Been waiting months for these to be available... Says ships in 30 days, but hopefully it will come sooner... $509 for the base model. http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD387LL/A/refurbished-mac-mini-25ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5
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2012 Minis are in the refurb outlet!
- Thread starter bperrella
- Start date
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While refurbs can be a great deal only you can decide if that deal works for you. But if you have to pay sales tax with Apple you might be close/better off going with someone like B&H for $565 and no sales tax unless NY.
Wow...mid-model mini is only $679! I think that ends up being cheaper than B&H even if you add the tax.
Yes, the base 2.3 i7 refurb is a better deal. I was just speaking about the base i5 refurb vs. base i5 from B&H.
For me, the refurb i7 comes out to ~$730 with tax while from B&H it would be $784. However, with B&H you can get AppleCare for a ridiculous price ($52) as well as Parallels for free. So if you plan on going with AppleCare, it is probably a wash as a new i7 from B&H with AppleCare and Parallels will be the same price as the refurb i7 with AppleCare from Apple.
Refurb.me Set a notice for yourself and you will know when any particular model is in stock.... Then these threads wouldn't be necessary
yeah i purchased a quad core. i did it with discover card so tax was offset by discover card 55 discount. I paid 679 plus 7 percent sales tax minus 5 percent discover card. is net 2 percent. so 679 plus 14 is 693 new. I am going to add an ssd on hand a 256gb samsung 830 . and use a cable on hand . I will have a 1.256 tb diy fusion with 16gb ram.
I prefer doing harder mods on refurbs then brand new machines. As apple is known to ship better then listed refurbs. ie more ram and or better hdds.
I prefer doing harder mods on refurbs then brand new machines. As apple is known to ship better then listed refurbs. ie more ram and or better hdds.
No I am saying that refurbs sometimes come with better gear then specced.
So this refurb will have at least the minimum specs but it can have more. 1 of 15 or so come with more gear .
I have ordered about 90 refurbs since 2006 and 6 or 7 had extra ram or a better hdd or both.
Since plan to upgrade my refurb this is to my advantage. Obviously if I get a fusion instead of a 1tb that is a real score. If I get 8gb or 16gb ram that is an okay score. If I get stock that is okay.
I JUST bought a base-model mini a few days ago. Damn it all.
Oh well, returning it tomorrow and ordered the mid-line one. For an extra $100 I can't turn down quad-core and double the HDD space. Here's hoping for a fusion drive/SSD included (wishful thinking indeed!)
30 day shipping time is r-o-u-g-h though. Long wait ahead if it's true... Though I don't see why they would put them up for order if they are a month away?
Oh well, returning it tomorrow and ordered the mid-line one. For an extra $100 I can't turn down quad-core and double the HDD space. Here's hoping for a fusion drive/SSD included (wishful thinking indeed!)
30 day shipping time is r-o-u-g-h though. Long wait ahead if it's true... Though I don't see why they would put them up for order if they are a month away?
extras like a fusion are rare but more ram happens pretty often. The best I ever got was 8gb ram and a 128gb ssd in a 2009 refurb. i have received extra ram quite a few times which was pretty good when ram cost more. a few mac pro buyers got a hd5870 instead of the hd5770 and extra ram along with a bigger hdd 2tb not 1tb. but it is wishful thinking. and I am saving 120 for sure. plus 5% with my discover card. 679 plus 47.53 NJ sales tax minus 33.95 discover card is $692.58 for a quad core with 1tb sounds good to me.
I have 2 sticks of 8gb ram that cost me 68 bucks. I have a 2nd hdd cable cost me 28 and I have a 256gb samsung ssd cost me 126 on bf. so 915 for a beast works for me.
I will migrate my vmWare fusion and have it with windows . I am looking forward to this.
So they are up again, this time saying shipping in 1-3 business days. But my order from yesterday still says shipping in 30 days. Argh. Apple said to "wait until the order processes, then call us back". If it were a couple days I wouldn't care, but nearly two-months is a big deal.
I have never had a refurb that I bought that has come with extras. However that is only an n=2. So maybe I will have better "luck" in the future. But I don't see why Apple would throw in extras when what you purchase with the refurb is clearly stated. Not like you are buying into some unknown/random grab bag.
Two months? I thought it was only 30 days and would ship beginning part of February? Maybe those late shipping ones are the good ones?
apple is not tossing in an extra in a lucky refurb.
the reason people get lucky is the item was returned with more then stock gear. this is why ram is the most common extra. look at it from the techs viewpoint when he is do a recertification for a refurb.
