Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Best way to go about purchasing MacBook Pro in US

T

TudorB

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 18, 2013
6
0
Hi guys/gals

I'd finally like to get a macbook after my old asus laptop croaked. My thinking is to go for the macbook pro with the retina display because of the 9hour battery life and ssd storage and better graphics card over the macbook air. Not really bothered about the retina display but it is a welcome addition. So the price is 1300 $ on apple.com. Now im from Europe so my plan is to put in on my credit card and have it delivered to a friend over there and when he comes back here he'll bring it over.

My question would be, is it possible to get it cheaper elsewhere with black Friday?
I haven't heard apple to reduce their prices on this event but someone told me bestbuy.com might? But will I get the latest model (late 2013 if I buy anywhere else besides apple? Also how can I check that?

Thanks for any Input!
 
Honestly, don't even worry about the Black Friday sales. I know Best Buy is offering $200 off, but you can get that same $200 off anyday at apple by claiming an educactional discount.
 
Once you start paying for it you are going to have problems the payment system will not work if the credit card is not from the country I.e first 4 digits and also billing address, i tried this before on US and other apple country sites

----------

If you do find a way I suggest getting a refurb if avail it is not satisfactory when you receive it you can walk into any uk mac store and deal with it saying you bought it while traveling or whatever
 
jdaniel said:
Once you start paying for it you are going to have problems the payment system will not work if the credit card is not from the country I.e first 4 digits and also billing address, i tried this before on US and other apple country sites
Click to expand...


That's correct. You'll have to buy it from a retailer. I know that B&H Photo will deal with credit cards in one country delivering to US addresses. There may be others as well.
 
Depending on where your American friend is located, you may be able to save more than $100 in taxes by having it shipped to your friend from an out of state retailer. (For example, B&H Photo sells the new base 13" rMBP for $1,289 with free shipping and no taxes outside of New York state.) Apple.com and Best Buy will always have to charge you sales tax. In California, sales tax can be as high as 10% other states may be lower.
 
I purchased my 13" 2.6/16/256 BTO from Macmall.com (which they had in-stock).. Used the promo code for a 3% discount, no tax, and free shipping.

They also accept Paypal, Which is what I used to pay for my rMBP, since I had the money in my Paypal account.

Ordered on a Tuesday and had it Wednesday (the next day)

Total for my configuration was $1740.18 If I would have purchased this same configuration from Apple, it would have been at least $250 more.
 
Last edited:
TudorB said:
Now im from Europe so my plan is to put in on my credit card and have it delivered to a friend over there and when he comes back here he'll bring it over.
Click to expand...

You have a US credit card? The online store doesn't accept foreign CCs as far as I know (I tried about 2 years ago).
 
Wow, appreciate all the input guys. Very helpful. I actually forgot about different sales tax in the US. So basically my credit card most likely will not work. If they accepted paypal then i could link my CC to it so it would work out.

That website is very helpful, thank you!
Another couple of things i want to ask, it was suggested i buy a refurb, this way i could benefit from international warranty? What about if i buy applecare from US will that work in Europe as well?

And lastly, i read somewhere that some 2013 models are problematic, as in they have issues with the display? Is there a way to check against those or something?
 
TudorB said:
Now im from Europe so my plan is to put in on my credit card and have it delivered to a friend over there and when he comes back here he'll bring it over.
Click to expand...

Another option is to use a freight forwarder such as www.shipito.com

If you do that, then you can also buy an SSD, extra RAM and anything else on somewhere such as Amazon.

Bank it all up at Shipito and then get it sent to you together.
 
TudorB said:
And lastly, i read somewhere that some 2013 models are problematic, as in they have issues with the display? Is there a way to check against those or something?
Click to expand...

a few users have had issues (including myself) which is completely uncommon with a new line refresh. buy with confidence, the amount of machines that are out there without defects far outnumber the ones with.
 
