gmail users - get busy mac for your calendar, syncman for your contacts, and setup imap for gmail in iMail and you should be good to go on your mac. Net cost;

Gmail -free
Busymac -$25
Syncman - $15
You are looking at a one time $40 investment.


Also, I cannot confirm this as I do not have an ipod tough or iphone, but on lifehacker.com, there is an article that after 10.5.3 in your address book prefs, there is an option for gmail. you have to have an ipod touch or iphone (or take your chaces following a possible hack posted).

[SFStateStudent]

Gawd, it was a jungle at Emeryville (Bay Street) Apple Store & The AT&T Store in Emeryville, California. Everything was wall-to-wall people at the Apple Store, and they had the extended sale area filled with iPods, iPhones and whatnot, so there was very little room to pass next to the iPhone display tables. Picked up (1) 3G iPhone 16GB Black, and an 8GB iPod Nano for $138 plus tax. Walked over to the AT&T Store and picked up some accessories and expedited the activation b/c the Apple Store said it would take about 1 1/2 hours due to assigning a new number on a separate account. Apple said they were experiencing a slowdown of the activation process, but said we could go to the AT&T Store right down the street, which is what we did. Activation was within 15 minutes of arriving at the AT&T Store, but only the Manager could unbrick the new 3G iPhone. All the available AT&T Reps were busy and there were people waiting in line (3 deep) to meet up with the next Rep. I meant to get pics of the people getting iPhones at AT&T, but I left in a hurry. See pics below:

[vermonter16]

I wasn't thrilled with the Apple sale but I wasn't disappointed either. The stock 24" 2.8GHz was selling at $1590 with the employee discount plus the $101 for Black Friday so I jumped on it. My brother who loves to build and play with Windows PCs said I was making a mistake and that Apple just has a high price tag....whatever... I'm willing to give it a shot. I don't know anyone who loves their home computer unless it is some kind of Mac! The Apple store today in my area was a cluster f$%^. And it was the same over the weekend with no sales. People were busy buying up half the store and I couldn't figure out why they wouldn't wait a few more days just to see if there was a sale. I don't think Apple has to discount too much to get people to buy their computers. All I know since I've never had a mac before is that their product has a good reputation and I think that's what it comes down to.

[SFStateStudent]

UPDATE: Just following up on the EDU discount and the BF discount on MB; it's a definite NO GO! You choose one or the other, so I chose NEITHER...:eek:

[puttputt]

I chose a MBP 2.4 previous generation, fabulous, matte screen for $1299 after rebates from Macconnection. Giving thanks...

[Eric S.]

Amazing that what, 2 years after this scare, there are still people that don't know how it actually works.

They don't send you any ads, but when you view your email through the gmail web site you'll see the same kind of ads that you see when you do a google search. Are you alarmed that google "parses" your google search to "send" you targeted ads? It's the exact same thing.

Not at all the same. My searches are not interpersonal communications. And I don't want ads when I read my mail.

Gmail... best email service out there, AND it's free. IMAP, ability to sync contacts and calendars, so many great options, all free.

You can keep it as far as I'm concerned.

[sam10685]

imacs should have way bigger discounts. they're last year's technology. Just look at those graphics cards...

I say we boycott.

[137489]

I say we boycott.

Well, since Apple has the best product in most peoples eyes, not sure that will happen.

technically, I guess you can say I am boycotting :p Will not be buying another mac for over 1 - 3 years. My wife has her mini, I have my macbook, locked into sprint so iphone is out of the question, and I still use my antique 2004 15 gb ipod (does not even do video) - I will not be upgrading that unless someone buys me an ipod touch (oh and my wife has her nano from 2 years ago).

What more do I need? Other than the new 24"" display, but since it is not compatible with my older whitebook - I just made do with an LG 19-inch and a 7 port USB hub.

[jwtseng]

MacConnection prices are good until December 1. If anyone is interested in shaving another 2.7% off MacConnection prices, you should have a look at BigCrumbs (http://www.bigcrumbs.com/crumbs/landing.do?r=katiekate&s=29408). They even give cashback on eBay purchases (up to 36% of the seller fees!!!).

