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Apple or John Lewis

F

FuriousD

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
110
39
UK
looking to purchase my first Apple Watch tomorrow. I am going to get aluminium and will add apple care at some stage (within the 60 days).

Is there any benefit from purchasing at either Apple or John Lewis? Or does it not matter at all?

Thanks
D
 
FuriousD said:
looking to purchase my first Apple Watch tomorrow. I am going to get aluminium and will add apple care at some stage (within the 60 days).

Is there any benefit from purchasing at either Apple or John Lewis? Or does it not matter at all?

Thanks
D
Click to expand...

I normally buy all my Apple products from Apple direct. My recent AW3 purchase was from JL though. My reasons were that I had some John Lewis vouchers (coincidently £650...same as a SS AW3!) and that you can order now (before 7pm) for collection tomorrow...my nearest JL store is 2 miles, Apple store 40 miles. I also collect Avios points and there was a JL promo for 4 for £1 and Apple was on 2 for £1.

JL also give 2 year warranty and for £29 apparently you can get the equivalent of AppleCare+, though I didn't see this and purchased AppleCare+ from Apple the day I got the watch. IMO it is swings and roundabouts, JL have a very good returns policy and Apple will put AppleCare+ on it if you need it.
 
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FuriousD said:
looking to purchase my first Apple Watch tomorrow. I am going to get aluminium and will add apple care at some stage (within the 60 days).

Is there any benefit from purchasing at either Apple or John Lewis? Or does it not matter at all?

Thanks
D
Click to expand...

I can't speak for John Lewis or their services. But I like purchasing through Apple, mainly because I know how their customer service is and if there's any issues, they will rectify it.
 
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THanks guys. I guessed it would be swings and roundabouts. My local Apple Store is shut for refurb at the moment. (bluewater) also have JL there. I am the other side of the water tomorrow so could go to Apple Lakeside.
 
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As far as I can see, you’ll get Apple customer service wherever you bought an Apple product but if you bought from John Lewis you’ll also have their customer service.

I bought a Fitbit from John Lewis and stupidly relied on Fitbit’s customer service when the first one broke (it ended up being replaced 3 or 4 times); the product would still have been awful but dealing with John Lewis would have been much better.
 
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One thing to mention are that if you return something to Apple within 14 days it is much easier.

I had to return an iPhone once to John Lewis and had to go to their tech service centre in store to make the return.

Apparently, you can only return tech there and no at any till had to wait 30 mins. Just my experience, not sure if this is what others have encountered as well.
 
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Don't get through JL unless you are 100% sure of what you want. I was going to buy an AW from them and checked with customer services regarding returns... They only accept returns on the AW if it is still sealed, if you have opened it they won't refund you. I obviously purchased through Apple after reading this.
 
abdulkar.im said:
Don't get through JL unless you are 100% sure of what you want. I was going to buy an AW from them and checked with customer services regarding returns... They only accept returns on the AW if it is still sealed, if you have opened it they won't refund you. I obviously purchased through Apple after reading this.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure that's not true actually, they gave me 30 days return policy on a MacBook Pro which I returned for a full refund. I think you just need to include all the packaging.
 
Yes, that’s my understanding. I wore mine for a few hours before pairing it in case I didn’t like the look/weight of the stainless steel on the basis that it would be easier to return it unused but returning it was an option.
 
The JL website says otherwise (and this ties with what I was told in store):

If you’ve changed your mind about keeping your purchase, please return it in its original condition with proof of purchase and we’ll exchange or refund it. Unless faulty, this should be within 35 days of receiving your order. By original condition, we’d expect this to mean that you’ve kept packaging and labels, and that the item is undamaged and unused.
​
So less generous than Apple in that you can’t use it for a couple of weeks but you can take it out and try it on before returning it with its packaging ideally within 35 days (though JL aren’t as rigid as other shops about the return window).
 
One thing to considerr is if you want to buy AppleCare at a later date you may have to have the watch inspected by an Apple employee, you may not just be able to get AppleCare online/over the phone. I bought a phone from a carrier a few years back and on launch day wanted to add AppleCare to it. Apple still said they had to inspect the device first.

I suppose from their point of view they could have somebody not buy AppleCare, break the screen on the first day, add AppleCare then to get a cheaper fix.
 
Nell said:
The JL website says otherwise (and this ties with what I was told in store):

If you’ve changed your mind about keeping your purchase, please return it in its original condition with proof of purchase and we’ll exchange or refund it. Unless faulty, this should be within 35 days of receiving your order. By original condition, we’d expect this to mean that you’ve kept packaging and labels, and that the item is undamaged and unused.
​
So less generous than Apple in that you can’t use it for a couple of weeks but you can take it out and try it on before returning it with its packaging ideally within 35 days (though JL aren’t as rigid as other shops about the return window).
Click to expand...

Yes, their website does say that, but I checked directly with customer services and they said they won't accept a return if the seal was broken. I'll dig out the email as proof. The customer services rep also checked with the relevant department for me.
 
abdulkar.im said:
Yes, their website does say that, but I checked directly with customer services and they said they won't accept a return if the seal was broken. I'll dig out the email as proof. The customer services rep also checked with the relevant department for me.
Click to expand...
If you collect in store you’re meant to inspect in store if you want to potentially reject it on the spot. With online orders delivered to your home, you’re allowed to open to inspect.
 
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