Best way to go about purchasing MacBook Pro in US

TudorB said:
Wow, appreciate all the input guys. Very helpful. I actually forgot about different sales tax in the US. So basically my credit card most likely will not work. If they accepted paypal then i could link my CC to it so it would work out.

That website is very helpful, thank you!
Another couple of things i want to ask, it was suggested i buy a refurb, this way i could benefit from international warranty? What about if i buy applecare from US will that work in Europe as well?

And lastly, i read somewhere that some 2013 models are problematic, as in they have issues with the display? Is there a way to check against those or something?
Click to expand...

Since your cc won't work with apple directly u can't buy proper apple refurb those are basically the same as when buying a new product it looks new smells new lol packed n wraps except sometimes comes in a brown box or non retail box, apple care can be bought anywhere but these days for computers or was it phone u have to buy within 30 days I think it was phone but do check. But apple standard warranties for MACS r valid world wide, same goes for apple care.

U can never prevent urself from getting a bad set the only way to do that is to buy one in store and open it up some idiots buy them and don't open them on store and complain about all sorts of problems returning multiple sets hence u have so much stock in refurb after being reworked but I must have been lucky for the retinas r a bit **** I have had mutiple Classic Mbps and no issues but u can't compare things that have been screwed together n things u mash together with glue there's bound to be more issues
 
jdaniel said:
Since your cc won't work with apple directly u can't buy proper apple refurb those are basically the same as when buying a new product it looks new smells new lol packed n wraps except sometimes comes in a brown box or non retail box, apple care can be bought anywhere but these days for computers or was it phone u have to buy within 30 days I think it was phone but do check. But apple standard warranties for MACS r valid world wide, same goes for apple care.

U can never prevent urself from getting a bad set the only way to do that is to buy one in store and open it up some idiots buy them and don't open them on store and complain about all sorts of problems returning multiple sets hence u have so much stock in refurb after being reworked but I must have been lucky for the retinas r a bit **** I have had mutiple Classic Mbps and no issues but u can't compare things that have been screwed together n things u mash together with glue there's bound to be more issues
Click to expand...

You have to purchase Apple Care for an iPhone in the first 30 days, For all other Apple products Apple Care eligible, You have 1 year from the purchase date.
 
I see, good to know. Thank you!

I thought about shipito.com and it seems attractive if there's no sales tax otherwise for a 3kg parcel they charge around $70 so the savings I would make would just go towards shipping. Thinking more to go through my friend since he'll bring it for free and also can open the box and see what's what.

I understand there is no way to upgrade the ram yourself as it's glued to the motherboard so will have to reconsider, maybe go for the 8gb one?

Thanks again for the help so far, really appreciate it!
 
TudorB said:
Wow, appreciate all the input guys. Very helpful. I actually forgot about different sales tax in the US. So basically my credit card most likely will not work. If they accepted paypal then i could link my CC to it so it would work out.

That website is very helpful, thank you!


Another couple of things i want to ask, it was suggested i buy a refurb, this way i could benefit from international warranty? What about if i buy applecare from US will that work in Europe as well?

And lastly, i read somewhere that some 2013 models are problematic, as in they have issues with the display? Is there a way to check against those or something?
Click to expand...

I bought a late 2013 rmbp for delivery In an apple store This year with a foreign credit card on apple.com. Can't Wait to Pick it up next week.

So it Works. At least with some cards.
 
Best way to go about purchasing MacBook Pro in US

TudorB said:
Hi guys/gals

I'd finally like to get a macbook after my old asus laptop croaked. My thinking is to go for the macbook pro with the retina display because of the 9hour battery life and ssd storage and better graphics card over the macbook air. Not really bothered about the retina display but it is a welcome addition. So the price is 1300 $ on apple.com. Now im from Europe so my plan is to put in on my credit card and have it delivered to a friend over there and when he comes back here he'll bring it over.

