military / government discount?

Well if the government is going to pay for it then yes, you most likely will ave to use it for work. With the educational promotion, they expect people to use the products they buy on a discount to help them with schooling, and to generally use FOR school/education.

Although, that doesn't mean you can't spend your spare time on it and play some games, etc. (My cat is eating a spider right now...)

If you qualify, use it for any damn thing you want. There is NO restriction as to where or how you can use the machine based on any discount received, period.

The Mil/Gov't discount pretty much bites, anyway. Something like 4% (or less, depending on the purchase). And I use mine every time I buy something from the Apple Store, and I've been retired for ten years now. Show 'em the card, and off comes a few pennies.

Tee hee, I get more of a discount than you for being an underaged student, while you server time in the Military. Such irony. What I really want to know is if discounts stack up? I am in high-school AND college at the same time.

rdp5008 said:

If I pay for the computer using my military discount and have the computer in my home.......is that abusing the discount (or is it even allowed?)?

I just found out about this discount and I don't know much about it.

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No, you earned the discount...Take it and run.

rdp5008 said:

So I found a site for the government discount from the online Apple Store.

I am just beginning officer training, so I think I qualify for this.

My question is, if you purchase a mac using the government or military discount do you have to use it for work purposes?

Anyone else have experience with this specific discount? It seems to be even better than my student discount that I am about to lose.

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I bought mine using these discounts. The Apple Store employee let me know that I would save the most money by using the Student discount for the hardware, and the Military discount for the software. They were very helpful and I recommend that you go into the store. They will take care of you.

You can use the military discount for any purchases as long as you have an ID card you are good to go. It isn't just restricted to "official use", in fact there is a completely different store for "official" military/government purchases. The military discount is generally a little better on everything but software, but we still get a discount on iPods

Well if you are in college, then get the college discount. And along with your new MacBook Pro you can get a free iPod touch, and a free printer! That sounds like a slightly better deal for the money. Although you did earn the military discount.

It is your choice ultimately, I am just helping you weight the pros and cons.

I wonder what the discount is versus buying at the exchange and not paying the tax? I know the student discount is $200 off, so...

rdp5008 said:

If I pay for the computer using my military discount and have the computer in my home.......is that abusing the discount (or is it even allowed?)?

I just found out about this discount and I don't know much about it.

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If you want to get more info, go to teh apple store website. Towards the bottom you can "choose store". The first or second listed is "Government Employee". You then can choose between purchases for the government and purchases for personal use by government employees. They provide the terms and conditions, but in short it is expressly for personal use (the personal use option) although there are some limits on the number of computers purchased per year (I believe you are allowed to purchase for family as well, just not resale).

scotty96LSC said:

I wonder what the discount is versus buying at the exchange and not paying the tax? I know the student discount is $200 off, so...

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No discount at NEX/BX/PX. So just take the standard Apple price minus discount and add the tax. In AZ (8.25%), tax-free status on a purchase would break even at $2424.24. Below that retail price, take the discount, above, take the tax-free retail price.

If you are spending your own money, you get the discount because of your affiliation, not because the Government is paying for anything. It is just a discount. The discounts cannot be combined though. If you own the product, you can use it for work or not - your choice.

Check both the Apple Store version of your school's education store (prices may vary by institution) and the Apple Store USG/Military page.

Apple Hardware:

Standard HEP price for basic iMac is $1,149 ($50 off, 4.1% discount)
Standard USG price for basic iMac is $1,127 ($72 off, 6% discount)

Apple Software:

Standard HEP price for OS X: $116 ($13 off, 10% discount)
Standard USG price for OSX: $$107.10 ($21,.90 off, 17% discount)

The discounts do vary by product though.

One thing you should look at is the Home Use Program (HUP) for MS Office. You can get a full-up version of Office for $19.95 - supposedly the cost of media production, handling and shipping. You have to get a code number from your employer and certify that you qualify, but that is a huge discount. People focus on hardware price a lot, but maintaining current, legal licenses of your software can quickly exceed the hardware investment.

JohnNotBeatle said:

No discount at NEX/BX/PX. So just take the standard Apple price minus discount and add the tax. In AZ (8.25%), tax-free status on a purchase would break even at $2424.24. Below that retail price, take the discount, above, take the tax-free retail price.

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...plus to make matters worse, the NEX waits until they sell all the older models before they start bringing in the current models (in Japan anyway)

J&JPolangin said:

...plus to make matters worse, the NEX waits until they sell all the older models before they start bringing in the current models (in Japan anyway)

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Same in the states!

Sales Tax

The Apple Store charges sales tax. So, the 4% military discount might be lost if you have to pay sales tax.

I thought I heard one of the retired AF members in my office at Wright-Patterson AFB state that the BX doesn't charge sales tax AND gives a slight discount off of list price. YMMV.

I use gov't employee's discount years ago until my wife went back to teaching. Then I had her buy our Macs from the Apple Education Store - still got charged sales tax. Then, I discovered Apple's refurbished products (yes, sales tax), and have never had a problem with them.

Amazon doesn't charge sales tax and sometimes has discounts.

Bottomline: check all the outlets before plunking down your hard earned $$$$.

Do these discounts apply to refurbs as well?

Polekat said:

Do these discounts apply to refurbs as well?

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You guys resurrected a 2 1/2 year old thread. But anyway student discounts can't be applied toward refurbished units so I assume it is the same for government discounts.