Buy from Apple...or Amazon?

[bluecabochon]

I will be buying a 24" iMac and am attracted to the rebates offered by Amazon.com, as well as free shipping and no taxes. However, I do want to upgrade the memory to 2 Gigs and possibly the video card, and am wondering if that's possible thru them.

Is it faster to buy from Apple? I imagine thet they charge tax. I'm hoping that my printer, an Epson 740, will work (Epson says it will) otherwise buying an Apple and getting a printer with a hefty rebate is attractive. I also would probably get .mac for $30 less and imagine that it's available at Apple only.

I've never bought anything this sizable from Amazon and wonder if anyone has had a good experience purchasing a Mac there? I've never talked to a human being there either and that makes me nervous.

I live in NYC and could buy from Tekserv but I'd have to pay taxes and carry the thing home on the subway. Of course they also have open box deals that might work out spectacularly.

I've covered a lot of ground in this post but I really am curious about buying from Amazon and if it's possible to change the specs there.

I always do my own painstaking research but I've gotten some wonderful help here lately and so value this community's collective opinions. Thanks in advance!

 

[WildCowboy]

Lots of people buy Macs from Amazon with great success.

But you can't customize the Macs through them. The RAM is no problem, as it's simple to upgrade yourself and it's cheaper to buy from a third-party like OWC or DMS than it is to buy from Apple. But the video card upgrade would really only be available from Apple.

 

[bearbo]

this exact topic was covered right here not very long ago. why do newbies not do some searches before posting?

to answer your question. it is not possible to upgrade video card from anywhere but apple.

you can upgrade ram by yourself, but it will not be apple ram

if you buy from amazon, you will safely get your product

apple ships reasonably fast. and yes, if you live in the state of new york, you pay tax.

you will not be able to get $30 off .mac if you buy from amazon.

all in all you can only get stock specification from amazon. so if upgraded video card is of your desire, you can only get that from apple.

again, try using the search function next time.

 

[bluecabochon]

I know that if I buy memory from crucial (as I have done in the past) that it also voids the warranty.

 

[bearbo]

I know that if I buy memory from crucial (as I have done in the past) that it also voids the warranty.

you are horribly mistaken, you void no warranty by buying memory from crucial

here
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/258011/
i've done your hw

 

[IJ Reilly]

If you want to buy from Amazon, and are in a hurry (I know how it is when you've finally made your mind up!), then watch for "ships with 24 hours." Generally, this works out to be true with Amazon. The free shipping is ground shipping, though, so it could take a few days longer than you'd like. Incidentally, you can buy .Mac from Amazon for $69.99. I keep forgetting that this also works for renewals and end up paying the full $100 every year.

 

[mwsh2000]

I bought from Amazon

I bought my PowerMac G5 from Amazon a little over a year ago, and I really don't have any complaints. I upgraded the RAM with Crucial RAM when I received it, which was relatively easy. At the time I purchased it, Apple was running a rebate program with Logic Pro, so I ended up getting a $500 rebate from Apple, in addition to a $250 rebate from Amazon. Also, if you have an Amazon credit card, you can get a ton of points towards Amazon gift certificates (I believe I got $75 worth of gift cards back). It sounds like if you want to update the video card, you need to get if from Apple though.

 

[phungy]

I'm actually in the same dilemma too. Amazon or Apple? My professor says to purchase it from Apple (he use to work for Apple). Apple now has the 'free printer' promo. So in the end, I'd actually be saving a tad bit more if I bought it from Apple (with student discount) than if I bought it from Amazon. I'm going with Apple.

 

[clevin]

printer now is super cheap, how much can that save you? and you are really paying more, coz u are buying the printer also.

 

[phungy]

Well I'm just basing it off the same printer that sold on eBay (C3180?) for about $95 shipped. I figured if I was able to get $80 + $100 rebate + student discount, it'd be cheaper than buying it from Amazon with a $75 rebate.

 

[djkny]

Well I'm just basing it off the same printer that sold on eBay (C3180?) for about $95 shipped. I figured if I was able to get $80 + $100 rebate + student discount, it'd be cheaper than buying it from Amazon with a $75 rebate.

Don't forget TAX you incur when ordering through Apple, which negates any "rebate" benefits.

 

[clevin]

Well I'm just basing it off the same printer that sold on eBay (C3180?) for about $95 shipped. I figured if I was able to get $80 + $100 rebate + student discount, it'd be cheaper than buying it from Amazon with a $75 rebate.

hehe, u forget apple.com store will never be as cheap as ebay.com, and I doubt if you can combine two rebates (promo and student discount).
go ahead give it a try and let us know the result.

 

[WildCowboy]

Don't forget TAX you incur when ordering through Apple, which negates any "rebate" benefits.

Don't forget that you're supposed to pay tax on your Amazon purchase as well.

...I doubt if you can combine two rebates (promo and student discount).
go ahead give it a try and let us know the result.

Yes, you can combine the printer rebate with educational pricing. In fact, when the iPod promotion was going on, you could use all three together.

 

[mr_matalino]

this exact topic was covered right here not very long ago. why do newbies not do some searches before posting?

to answer your question. it is not possible to upgrade video card from anywhere but apple.

you can upgrade ram by yourself, but it will not be apple ram

if you buy from amazon, you will safely get your product

apple ships reasonably fast. and yes, if you live in the state of new york, you pay tax.

you will not be able to get $30 off .mac if you buy from amazon.

all in all you can only get stock specification from amazon. so if upgraded video card is of your desire, you can only get that from apple.

again, try using the search function next time.

Well...maybe that's why they're NEW! Take a deep breath and maybe explain next time to the newbies that there is a search function...and smile!

 

[Flowbee]

Well...maybe that's why they're NEW! Take a deep breath and maybe explain next time to the newbies that there is a search function...and smile!

He took the time to answer the OP's question, in detail. His post was a lot more helpful than yours.

 

[mr_matalino]

He took the time to answer the OP's question, in detail. His post was a lot more helpful than yours.

So what was I to do? Answer the post again? And sometimes posts are not always meant to be helpful to the OP...

 

[bearbo]

He took the time to answer the OP's question, in detail. His post was a lot more helpful than yours.

thank you !

 

[phungy]

hehe, u forget apple.com store will never be as cheap as ebay.com, and I doubt if you can combine two rebates (promo and student discount).
go ahead give it a try and let us know the result.

I just did and it worked. I was able to get the student discount as well as the promo.

Don't forget TAX you incur when ordering through Apple, which negates any "rebate" benefits.

Right, I just calculated it and both come out to the same final price after rebate.

Don't forget that you're supposed to pay tax on your Amazon purchase as well.



Yes, you can combine the printer rebate with educational pricing. In fact, when the iPod promotion was going on, you could use all three together.

Yep, I would wait til summer for that kind of deal but I really need it before Spring semester starts. I've already reformatted my old laptop and its ready to be sold.