My question would be, is it possible to get it cheaper elsewhere with black Friday?
I haven't heard apple to reduce their prices on this event but someone told me bestbuy.com might? But will I get the latest model (late 2013 if I buy anywhere else besides apple? Also how can I check that?

Thanks for any Input!
Click to expand...

Apple always reduces their prices, but the difference is so negligible that the no-tax options are more worth your money.
Now, it depends on the place your friend lives. If it is NY you'll have to pay takes. In MacMall you just pay in a handful of states and from BHPhotoVideo you just pay in NY. You should also check out AppleInsider for an extra 3% discount. You also get Parallels for free from any of those sites (it's a mail rebate if you choose MacMall).
I'd still wait for Black Friday. And choose the $1500 mid-tier option; the baseline is too underpowered in RAM.

Finally, I'd recommend you to ask your friend to pay for the computer using his own credit card, because you might end up with a $80+ extra since the currency changes and all of that.
Also, the education discount is negligible side by side with a tax-free option.

How do I know this? I'm a fellow European ;)

EDIT: Don't forget to buy an Apple Universal
Travel Kit or something similar due to the different wall plugs. If you want to buy in the US get from BHPhotoVideo; $33 w/ free shipping. It's about 50% off European's MSRP.
 
Last edited:
Macmall said they will not accept anything from outside the us, be it debit card, credit card or even paypal. So either I order from apple.com and try my card there or i just have my friend buy it for me and pay cash for it.

I decided to get 2.4ghz i5, 8gb ram, 256ssd, though tempted by adding 8gb ram more just to be on the safe side. Will decide at the last minute.
Thank you again for all your help guys, very much appreciated!
 
Best way to go about purchasing MacBook Pro in US

TudorB said:
Macmall said they will not accept anything from outside the us, be it debit card, credit card or even paypal. So either I order from apple.com and try my card there or i just have my friend buy it for me and pay cash for it.

I decided to get 2.4ghz i5, 8gb ram, 256ssd, though tempted by adding 8gb ram more just to be on the safe side. Will decide at the last minute.
Thank you again for all your help guys, very much appreciated!
Click to expand...

Glad you chose the $1500 model, hope you enjoy your computer :)
And you can still try BHPhotoVideo. If you go for apple.com the price difference won't be so large...

EDIT: You can still try Amazon too. I bet they'll allow you to use your card.
 
PedroCst said:
Glad you chose the $1500 model, hope you enjoy your computer :)
And you can still try BHPhotoVideo. If you go for apple.com the price difference won't be so large...

EDIT: You can still try Amazon too. I bet they'll allow you to use your card.
Click to expand...

I tried bhphoto as well but they would only accept US billing addresses. In the end i bought it from bestbuy without any discount as the applestore was down for a while and amazon only had 2 models in stock and was afraid of them selling out.
I tried getting 16gb ram but couldnt find anything available either from bestbuy or amazon so my configuration was 2.4ghz i5, 8gbram and 256gb ssd.

How can i tell from the model number if its early/mid or late 2013 model?
Model Number: ME865LL/A
 
TudorB said:
I tried bhphoto as well but they would only accept US billing addresses. In the end i bought it from bestbuy without any discount as the applestore was down for a while and amazon only had 2 models in stock and was afraid of them selling out.
I tried getting 16gb ram but couldnt find anything available either from bestbuy or amazon so my configuration was 2.4ghz i5, 8gbram and 256gb ssd.

How can i tell from the model number if its early/mid or late 2013 model?
Model Number: ME865LL/A
Click to expand...

You could always search for the nr. in Google, but I'm pretty sure there's no other 2.4 13" available besides this year's.
 
TudorB said:
I tried bhphoto as well but they would only accept US billing addresses.
Click to expand...
I'm very sorry about that. There are several brands which have begun imposing geographic restrictions on authorized retailers. We honor those commitments since in our opinion a commitment is a commitment whether to a vendor or a customer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back