[archurban]

it's different story. forget about mac purchase. there is no real deal. I just passed. but some third party companies products got bigger discount. it is not even online store. v-moda vibe II is only $98 today. it is about $120. so I think that it is real deal. but I passed it because I purchased similar quality in-earphone few days ago. I'm not sure but pamphlet in apple store discount rate is different from online. I mean it got more discount.

[weckart]

$79 for Office 2008 Special Media Edition plus any possible sales tax. (http://www.tekserve.com/products/643/Black_Friday_Sale/-467) I know it's not a perfect suite, but it's usable. We never get this sort of discount in the UK where this is going for about $500-600 at the moment.

[137489]

$79 for Office 2008 Special Media Edition plus any possible sales tax. (http://www.tekserve.com/products/643/Black_Friday_Sale/-467) I know it's not a perfect suite, but it's usable. We never get this sort of discount in the UK where this is going for about $500-600 at the moment.

Considering what I heard about the dollar vs Euro and the pound, sounds like a similar deal. I picked mine up from macmall for $69.99 (prices at other stores - $400-$500). I think this was sponsored by Microsoft, because if you go/went to their mactopia website - they had an ad that said up to $350 off. When you click on the suite and then shop now, they showed all the stores offering a discount. MacMall was by far the cheapest (probably similar for your European sites).

I would not have normally bought Office for the Mac, Considering how buggy I heard it was. However, I read some reviews. Supposingly this special media edition and the latest service packs have more stability over the other versions. For what I am going to use it for (spruce up documents that iwork can't handle - or take MS documents that were sent to me and the spruce them up in iwork where MS office 2007 for windows failed). I figured $70 I can't go wrong. It is not like I am going to be using this for business critical, but there are some things iwork cannot do.

It is just one more thing to run natively on my mac, rather than running through parallels. I hope my $70 was worth it. My only other choice was to keep Office 2003 in Parallels and deal with the document incompatibility, or deal with spending $500 or more for Office 2007 on Windows (Ultimate Edition).

Oh and before someone blasts me about office (ultimate) 2007/Win - consider this:

1. I used it every day - had to re-install outlook without contact mananger as it kept crashing and restarting outlook.

2. Small Business accounting expess - have no use for it.

3. One Note - already own it.

4. Publisher, heard the mac version off office word can handle similar - if not, I already own multiple suites.

5. access - that thing has not been updated in years. I use MS-SQL server at work and for my need on a personal level, Bento suits me fine.

So Ultimate just was not worth it for me. If they would take everything that in Ultimate and make it into a mac version -great. If not, for now I still have my Office 2003/win to fall back on.

[puttputt]

Visit Putt-Putt's World .

such an endearing nickname :)

[Kabeyun]

Don't know if the article is wrong or if this is an update, but as of now MacMall is selling a combo drive white 13" MacBook 2.1GHZ 1GB/120 for $868.99 plus FREE Parallels 4.0 after rebates. Upgrade to 2GB RAM for $75. FYI. I'm not affiliated with anybody. I just bought one and wanted to share. I love when extravagant new models come out! Cheers.

-K

[hiimamac]

But it is worth noting for the legions that believe Apple is some sort of benevolent entity out there doing work for the good of man. It's not. Apple is a corporation just like any other. It just happens to make good products.

You do realize that Apple sells everything at retail right?

Just go to a store and you will see, example, iKlean for $19.99 (retail) then go to fry's and you will see a product like iKlean 3X larger and for $9.99.

Another example is cases, FULL RETAIL price. RAM, graphic cards, yeah okay, like APPLE makes their own RAM, I wonder how many dumb dumbs believe that apple makes graphic cards and ram. LOL LOL LOL.

Puts $500 down for 1 GB of RAM. HA HA, not.

[Bubba Satori]

Thank you! Dell is discounting theirs to like $500 today, which is good because you'll have to buy at least 2 replacements within the year.

