New 27" iMac: Apple Store or premium reseller?

Always always buy from Apple. A lot of people, including myself, went through a terrible experience with the iMacs just because they ordered from resellers, there's a whole thread on the forums. I received mine today, after 7 and a half weeks.

dangerly said:

Hello,
i have almost made up my mind to buy a new 27" iMac, i5-1TB fusion drive-GTX 675M.
Now that delivery times are faster than some time ago, i live in Europe and for the base model there is a 24 hours delivery and for a configured the delivery is 3-5 working days, is it still a better option to buy from Apple Store or will it be the same to buy from a premium reseller? Pros and cons?
Thanks

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Although reputable resellers are worth buying from sometimes -- but when it comes to Apple products, i'd buy directly from Apple because:

1. Current wait time for resellers is nuts
2. Apple return policy better than most resellers
3. Apple = Exchange on spot if problems

Yep I agree with the above views. If you can, get it through Apple. I just received my 27" I ordered at the beginning of February from a reseller even though the lead time had been dramatically cut over the course of the order. I reckon it took me a full 2-3 weeks longer through a reseller.

That said, with a 24 and 5-7 day lead time for the 27 now, a reseller would be much less likely to have a much longer wait than through the Appl Store.

Get it from the Apple store.

As mentioned above it has taken much longer to receive Macs from resellers.

I vote not to order it from apple.

Apple purposely does not give priority to resellers so they can make full $ on their products. However, they are in stock and ship immediately. Let apple know that you want options to buy, by purchasing from resellers BECAUSE:

1.) Resellers give you trade in for your used equipment

2.) Resellers will give slight discounts from time to time

3.) Resellers give HUGE discounts on things like applecare

4.) Resellers can put more RAM in your computer for a reasonable price and not some RIDICULOUS premium that apple charges.

I love apple products, but as a company they are horrible to their consumers. They aren't even that great to their stock holders, and they sure as hell aren't good for competition and promoting an overall advancement for the computer and mobile industry.

Apple also doesn't have retail stores in many places, so it would be great to see resellers expand so that I could get some service in my area, but as of yet, they don't see a reason to become a reseller since apple doesn't treat them very well. It burns me because I have to buy applecare on my phones just to be able to have one while mine gets fixed.

So I say support the resellers. You'll get your computer soon now that apple has them ready to go. Check out Powermax. They are very reputable and I had a great experience with them. They also gave me way more money than expercom offered on my 2009 iMac.

yourashero said:

I vote not to order it from apple.

Apple purposely does not give priority to resellers so they can make full $ on their products. However, they are in stock and ship immediately. Let apple know that you want options to buy, by purchasing from resellers BECAUSE:

1.) Resellers give you trade in for your used equipment

2.) Resellers will give slight discounts from time to time

3.) Resellers give HUGE discounts on things like applecare

4.) Resellers can put more RAM in your computer for a reasonable price and not some RIDICULOUS premium that apple charges.

I love apple products, but as a company they are horrible to their consumers. They aren't even that great to their stock holders, and they sure as hell aren't good for competition and promoting an overall advancement for the computer and mobile industry.

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I do agree with your sentiments, but if it's about getting your product as quickly as possible, the Apple Store is still the best way to go. I work for a reseller and I have purchased my Macs through my employer, but for new, in-demand items I don't recommend it to customers. Sure, we can discount AppleCare and other bits and pieces, but we're talking pocket change on a $2,000 machine.

If a reseller can give you a bargain, then by all means. But be prepared to be waiting a while for that long-lead time CTO, especially if you're not in the USA.

Oh and on the whole, RAM can be installed pretty easily by people with little tech knowledge, barring those products that do not support it.

yourashero said:

I vote not to order it from apple.

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There are people on here who ordered from European Premium Resellers back in early December and still don't have their computers.

Apple store is much more reliable.

I'm currently having the same debate. Resellers are currently offering some good deals - local one is giving 10% off at the moment.

yourashero said:

I vote not to order it from apple.

Apple purposely does not give priority to resellers so they can make full $ on their products. However, they are in stock and ship immediately. Let apple know that you want options to buy, by purchasing from resellers BECAUSE:

1.) Resellers give you trade in for your used equipment

2.) Resellers will give slight discounts from time to time

3.) Resellers give HUGE discounts on things like applecare

4.) Resellers can put more RAM in your computer for a reasonable price and not some RIDICULOUS premium that apple charges.

I love apple products, but as a company they are horrible to their consumers. They aren't even that great to their stock holders, and they sure as hell aren't good for competition and promoting an overall advancement for the computer and mobile industry.

Apple also doesn't have retail stores in many places, so it would be great to see resellers expand so that I could get some service in my area, but as of yet, they don't see a reason to become a reseller since apple doesn't treat them very well. It burns me because I have to buy applecare on my phones just to be able to have one while mine gets fixed.

So I say support the resellers. You'll get your computer soon now that apple has them ready to go. Check out Powermax. They are very reputable and I had a great experience with them. They also gave me way more money than expercom offered on my 2009 iMac.

