Tomorrow I am buying my first Mac. I know it will most likely be the 27 inch iMac. I was planning on buying it at the Apple store but Bestbuy just came out with a deal when you buy an iMac you get a 500 GB Iomega Go hard drive for free. I am also a Platinum member at Best buy and could rack up a few extra points buying it there. Is there any advantage to purchasing my iMac at the Apple store or Bestbuy? Thanks in advance for the help.
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Apple store or Bestbuy?
- Thread starter FibreSteve
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Nope. Some people like to be special, some people like free things and to save money, you take your pick.
Nope, nothing special about getting it at the Apple store. I personally would opt for BB for the same reasons as you (free hdd and RewardZone points).
I'm a premium member too, and I got something in the mail the other day, which I'll admit I didn't look into all the details, but there was an incentive that if you spent over $1k you got a $150 giftcard too, and I don't think that was for RewardZone members only. The extra points alone is worth it though, and the 500GB external drive is always handy.
If your a student you could save some money at the apple store but all and all it sounds like go the best buy route.
Nope, unfortunately that is not true. I work at Best Buy, and we purchase Apple Products from Apple at their retail price, and sell them at that same price. No money is being made by Best Buy in selling them. Its lucky enough just to get the specials and things like that when they sometimes accompany Apple Products. There are no educational discounts at Best Buy in terms of % off or anything like that. There may be bundled specials, but nothing specific to education.
Best Buy is likely in the Apple's top discount tier for resellers, but doubt it as much as most would think.
As a reseller, they have to adhere to MAP, so it is the incentives on other crap that makes the deal. aka, toss in a freebie or two or offer a discount on a buy it now with the machine product.
Didn't some BestBuy also offer a free iPod Touch when buying a Mac in the Back-To-School thing for college students?
If you can get a student discount from Apple, you will only save $100 and get your item shipped free. If you received the Reward Zone coupons in the mail, the giftcard, the Rewardzone points and the 500gb Go drive are definitely worth more than the $100. The refurb store is really the most compelling reason to buy directly from Apple, imho.
I was able to use my student ID at Best Buy... Best Buy's people also claim (with some accuracy, at least from previous experience) they cover accidental damage. AppleCare does not... Since iMacs are all-in-ones with very expensive, quality IPS monitor panels, I'd go the Best Buy route. (though the risks of accidentally damaging it are minimal!)
Part of me wishes I went for the 8-core 2008 Mac Pro, but student discounts didn't apply so I went with a new 2009 4-core, juiced it up, and still saved a bit, and got rather a fast machine as a result, too...
Hello.
If this is your first Mac, I'd say go to the Apple Store with their friendly and informative Geniuses.
Best Buy is probably more convenient and has some nice freebies. If this wasn't your first Mac, I'd say go BB and get the free drive.
But it's your first Mac! Go to the Apple Store. You're going to feel awkward going there with questions after buying it at Best Buy. Buy it there and you'll feel better about pestering them with questions before, during and after the purchase.
Best Buy has the whole impersonal big box thing going which is fine for most anything else they sell but not your first Mac. Go there for your second or third, after you know your way around your first one really well.
I'm not intending to sound harshly critical of BB, they're OK.
It's just the Apple store is so much better at Macs it's unbelievable.
At least my Apple store is.
Have fun
Keri
If this is your first Mac, I'd say go to the Apple Store with their friendly and informative Geniuses.
Best Buy is probably more convenient and has some nice freebies. If this wasn't your first Mac, I'd say go BB and get the free drive.
But it's your first Mac! Go to the Apple Store. You're going to feel awkward going there with questions after buying it at Best Buy. Buy it there and you'll feel better about pestering them with questions before, during and after the purchase.
Best Buy has the whole impersonal big box thing going which is fine for most anything else they sell but not your first Mac. Go there for your second or third, after you know your way around your first one really well.
I'm not intending to sound harshly critical of BB, they're OK.
It's just the Apple store is so much better at Macs it's unbelievable.
At least my Apple store is.