No you won't. FUD FAIL. :rolleyes:

[brop52]

You do realize that Apple sells everything at retail right?

Just go to a store and you will see, example, iKlean for $19.99 (retail) then go to fry's and you will see a product like iKlean 3X larger and for $9.99.

Another example is cases, FULL RETAIL price. RAM, graphic cards, yeah okay, like APPLE makes their own RAM, I wonder how many dumb dumbs believe that apple makes graphic cards and ram. LOL LOL LOL.

Puts $500 down for 1 GB of RAM. HA HA, not.

True, but at least the RAM they "brand" functions. Right now it is hit or miss on many other brands of RAM. Plus, since all the brands of DDR3 are expensive so they aren't a bad price right now.

[137489]

Don't know if the article is wrong or if this is an update, but as of now MacMall is selling a combo drive white 13" MacBook 2.1GHZ 1GB/120 for $868.99 plus FREE Parallels 4.0 after rebates. Upgrade to 2GB RAM for $75. FYI. I'm not affiliated with anybody. I just bought one and wanted to share. I love when extravagant new models come out! Cheers.

-K

Nope not wrong, ever since apple came out with the new ALU and discounted the white, that has been macmalls's price point.

[SWLinPHX]

Well, since you did ask...I am one of those people that lists all the items I bought online on my tax return if I wasn't charged sales tax by the vendor at the time of purchase. I simply print each invoice to a pdf and save it in a folder for that year. Do I like doing this? No, I do not. However, use tax is the law of the land here in Massachusetts and in many other locations as well.

I am not ignorant to the fact that many people do not pay this use tax, including some dear friends and family, but I am not going to use that as justification for breaking the law myself.


Great! And since you never do anything unless you're sure it is 100% compliant with every law in the land, you also never EVER speed when driving right? I mean, in the God awful chance you see your speedometer at 57mph when you know darn well the limit is 55, you decelerate immediately, in hopes no one saw you break the law. But either way, you never EVER go over the speed limit knowingly. I mean, that is worse than not making sure you research every penny you spent all year for tax returns, because speeding is a "crime" that could cause injury or death!

Actually, there is something else people may not have considered: that other people like to feel superior in a demonstration of self-righteousness verbally, even when their behavior is actually far from it. That is why they point it out to others all the time: you can't feel superior unless you talk about it.

Anyway, I do think it's nice Mother Theresa's convent is now a part of the MacRumors forums! Welcome to you all, sisters. :)

[SWLinPHX]

Couldn't get the ethernet Migration Assistant to work with my old 12" PBG4, so I tried wireless and it was going to take 17hrs so I stopped it. I'll plug them both into a wired router when I get a second cable from work.

That is one of many reasons I would not give up (Apple's own) FireWire. The others include that it is the standard for most pre-existing camcorders and musician's & sound engineering equipment.

I am using FireWire in Target Disk Mode for Migration Assistant on my new MBP unibody. After researching a lot about the differences in USB vs FireWire standards, you'll see that the 400 vs 480 mpbs rating means nothing. FireWire can do, handle and transmit so much more scenarios more effectively. I'm willing to bet it'll be back on the next wave of MacBooks.

[HLdan]

FireWire can do, handle and transmit so much more scenarios more effectively. I'm willing to bet it'll be back on the next wave of MacBooks.

LOL, Sorry to say to you that you my fellow forum mate are completely wrong. You will undoubtedly lose this bet. Apple gets criticized for certain decisions they make and you never see them bow down and put a feature back in something they took away. People were very annoyed that Apple never included a PC card slot in the iBooks and Macbooks and they kept saying, "Apple will put it in the next upgrade". It never happened.

Anyways you can always backup your stuff on an external USB hard drive and move the files to a new Mac and if you have your stuff backed up on Time Machine you can do this even easier. It's not like there's no way to get around it just because the Macbook doesn't have Firewire. In fact it's the only Mac that doesn't have it so some of you need to get off your cry wagon and buy what's available or don't buy Apple at all.

