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Where is the cheapest place to buy AppleCare
- Thread starter Arnezie
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Seconded... from Canada.
The cheapest I've found is the US Education store, but not sure i can buy it from there and tie it to a Canadian MacBook's serial #.
The rMBP's AppleCare is crazy expensive, but certainly cheaper than paying repairs out of pocket. There's not a lot of disassembly you can do with these new units I hear.
The cheapest I've found is the US Education store, but not sure i can buy it from there and tie it to a Canadian MacBook's serial #.
The rMBP's AppleCare is crazy expensive, but certainly cheaper than paying repairs out of pocket. There's not a lot of disassembly you can do with these new units I hear.
I got my Applecare through B&H. They usually have some of the best prices around and they're well-known and reputable.
The cheapest is technically found in the U.S. education store. With the education discount it's $239, but that's not much cheaper than B&H's price of $244 anyway, so if you can't get the education discount your best bet would be to buy it from B&H.
Not sure if this pricing is still valid, but until last week at least B&H's Applecare price was half off when it was purchased at the same time as the computer. So I got Applecare on my machine for something like $122. If anyone else is in the market, this is pretty much an unbeatable deal (even taking refurbs into account, assuming you live in a state where you can evade sales tax on a purchase from B&H).
If you have a pulse, you can get the education discount.
Nice tidbit I just noticed, when you buy applecare for a Macbook Pro - it INCLUDES coverage for your Apple Airport Extreme and USB Superdrive (which I have both)
I don't know if that particular deal is still in place, but for select machines they do have some bundles through the AppleInsider link that have deeply discounted AppleCare plans.
FWIW, for the particular discount I received, it was not necessary to go through AppleInsider -- though I wish I had known about their price matrix while I was shopping! Luckily for this blind squirrel, I did happen to come across the best available nut, but AI would have made it a lot easier.
Even though the refurbs first appeared during the week my order was being processed/shipped, I still feel like I came out ahead getting a 2.6/8GB/512GB for $2599 + $122 for Applecare.
In the UK at least, it also includes any display that you bought with your MBP.
I'm going to put Applecare on my mid 2012 just before it hits 12 months, as I nabbed a Thunderbolt display at the same time, so I'll get them both covered for the remaining 2 years.
If you're a student, check with your campus book/computer store. My university had special education pricing on software and hardware. I bought a 13" MBP right before I graduated last May - got $100 off the MBP itself, Applecare for a little over $150, and Office for Mac for $30.
You know the standard education discount for MBP is $100 (at least). Then AppleCare discounts for education is $83 ($249 to $183) then $110 ($349 to $239) (13" then 15" respectively). Though the Office is a deal.
I wasn't aware of that. So you can get these prices directly from Apple? (Now that you mention it, my AppleCare was $183 - just couldn't remember exactly.)
Yeah, the Office was a great deal. I wouldn't have purchased it at full price, but it was cheaper than iWork; and LibreOffice, while great, doesn't always do the job.
Yup! (Education discounts~) I used to work for Apple so I have it memorized. When any authorized third party seller says they honor the education discount, they honor it because Apple helps protect the retailers margin as they want uniformity. Universities and other retailers don't want to lose potential customers if they couldn't honor this, nor does Apple as that loses another possible point of sale.
Though with Office did you only get one license? If so, it was still a decent deal (better than I seen anywhere else).
Though I did not know about B&H and they do have the best for AppleCare prices and the nice thing is you don't have to be a student. $179 for the MacBook, MBA, MBP 13" on it right now. I'll be going there to get my AppleCare from now on.
Ah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I'm guessing all you need for verification is an .edu address? If so, hopefully mine is still active in a few years when I buy my next Mac.
It actually came with two licenses (well one key, but two activations). My girlfriend installed it on her Mac as well.
I've never even heard of B&H until now, lol. Looking at their prices, I'll definitely buy from them in the future.
Actually Apple just assumes you are telling the truth because when you buy something from the education store, you may not use it as a tax write off for a business nor be using it for comercial purposes (though they really never check into it). They mainly use your name / info to check to make sure you haven't abused your education discount (meaning 1 Mac portable and one Mac desktop). There are some minor limits on the Apple Education discount which you can find on their site. My memory is a little fuzzy on the all ins and outs though I used to have that, AppleCare and some other things memorized (I wanted to make sure I gave customers the most advantage of all the services Apple provides because I read it all before buying my first Mac).Ah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I'm guessing all you need for verification is an .edu address? If so, hopefully mine is still active in a few years when I buy my next Mac.
Interesting, I've never seen Microsoft do a 2 licenses. Though a really good deal.
Hello Canada..
FYI: If you are an eBay shopper and not in a hurry, keep an eye on Henry's Camera auctions, as they ARE legit Apple Sellers and I have bought my last 2x AppleCare kits from them.. and fairly cheaply, I recall about $220 CAN for my 2011 MBP..
Otherwise, I also suggest B&H as always are good to me as well!!
It's actually cheaper in the Canadian Apple Education store once you figure in the USD conversion..
for us Canadians anyways.
-CanadaMaple
I am in my 60's and don't have an .edu email address. Hell, when I was in school the internet was only used by the government and the general public didn't know it existed.
So, I'm thinking Amazon is the cheapest price so far, for me anyway.I am in my 60's and don't have an .edu email address. Hell, when I was in school the internet was only used by the government and the general public didn't know it existed.
I know our store here, doesn't require you to enter a .edu email. So it may not even need that
Just pick a random school, and order. Never been asked for a .edu myself.
-CanadaMaple