the sales tax of rhode island

7% 😀

What brings you to the Ocean State?

If your friend could stand the drive to one of the apple stores in massachusetts the sales tax there is only 5%. When I lived in Rhode Island it was usually worth well more than the price of gas to take a little trip across the border for larger purchases.

Elbeano said:

If your friend could stand the drive to one of the apple stores in massachusetts the sales tax there is only 5%. When I lived in Rhode Island it was usually worth well more than the price of gas to take a little trip across the border for larger purchases.

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That's very true. I bought my PB at the store in Cambridge Mass. More out of convenience because I go to school right next to Northeastern U, but the tax was about $120 (I think), instead of $167. I bought my Schwinn in Mass too, again it was out of convenience (closest bike store with the right model was there), but I saved quite a bit on tax, which went right to a bike shoe purchase. Of course, if your friend lives in the northeastern area, (Cumberland, Woonsocket, Lincoln, parts of Pawtucket), there's a CompUSA in North Attleboro right next to Emerald Square Mall, which is on Route 1, a tad south of I-295. They might have the new PBs in stock, but not for another week or so I bet.

This might be slightly off topic. Anyway, as Im going to Rhode Island this fall to attend Johnson and Wales University I thought I might get myself a Powerbook. Therefore I wonder which might be the most affordable way to get one. Is it straight from apple.com, any retailer in RI or as mentioned above a retailer in a state with lower sales tax?

Anything else I should keep in mind while purchasing the PB??

thanx

You're from Sweden and going to JWU? That's my old school. I received a degree in culinary arts there which I am putting to great use now as an assistant teacher at a juvenile detention center. I forgot about the comp usa in North Attleboro. If they have any in stock there, that’s a quick trip up 95 from the school. Just get on north 95, get off the first exit in mass, going north in to mass (make sure you’re not heading toward the home depot and olive garden area). The comp usa will eventually come up on your left, next to a best buy, and across the street from the walmart. Good luck to you.

Yepp, from Sweden and going to JWU !! How about the school, liked it?

Thanx for the reply! Now its all up to my driving skills to get there 🙂 How about the student discount, over here students are eligible 10% discount at retaliers nationwide, does that apply to students over there as well? And can you customize(more ram and bigger hd) your Powerbook at comp usa?

Thanx !

Welome to Rhode Island! Don't worry, you won't want to stay here long. 😉

I would suggest either buying from the online store, or driving to the apple store in New Hampshire, where they have no sales tax.

Just to let you know, the road that CompUSA is on can be a traffic nightmare, so be careful. Also, I don't think you can customize your powerbook at CompUSA, only on the online apple store.

Thanx! No worries, Ill only stay for one semester 🙂

Ok, so either apple.com or the apple store. The thing with buying it straight from apple is what ill have to pay for RAM(1 gb = 630$!!). Over here retailers can customize the pb and sell it at a reasonable price. I cant see the point of purchasing the pb with only 256 mb ram anyway? Even less paying 630$ for 1 gb of ram. Another advantage by purchasing it from a retailer is that the student discount is 10 % instead of the 5 % at apple.com(Sweden). But I guess ill have to go with the apple.com/apple store alternative if there arent any retailer who can customize the pb?

chribb said:

Thanx! No worries, Ill only stay for one semester 🙂

Ok, so either apple.com or the apple store. The thing with buying it straight from apple is what ill have to pay for RAM(1 gb = 630$!!). Over here retailers can customize the pb and sell it at a reasonable price. I cant see the point of purchasing the pb with only 256 mb ram anyway? Even less paying 630$ for 1 gb of ram. Another advantage by purchasing it from a retailer is that the student discount is 10 % instead of the 5 % at apple.com(Sweden). But I guess ill have to go with the apple.com/apple store alternative if there arent any retailer who can customize the pb?

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You could always buy the ram seperately and install it yourself. If you want to get a custom HD or something like that, do so, then get the ram somewhere else.

I hope you enjoy your time at JWU. It was a good experience for me, and Providence is a good town. I did find myself going to Mass for just about any sort of commerce though, since it is so close.

In regards to your PB, I would definitely get any extra ram from Crucial. It is a huge savings over the apple store. Just check out their site, it's pretty self explanatory. Also, bear in mind that I don't think there are any physical stores in the US that do custom stuff, so if you still want something like a hard drive upgrade you're going to have to get it from the apple website.

The student discount is also not consistent, like 10% or 15% or anything like that. It's different from product to product, and it seems to hover between 10 and 15%. For instance, the 12" powebook is $1399 with the student discount as opposed to $1599 without it. That is about a 12.5% discount. However, the 17" powerbook is $2499 with the discount, and $2800 without it. That's more like a 10.7% discount. You can check all of the prices out through the apple site, just go to the education store on the left side of the page when you're in the store. The same prices are going to apply in any physical apple store. I don't know what kind of educational discount comp usa offers since I neither had the money for a mac, nor was I a mac user at the time when I was in school.

I will say however, that even though the traffic is relatively bad in that area it's still better than route 2 in RI. Just wait till you try to go down there. It takes longer to get to that Best Buy which is really only like 7 miles away from you than it does to drive to the one right next to the comp usa, and that's more like 15 or 16 miles away. Just don't forget to stop at the Newbury Comics (it's a music store) by the Guitar Center, which is also in the general area up in Mass.

Sorry if I kind of stepped on the toes of some of the other posts.

Thanx alot guys for your help! You´ve been very helpful and Im sure Ill enjoy Providence as much as Ill enjoy the powerbook !!! 🙂

chris

chribb said:

Thanx! No worries, Ill only stay for one semester 🙂

Ok, so either apple.com or the apple store. The thing with buying it straight from apple is what ill have to pay for RAM(1 gb = 630$!!). Over here retailers can customize the pb and sell it at a reasonable price. I cant see the point of purchasing the pb with only 256 mb ram anyway? Even less paying 630$ for 1 gb of ram. Another advantage by purchasing it from a retailer is that the student discount is 10 % instead of the 5 % at apple.com(Sweden). But I guess ill have to go with the apple.com/apple store alternative if there arent any retailer who can customize the pb?

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if you buy from macmall or the likes they usually incluse some free ram
if you buy from macmall now you get a free 512mb of more ram on pbs