[vermonter16]

Anyway, I do think it's nice Mother Theresa's convent is now a part of the MacRumors forums! Welcome to you all, sisters. :)

Haha - believe it or not I was actually going to be a nun at one point in my life :)...obviously it never happened. But I did work with Mother Teresa's sisters and they are way better than I will ever be.

[iLoveMyApple]

Those ipod discounts are a punch in the nuts.

Why Apple even bothers is beyond me. These "discounts" are insulting.

You people always have some kind of complaint

[MidgetMariachi]

So all complaints aside, did anybody spend TOO much money yesterday like I did? LOL I'm hurting now.

Midget Mariachi

[Quillz]

Has anyone else who ordered a discounted iMac on Black Friday finding that they haven't shipped yet? It says the iMac ships "within 24 hours," yet I'm approaching 48 hours and it hasn't shipped yet. It says I was supposed to receive it by Dec. 1-3. Did Apple get more orders than usual, or is something else amiss?

When I ordered the aluminum MacBook from them about a month ago, it shipped in less than 12 hours.

[Quillz]

Thank you! Dell is discounting theirs to like $500 today, which is good because you'll have to buy at least 2 replacements within the year.
Right, that's why my Dell Inspiron from more than two years ago continues to work great, whereas my MacBook had a faulty battery after two weeks.

Get a clue.

[Shasterball]

It's pretty much the same every year. I don't know why people seemed to be more upset this time around. Maybe because of the recession? Apple can't give away their comps...they still need to make their money.

[brop52]

Right, that's why my Dell Inspiron from more than two years ago continues to work great, whereas my MacBook had a faulty battery after two weeks.

Get a clue.

Because we all know that a battery is hard to replace on warranty when it is faulty. There is nothing wrong with Dell, but a faulty Macbook doesn't make all of them bad.

[Quillz]

Because we all know that a battery is hard to replace on warranty when it is faulty. There is nothing wrong with Dell, but a faulty Macbook doesn't make all of them bad.
I didn't say the MacBook was bad. But people should realize that just because it doesn't say Apple doesn't mean it can't be of the same quality.

[137489]

Right, that's why my Dell Inspiron from more than two years ago continues to work great, whereas my MacBook had a faulty battery after two weeks.

Get a clue.

Here is what I found, based on HAVING to use Dells at work, and also reparing out-of-warrenty ones for people...

The older Dell Lattitude (the dull gray/beige models pictured below). those work great. Inspiron is ok. Any model with an XPS stamped on it has a problem with faulty parts or parts dying. i do not understand why as XPS is based on the inspriron (I had to download inspiron drivers to get some things to work). I think the problem with XPS is overclocking and trying to over-tune them into high-performance machines.

http://cdn.overstock.com/images/products/L11387946.jpg

As for your macbook having a bad battery, can't blame apple on that. Over the last 2 years there have been many recalls on batteries across the board with all laptops. I think either Sony is cutting their quality control, or maybe these new laptops draw too much power for the battery rating? 7 months and my battery still works great on my macbook.

2 years after purchase, my Dell started getting pop-ups that "while the battery will continue to charge correctly, it is nearing the end of its life". thought that was a little strange, as the toshiba I gave my pastor is 8 years old (perfect for his needs); still works like a charm and the battery still holds a 5-hr charge. Yes I could get 5 hrs from that battery.

*Edit, also I do not know if these new lithium batteries are like the old nickel-cadium... If they are, you should let them run to empty every so often to reset the memory. Used to be that if you charge when you had a partial charge, you would actually shorten the usaable time (thus why you should let them run down to nothing).

[grinnelljd]

Actually, there is something else people may not have considered: that other people like to feel superior in a demonstration of self-righteousness verbally, even when their behavior is actually far from it. That is why they point it out to others all the time: you can't feel superior unless you talk about it.


Wow, such bitterness and hostility. You really should try to get outside more. I think it may do you some good. ;)

I only posted because you asked who pays use tax... remember? As I said, I have dear friends and family who don't bother to pay this use tax, though I do simply because it IS the law. What they do or what YOU do is none of my concern.