Lets say mini was returned the buyer that said I changed my mind and the buyer spaced out pulling the new ram upgrade. The tech boots it works he does a fresh install it is reboxed and no one takes the time to pull the better ram out. Same goes for a hdd but the person returning the gear is more likely to pull the hdd out. My biggest reason for likening refurbs is not oh cool I scored extra ram/better hdd.
The uncertainty of this is in the buyers favor. Apple won't send out a return as a refurb if it is less then it should be. They do send out a return if the techs are backlogged and do not want to pull the gear out. At worst I get what I am supposed to get. Here is what I like an Apple tech in 5 months can not be sure if my gear came with extra so getting service on a refurb can be easier then on new gear.
You do get quite a few refurbs with Apple's extras though. Everything on the refurb store is listed by part number, just with F instead of M or Z (e.g. an MC309B/A will be listed as an FC309B/A) signifying it's a refurb. Apple's BTO machines don't have a normal part number, they have a 4 digit Z part number (e.g. Z0MU) - and each config has a different numeric combination after it (e.g. Z0MU02836). The only exception to this are the "popular choices/ships fast" combinations, which are actually CTO instead of BTO and are pre-built machines, with a normal part number style part number beginning with Z - such as Z103B/A.
Since it's unrealistic to list every combination in the refurb store, Apple just list it to the closest model which has a model number (i.e. MC***X/A, MD***X/A, Z***X/A). There is (as always) an exception to this - any really expensive combinations are given a made up part number and are sold separately, but that's only things with lots of added extras (as in £500+ of extras) - but these rarely make it to the refurb store - I imagine they get used for parts - anyone speccing up a machine would probably pay a bit extra to buy new I guess.
So it's actually quite common to get extras with refurbs - out of 10 machines I unboxed for a company I was doing some work for, 4 of them had a spec bigger than the one on the box.
You probably still owe a "use tax" in most states. You'll end up committing tax evasion if you ignore your state's use tax law.
Two months? I thought it was only 30 days and would ship beginning part of February? Maybe those late shipping ones are the good ones?
30 business days, so right now it says delivery by February 22nd, not quite two months but damn near it
30 business days, so right now it says delivery by February 22nd, not quite two months but damn near it
Gotcha. I just read you and the OP mentioned 30 days, didn't realize it was 30 business days until now. That is rough.
Refurb base would cost me $544.63 with free shipping
Brand new base would cost $564.80 with free shipping (B&H)
For $20 more, I'll be ordering from B&H this week
RAM is already on it's way
Brand new base would cost $564.80 with free shipping (B&H)
For $20 more, I'll be ordering from B&H this week
RAM is already on it's way
Refurb base would cost me $544.63 with free shipping
Brand new base would cost $564.80 with free shipping (B&H)
For $20 more, I'll be ordering from B&H this week
RAM is already on it's way
Yeah for the base i5 you might as well go with B&H. But if you are thinking about the base i7, the refurb is a nice way to go. I don't think you can get it for a similar price from B&H.
If the base i7 is 15% off that's $679, a great price.
Last week I ordered that machine from B&H for $784, but also got Apple Care for an additional $52 and Parallels 8 for free, no rebate involved. And free shipping, no tax, so overall that was a very nice deal, but it ended Dec. 31st.
I also waited to buy the 2012 mini. I had pre-ordered it with a Fusion Drive on the day it was announced, but finally decided to cancel after all the talk and uncertainty about Fusion and how it would work, how reliable, etc. Then they had all the problems with the HDMI output. Now that things are stabilizing a bit, and at least Apple is addressing that problem, I finally decided to upgrade. I'm putting a 256gb Samsung 840 in it. I don't know if I'll ever do a diy Fusion Drive or not, no plans right now.
Yeah I actually went ahead and ordered the refurb 2.3 i7 today before they sold out. I should be getting mine next week. I was also looking at B&H as they still have that deal going on today; $784 for 2.3 i7, free Parallels 8, AppleCare for $52. Comes to $836 shipped to your door.
The refurb is $679 and with tax will come out to ~$730 depending on the sales tax where you live. Some might live in a state with no sales tax. I don't have a need for Parallels so that was ok for me not to get. I know some really want/need it. AppleCare I was up in the air about. For an extra $100 over the refurb I could get a "new" mini and have AppleCare for 3 years. Maybe that is the better way to go, but I am thinking I might upgrade when Haswell is released so not sure if going new has any benefits over the refurb for me.
While I don't see the mini out at WWDC, it would be great if they announced the 2013 ones in July or August. The fact that the 2012 are already in the refurb store might say something.