Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Store vs Compusa vs Online
- Thread starter jburrows500
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yes. I don't know what the discounts are, but they seem to be the same for fed, state/local, and military (which is fed anyway, right?):
I know the black macbook was $1410.
http://www.apple.com/r/store/government/
Wouldn't you say It is more like $90 off (-6%). In Michigan it takes care of the state sales tax. And you can walk into the apple store and the government discount is can be applied with a work badge, check stub or even a work e-mail.
I would not buy from CompUSA. They behave like a Kmart store, are very unprofessional, and unhelpful. You are better off getting it from Amazon or a local/online Apple store.
The policy is to charge the restocking fee to prevent unwarranted returns, but the managers almost always wave it if you ask nicely or are going to be using the money to buy something else in the store.
That is not true. I bought an open item MacBook Pro (1st gen 1.83GHz unit). The Apple rep at the CompUSA store and the Manager together gave me a "deal". I had to buy their extended warranty, which I did. I bought it specifically for doing video encoding (to replace my existing 1Ghz iMac). The unit would repeatedly hang when doing the encoding process and OSX would freeze. I took it back and told them that it is not doing video encoding. They had it tested by their local "apple certified tech" and came back in 20 minutes saying that the unit works fine. Earlier, I spent a whole day dinking around trying to make it work and they were able to make the determination in 20 minutes ? Anyway to make the story short I asked them to fix the issue, they kept saying that the unit was fine, and I ended up returning the unit (even though it had their extended warranty). They charged me a 15% restoking fee that I am currently fighting. They gained less than hundered dollars - but lost a customer and many of his friends for life.
The sad part is that the Apple rep was instrumental in getting this deal for me and would not help figuring out what the problem is.
Complaining to their "Corporate customer Service" site is no good either.
This is the CompUSA store in Nashua, NH.
The sad part is that the Apple rep was instrumental in getting this deal for me and would not help figuring out what the problem is.
Complaining to their "Corporate customer Service" site is no good either.
This is the CompUSA store in Nashua, NH.
Dammit, I wish I had known this earlier today. I ordered one from Amazon at lunch. I would have paid a little more, but I'd have it in my hands.
I sell Macs at Circuit City (Concord, NH store) and I can say with absolute certainty that we do offer the $200 rebate on Final Cut when bought with a CPU. Sold this with an iMac just yesterday.
Zach
Well that absolutely sucks.
Usually the manager'll be nice and wave it if you're buying something else in the store; but if you're just getting your money back, they'll charge the 15% restocking fee, figuring they have to recoup something since the machine will now be sold open box.
Totally sucks though. Sorry
umm..all the compUSA stores are different. Just because you had a bad experience..doesnt mean they are all that way.
Any experiences with CompUSA in Salem, NH?
I work 3 min away and was thinking of picking up Mac Pro from them maybe next week.
I'll appreciate all the help.
I work 3 min away and was thinking of picking up Mac Pro from them maybe next week.
I'll appreciate all the help.
I agree.
That is why I contacted their corporate customer service. Same result, they did not even bother to hear what the customer has to say.
BTW, I was complaining to a bunch of my friends and quite a few of them encountered similar treatment at CompUSA. Hence my conclusion that this is an endemic problem with how they deal with customers.
If they want to grow or even survive in this market they better clean up their act and listen to what kind of experience their customers are having when visiting their stores.
I for one will never step into a CompUSA store nor will recommend them. Did you read what I posted earlier, I bought or was sold their extended warrranty and had to return the product in frustration, because I was dealing with incompetent staff that did not understand what the issue is and jumped into conclusions. I am a senior electrical engineer and know what I am talking about when I see an issue.
I am not stupid to loose 15%, just did it to make a point, and btw, this is an open item that I got and was assured that it would function well and they would take care of all issues.
Enough said.
That is why I contacted their corporate customer service. Same result, they did not even bother to hear what the customer has to say.
BTW, I was complaining to a bunch of my friends and quite a few of them encountered similar treatment at CompUSA. Hence my conclusion that this is an endemic problem with how they deal with customers.
If they want to grow or even survive in this market they better clean up their act and listen to what kind of experience their customers are having when visiting their stores.
I for one will never step into a CompUSA store nor will recommend them. Did you read what I posted earlier, I bought or was sold their extended warrranty and had to return the product in frustration, because I was dealing with incompetent staff that did not understand what the issue is and jumped into conclusions. I am a senior electrical engineer and know what I am talking about when I see an issue.
I am not stupid to loose 15%, just did it to make a point, and btw, this is an open item that I got and was assured that it would function well and they would take care of all issues.
Enough said.
I have made many on-line purchases from B&H Photo. The most recent was yesterday, taking delivery of a new black MacBook. They are not the 'rock bottom' lowest price. However, they are almost alway able to get my stuff out the door the same day, it is always exactly what I ordred, well-packaged and delivered as promised. Their prices are good, usually below MSRP. I have seen others a little cheaper, but I am willing to pay slightly more for peace of mind.
I purchased one of the first MacBook Pro models from CompUSA, and it had all of the normal problems that many MBPs had at the time -- LCD buzz, processor whine, and a lot of heat.
CompUSA let me exchange it twice (meaning I tried three brand-new MBPs over a 4 week period from them). All three had the same problems.
I wrote an email to their customer service (via their website) explaining my frustration and how I'd like to just get my money back and try again later. I wasn't expecting much from this, but figured what the heck.
Two days later, the local store manager called me back and said he talked it over with the Apple rep (and noticed their display models had the same issues) and had no problems doing a full refund. Zero hassles.
I guess I got lucky with CompUSA, but ... there appear to be some reasonable managers out there.
I guess one of the differences between my situation and yours is that the problems my notebooks had were easily seen.
CompUSA let me exchange it twice (meaning I tried three brand-new MBPs over a 4 week period from them). All three had the same problems.
I wrote an email to their customer service (via their website) explaining my frustration and how I'd like to just get my money back and try again later. I wasn't expecting much from this, but figured what the heck.
Two days later, the local store manager called me back and said he talked it over with the Apple rep (and noticed their display models had the same issues) and had no problems doing a full refund. Zero hassles.
I guess I got lucky with CompUSA, but ... there appear to be some reasonable managers out there.
I guess one of the differences between my situation and yours is that the problems my notebooks had were easily seen.
If you are in Salem, NH. Then why don't you go to the Apple store in Rockingham mall and pick the unit up. I called them yesterday and they have a refurb macpro 2.66GHz.
and how much was it? I assume it standard config. - right?
the reason was that I will pick up few other things along so I didn't wanna make 2 stops
That's not too bad for local pickup. I don't think they'll have it for very long.
I think I'll go with Amazon for the same price , plus $1.99 next day delivery for Prime members...
It's funny, I just had a reverse experiance of what you are all saying. Not on the retail side, but on the repair side. I had a problem with my MBP, I had put a bad CD in it (that I didn't know was bad at the time) that was not letting it boot. The guy at the apple store genius bar said I had a bad logic board, and it had to be sent back. He said there was also no way to get the CD out short of taking the optical drive apart. Since I have had accidental damage to my computer, he said Apple won't cover it, and they'll charge me $1,248 to fix it.
I left there in a storm, and went to CompUSA. The guy there stuck an index card in my drive, the CD popped out, and it's working fine. No charge, fixed in 3 minutes
I left there in a storm, and went to CompUSA. The guy there stuck an index card in my drive, the CD popped out, and it's working fine. No charge, fixed in 3 minutes