If I recall correctly it was you who started this branch of the thread by bragging about how you were avoiding paying sales tax. Koala posted a reply telling about the use tax, as some people may be unaware of its existence. You jumped on him calling him a newbie and asked who actually pays this tax which led to my reply.

I do find it to be a shame if a person has to justify why he's actually obeying the law.

[137489]

I checked my email this morning and found an new flyer from MacMall. those of you who thought you may have missed out, MM is extending there BF sales prices until Midnight Money to cover cyber Monday. In the flyer it says this is due to the huge response on Friday.

I beleive it, in my earlier posts I mentioned I called them to place my order, as I saw a discrepancy between the flyer and what was on the website. I was on hold for 20 min waiting for a rep. usually they are pretty quick to answer, so I know they were getting slammed (even at 7:00am California time - which is where they are located).

So, you have until Monday to take advantage......

[therealdt]

You people always have some kind of complaint

What do you mean, You People. :D

[Eric S.]

You people always have some kind of complaint

Yup, you've come to the right place for complaints - and I see that you've joined the crowd! :rolleyes:

[jwtseng]

So, you have until Monday to take advantage......

So both MacConnection and MacMall have extended their sales prices until Monday! And you can get an additional 2.7% cashback rebate (via PayPal) just by shopping through BigCrumbs! (http://www.bigcrumbs.com/crumbs/landing.do?r=katiekate&s=29408)

Again, BOTH MacConnection and MacMall qualify for a 2.7% cashback rebate if you are a member of BigCrumbs (http://www.bigcrumbs.com/crumbs/landing.do?r=katiekate&s=29408). It's free and easy to signup!

[gerlitzappel]

I had to jump in on this one. I got board today and ordered up a 15" MBP 2.53 from MacConnection. I just couldn't get the $300 combined rebates out of my head. Plus, my PowerMac G5 is getting dated.

[ReanimationLP]

I work at a CC, and we did a lot of business on our BF sale.

We sold over 100 iPod nano/touches/classics that day.

All of our iPods (except the shuffle) came with up to a free $25 iTunes card instantly.

[SWLinPHX]

LOL, Sorry to say to you that you my fellow forum mate are completely wrong. You will undoubtedly lose this bet. Apple gets criticized for certain decisions they make and you never see them bow down and put a feature back in something they took away. People were very annoyed that Apple never included a PC card slot in the iBooks and Macbooks and they kept saying, "Apple will put it in the next upgrade". It never happened.

Anyways you can always backup your stuff on an external USB hard drive and move the files to a new Mac and if you have your stuff backed up on Time Machine you can do this even easier. It's not like there's no way to get around it just because the Macbook doesn't have Firewire. In fact it's the only Mac that doesn't have it so some of you need to get off your cry wagon and buy what's available or don't buy Apple at all.

FYI, I already bought mine, a MBP. And I have read many professional reviews and explanations of the advantages of FireWire over USB, even with the speed rating. In fact, a newer faster FireWire and USB both are due out in the next couple years.

And your example of the PC card doesn't compare; Apple never had those to begin with. And if there is enough uproar they could easily see if they can redesign the MacBook to add space for the missing FireWire. Apple has listened in matters such as with refunds regarding the protests over the original iPhone price drop.

[SWLinPHX]

If I recall correctly it was you who started this branch of the thread by bragging about how you were avoiding paying sales tax. Koala posted a reply telling about the use tax, as some people may be unaware of its existence.

Uh, noooo....

Actually if you read my original post, it was that I never pay sales tax on my purchases when I buy. Meaning I always choose those that legally do not require you to pay taxes. It was then koala chimed in on how criminal that is, then in a later post cited a link to some preachy condescending platitude about "just because everyone does it doesn't make it right." Before lecturing make sure the person is doing something wrong first. Choosing to purchase where no tax is involved is not illegal. Never did I say I don't pay my yearly taxes.... completely unnecessary finger wagging.

