My suggestion: search macmall for open box macbook airs. Their discounts on open box units are pretty good. Generally, open box units are computers that were purchased and returned to macmall for some reason or another, again, generally, because the customer has changed their mind, and because they computers cannot be sold as 'brand new' as they have been opened, they are sold as 'open box' with a discount as the incentive to buy. Plus, they will give you 15 days to return it, with no hassle if you are not satisfied with the purchase.
ust do a search on the main web page for "macbook air open box". I in fact just purchased a Macbook Air 11" 1.4ghz / 4gb / 64gb (received it today) for $904. Not bad, huh? Next day overnight shipping was $15. It is in perfect condition, and no dead pixels... I'm ecstatic. I was considering purchasing a 2gb version from Craigslist here in Seattle, and prices were almost what you would pay new from MacMall for the same unit.
I have read here on macrumors' forums that Apple will reset the warranty to the new owner on an 'open box' sale, instead of going off the date the computer was first registered online, or when Apple "estimates" is a valid start date for warranty. I've never heard of this before, but, I went onto Apple's support webpage to check the warranty and it stated November 11, 2011 for expiration. There is a link to click if you want to challenge the warranty date. So, I did, and submitted via pdf my invoice. I'll let you all know if I get my warranty reset to my purchase date. Either way, I feel great about my purchase.