Click to expand...

I have to disagree completely with each and every word\sentence\ you wrote here.
I can't even start to grasps why on planet earth one would want to buy product from reseller when he have full Apple store in his\her country.

Buying from apple will give you a REAL insurance in case something happen to the computer.
Buying from apple will make sure the computer will arrive to you by the year 2013 and not in the year 2999.
Buying from apple will insure to you that when you have question you can go to apple store and get help.

Those things are much more important then the unreasonable option for the store to buy my second hand computer in underpriced price. Or their ability to add memory, something that my 3 year old nephew can do by himself .

I bought from reseller, because there is no apple store here, and this is the last thing I am going to buy fro them. ( the computer arrived after 3 months !!)

yourashero said:

I vote not to order it from apple.

Apple purposely does not give priority to resellers so they can make full $ on their products. However, they are in stock and ship immediately. Let apple know that you want options to buy, by purchasing from resellers BECAUSE:

1.) Resellers give you trade in for your used equipment

2.) Resellers will give slight discounts from time to time

3.) Resellers give HUGE discounts on things like applecare

4.) Resellers can put more RAM in your computer for a reasonable price and not some RIDICULOUS premium that apple charges.

I love apple products, but as a company they are horrible to their consumers. They aren't even that great to their stock holders, and they sure as hell aren't good for competition and promoting an overall advancement for the computer and mobile industry.

Apple also doesn't have retail stores in many places, so it would be great to see resellers expand so that I could get some service in my area, but as of yet, they don't see a reason to become a reseller since apple doesn't treat them very well. It burns me because I have to buy applecare on my phones just to be able to have one while mine gets fixed.

So I say support the resellers. You'll get your computer soon now that apple has them ready to go. Check out Powermax. They are very reputable and I had a great experience with them. They also gave me way more money than expercom offered on my 2009 iMac.

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And say something goes from one month out of warranty? Apple will see where you bought it from, and if you buy it from Apple, they're more likely to say "well they're a loyal customer, maybe we could help him out".

I get the impression this is about ordering a product and having it shipped, rather than going out and picking it up at a local store. If it's being shipped, then I, too, feel going straight to Apple is the best source.

If it's a local store, then it will depend on the store. I have bought or traded my last 8 Macs (and three iPads) from a local reseller, even after they put in a local Apple store. I like them, and I tend to have some loyalty to smaller, local places who have a history of treating me well.

But, if the local vendor is an unknown, hitting up the local Apple store is a good choice.

Overg said:

I have to disagree completely with each and every word\sentence\ you wrote here.
I can't even start to grasps why on planet earth one would want to buy product from reseller when he have full Apple store in his\her country.

Buying from apple will give you a REAL insurance in case something happen to the computer.
Buying from apple will make sure the computer will arrive to you by the year 2013 and not in the year 2999.
Buying from apple will insure to you that when you have question you can go to apple store and get help.

Those things are much more important then the unreasonable option for the store to buy my second hand computer in underpriced price. Or their ability to add memory, something that my 3 year old nephew can do by himself .

I bought from reseller, because there is no apple store here, and this is the last thing I am going to buy fro them. ( the computer arrived after 3 months !!)

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You can't disagree with facts, chief.

Numbers 1 and 2 and 3 are things that apple DOES NOT DO.

Number 3 can also be used incase someone wanted to show appreciation for the discount, they could buy from the reseller. To each his own though.

As for number 4. Yeah, I put my own Crucial Ram in. But when I was on the forums, I couldn't believe how many people bought the RAM upgrade from apple. I'm guessing its the guy that has his windshield wipers replaced at a mechanics. Maybe they don't want the hassle for some reason or another, but people DO purchase RAM from apple. Reseller offers it cheaper.

Also, my dad got an in stock iMac from powermax in 2 days. He's 2 time zones away.

You also missed my entire point of the post by a country mile. You should know this well enough yourself. There is no apple store by you. You had to use a reseller. If Apple would back off and actually ship computers to paying customers instead of punishing them for not buying direct, you wouldn't have to wait so long.

I personally appreciate resellers opening shops so that I can have access to apple products and NOT have to pay a fee when I need a replacement.

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Brian Y said:

And say something goes from one month out of warranty? Apple will see where you bought it from, and if you buy it from Apple, they're more likely to say "well they're a loyal customer, maybe we could help him out".

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Its not like he's buying it from a guy in an alley. Its an authorized reseller. I live three hours from an apple store. At $4 a gallon, I'm not driving there to hope they will help me out, but I do agree that if you do, you have a pretty decent shot of getting good service. If you try to do it over the telephone, its not going to happen.

I personally don't agree with apples way of selling products so I choose to vote with my dollars.

Not to mention getting $1000 for an '09 i5 iMac. Thats something apple CAN NOT DO.

Also add to the list that if you do have an apple store in your state, you'll be adding a decent chunk of change to uncle sam's pocket.