[Shivetya]

Thank you! Dell is discounting theirs to like $500 today, which is good because you'll have to buy at least 2 replacements within the year.

which explains why my iMac is the only computer I had that ever failed.

Now my father killed the Dell I gave to my Mom for mother's day. Having problem with a scanner he would reset it all by yanking the plug :P

Well Dell sent someone out to him, Apple told me to lug it. Both under the first year in their warranties. Sorry, the only thing I like about my iMac is the screen.

[rtdunham]

Well, since you did ask...I am one of those people that lists all the items I bought online on my tax return if I wasn't charged sales tax by the vendor at the time of purchase. I simply print each invoice to a pdf and save it in a folder for that year. Do I like doing this? No, I do not. However, use tax is the law of the land here in Massachusetts and in many other locations as well.

I am not ignorant to the fact that many people do not pay this use tax, including some dear friends and family, but I am not going to use that as justification for breaking the law myself.

I commend you. You'll probably prompt some responses from people offering all sorts of excuses to justify their own cheating. They'll say, "you probably don't speed, either," or something like that. Why don't they just say, "well, I'll steal when i can."

It's the same as people who ask you to pay cash for a job so they can NOT report it on their income tax: Don't they realize every dollar they don't pay is stolen from the rest of us, who do pay our taxes? I guess not. It'll be funny to see the justifications some people come up with in response to your post.

[rtdunham]

We've updated our sales chart (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/11/26/black-friday-discounts-on-macs/) to include deals from MacConnection which may be the best available deals for new Mac purchases.

i was online, about to order a 2.4 GHz aluminum MacBook from MacConnection but wanted to see if they'd offer me a better price on AppleCare, so i phoned. I learned that model was out of stock until at least Dec 9 and they couldn't assure me it would be available then. I travel a lot so not knowing when the MacBook might be shipped killed teh deal for me.

I called my local (tampa) apple store to ask if they were matching advertised prices, as has sometimes been reported. the salesperson who answered said they would only match prices from brick-and-mortar stores, and (I swear she really said this) "and no more than 10%, or maybe $10".

I don't need a new computer, but wanted one. It wasn't worth the trouble. I gave up.

[SWLinPHX]

I commend you. You'll probably prompt some responses from people offering all sorts of excuses to justify their own cheating. They'll say, "you probably don't speed, either," or something like that. Why don't they just say, "well, I'll steal when i can."

It's the same as people who ask you to pay cash for a job so they can NOT report it on their income tax: Don't they realize every dollar they don't pay is stolen from the rest of us, who do pay our taxes? I guess not. It'll be funny to see the justifications some people come up with in response to your post.

Here's my "justification", rtdunham: THEY DON'T CHARGE TAX, LEGALLY!

Okay, now you guys can go back to your Pollyanna self-righteous preaching. When they don't charge you tax, ask the salesperson if you can donate the extra 8% to them directly. Then you can feel extra special & superior. As a matter of fact, don't even go for the sales prices; help out the economy by paying full price.

OMG, anyone else sick of the preaching on here from people you know have probably "broken the law" one way or another, be it speeding, jaywalking, driving while on cell phone, and a million others?!?

Enough already. Get off your high horses and go to a church forum, where you can use religion to feel even better about yourselves and judge others; we are here to talk about Macs, jeez! :mad:

[howieva]

I checked my email this morning and found an new flyer from MacMall. those of you who thought you may have missed out, MM is extending there BF sales prices until Midnight Money to cover cyber Monday. In the flyer it says this is due to the huge response on Friday.

I beleive it, in my earlier posts I mentioned I called them to place my order, as I saw a discrepancy between the flyer and what was on the website. I was on hold for 20 min waiting for a rep. usually they are pretty quick to answer, so I know they were getting slammed (even at 7:00am California time - which is where they are located).

So, you have until Monday to take advantage......

Hi Shervieux,

Do you still have product code from that flyer? I called them today and they asked if I can get them that code from the flyer, they can still try to match that price. Please let me know if you can find that code.

Thanks