Have fun
Keri
Apple heres why, if anything is wrong with you laptop, they will send you a replacement and then ask you to send yours back, I love Apple
Not that this would apply to this purchase, but I know for a fact that RewardZone discount coupons (normally 10% or 12%) work on Apple peripherals like Airports and Time Capsules (but not on computers (Apple or any other) or on Apple iPods.
Thanks for all the quick replies!
This is actually MY first Mac but I did buy my Wife a Macbook Pro a couple of weeks ago so I have already had the Apple store experience. Guess I should have clarified that it my initial post. After buying the Macbook Pro I thought the whole Apple store thing was OK but nothing too special since I had been in there a few times before I bought it and had already picked the Genius's brains. I think I will try Bestbuy this time. It's just too hard to pass up a free 500 GB hard drive and or the $130 gift card right now. I also am thinking of purchasing Apple care from Amazon. It is quite a bit cheaper there then with Apple. Another thing I want to buy is the Apple remote. I didn't see it on Bestbuy's website. Anyone know if they sell the remote there?
I just got that brochure too. I would advise you to take a look at the coupon that will get you a gift card. It excludes a TON of things you can get the gift card for including laptops and desktop.
I would say you go wherever you can get the best deal. The sales people are idiots at both Best Buy and Apple. Don't go to Apple for the best "experience" unless you prefer to be talked down to, and you want someone to contradict everything you say or read on these forums. From my experience, the information on these forums is mostly correct, and the idiots at the Apple store haven't got a clue. Furthermore, the biggest idiots are the supposed "Geniuses." If you want some condescending prick to tell you how smart he is, go right to the "Genius" Bar. What a f'n joke!
So forget about learning anything or any Apple "experience" and buy where you can get it the cheapest... probably Amazon or an online retailer. Amazon can save you the tax which is usually the biggest discount there is.
Good luck and congrats.
So forget about learning anything or any Apple "experience" and buy where you can get it the cheapest... probably Amazon or an online retailer. Amazon can save you the tax which is usually the biggest discount there is.
Good luck and congrats.
applecare from LA computer is a deal
You might want to check there as well
If you are truely worried about any machine, I would suggest a warranty from squaretrade as well -- especially for a laptop.
They cover spills and accidental drops...
You might want to check there as well
If you are truely worried about any machine, I would suggest a warranty from squaretrade as well -- especially for a laptop.
They cover spills and accidental drops...
I'm not sure if you plan on using financing or not but keep in mind the Apple Store offers 12 months no interest while Best Buy offers 18 months no interest. I went to the Apple store to buy a Mac Mini and they were only going to finance me up to $400.00 and in order to get the 12 months no interest you have to spend $900.00. I went to Best Buy and they financed me up to $3,000.00 and I bought a 21.5" IMac. I not only get the no interest for 18 months but I got a better computer for the same monthly payments in order to pay it off before the 18 months are done.
Also keep in mind that even though a student discount might lower the price overall, if monthly payments are more important to you then even without a student discount Best Buy is much cheaper.
Just make sure you divide your payments to make sure you pay it off by the end date.
Also keep in mind that even though a student discount might lower the price overall, if monthly payments are more important to you then even without a student discount Best Buy is much cheaper.
Just make sure you divide your payments to make sure you pay it off by the end date.
Get it at Best Buy and get their warranty. I spilled fluid (beer) in my laptop and they replaced it for free. Apple wouldn't do that for you.
Well I have decided to buy my iMac at Bestbuy verses the Apple store. I will be paying cash and will not have to pay tax since I am buying it in Oregon (no sales tax there). I am not a student so I can't get that discount. From what I can tell from the Bestbuy coupons, I can get the 500 GB external hard drive OR the $130 gift card, Not both and it looks like the iMac does qualify for the gift card. Just has to be over $1000. Not hard to do with most Apple products! Now I need to decide. 27" iMac or 21.5"? I like the fact that the 27" comes with a 1 TB hard drive and a dedicated graphics card, but do I really need all that real estate? I don't do any gaming and the most graphic intense thing I would be doing is editing photos in iPhoto and maybe some video editing. Decisions...decisions.
Go to Best Buy! Especially if you are a student of any type. You get $100 off any computer purchase over $400. Plus 99% of the employees are biased to Macs at the Apple Store. You will get more then one response (pros and cons) from all aspects at BB.