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steve88

macrumors member
Original poster
I have decided to get a new imac 20", but want to wait for the new upgrades to come out. I have looked at multiple online sellers and have come to the conclusion that everyone is within the same ballpark as far as price is concerned. The main difference is who gives the most "extras" with your unit. I have found MacMall to be the most generous with: a free Lexmark printer, free RAM upgrade of 256MB for a total of 768MB,and free shipping. Has anyone had any dealings with MacMall and if so, how are they to deal with?
 
steve88 said:
I have decided to get a new imac 20", but want to wait for the new upgrades to come out. I have looked at multiple online sellers and have come to the conclusion that everyone is within the same ballpark as far as price is concerned. The main difference is who gives the most "extras" with your unit. I have found MacMall to be the most generous with: a free Lexmark printer, free RAM upgrade of 256MB for a total of 768MB,and free shipping. Has anyone had any dealings with MacMall and if so, how are they to deal with?


I've ordered stuff with macmall quite a few times. Had no problems whatsoever. They're one of the bigger mac online retailers out there. And quite well-known too.
 
They appear to be a valuable member of the Apple reseller groups. I personally like to shop directly from apple's online store. I am not sure if others do this, but I have received multiple promo codes from Apple by being a loyal customer.

Either way, you are buying a New apple, from a credible reseller.

Welcome to Macrumors!
 
steve88 said:
I have found MacMall to be the most generous with: a free Lexmark printer, free RAM upgrade of 256MB for a total of 768MB,and free shipping. Has anyone had any dealings with MacMall and if so, how are they to deal with?
I thought they came with HP printers. I'm not a huge fan of Lexmark. I used to work for Best Buy and 80% of the customers who bought Lexmark printers or got them in computer bundles were returned because they died in the first week.

Also, you have to pay $40 for that RAM upgrade. Its says free but that fee is for MacMall to install it. Always read the fine print. Apple has free shipping also (ground I think) but the order almost always arrives early after it ships. My new BTO PowerBook arrived 5 days early from China! So, you might as well order it from Apple when new iMacs are released within a few weeks.
 
The iMacs from MacMall used to come with Epson printers, now it's Lexmark, next month, who knows? Yeah, I live in NY, where sales tax is a real killer, so I try to avoid it any way I can. Someone said that their computer came directly from China? I thought that Apple would have them sent to a US warehouse for distribution over here.
 
A friend bought a Mac from MacMall and had no problems whatsoever - and yes, sometimes they give away quite a decent amount of good stuff even though their system prices themselves might be the same!
 
And don't think the free printer don't have their own catch, they may very well be the printer companies most profitable printers.

Edit: The profit is in the cartridge, and they usually don't last long...
 
Sun Baked said:
And don't think the free printer don't have their own catch, they may very well be the printer companies most profitable printers.

Edit: The profit is in the cartridge, and they usually don't last long...


That's very true. It gets to the point where you have to ask yourself if it's more cost-effective to buy a new printer cartridge or a new printer... 😎
 
Pismo said:
I used to work for Best Buy and 80% of the customers who bought Lexmark printers or got them in computer bundles were returned because they died in the first week.

WoW! I worked for an electrical retailer, we didn't get many lexmarks back at all, it was the cheap epson printers that had to be replaced most of the time. Its just the price of lexmark printers that put many people off buying lexmarks.
 
I personally have given up on Macmall after waiting 2 months for my Ipod Shuffle that I ordered the day it came out. It was continuously backordered even though the website said it would ship within 2-3 weeks, then 3-4 weeks and back to 2-3 weeks on a brand new order. I finally wrote the customer service and asked them why there was so much delay and they could not give me an answer. I wrote back and expressed in a very well-worded paragraph my displeasure with the service and the fact that the website had continued for 2 months to post the incorrect time frame for delivery.

After a simple, you're order has been cancelled with no apology, I decided I will never spend another dollar using Macmall.

Just my 2 cents.
 
steve88 said:
Someone said that their computer came directly from China? I thought that Apple would have them sent to a US warehouse for distribution over here.

I think it depends to some extent on what you order. Presumably there are warehouses here storing computers for Apple stores and other retailers. Of things I ordered from Apple:

- iBook, BTO - came from China
- AEBS, ordered with the iBook - separate cover, from China
- BT Mouse, also with iBook - from US, sep cover?
- Epson printer, also with iBook - from US, sep cover
- iPod, engraved - came from China

So the pattern is a little strange, I guess...at least the AEBS coming from China was strange. But I particularly remember it, because DHL drove me crazy trying to get it out of their hands... 🙄
 
~Shard~ said:
That's very true. It gets to the point where you have to ask yourself if it's more cost-effective to buy a new printer cartridge or a new printer... 😎
That's where I am with my Epson R200. A full set of cartridges will cost around $75, and a new printer will cost around $99. As flimsy as the CD trays are on those, it's probably worth just getting a new printer. I just feel weird getting rid of a perfectly good printer.

Sorry to kind of hijack the thread there. Now back to discussing MacMall...
 
theyre good

ive got some stuff from them. They ship quick and you get free stuff. I personally like the apple store online better.
 
barrettd said:
That's where I am with my Epson R200. A full set of cartridges will cost around $75, and a new printer will cost around $99. As flimsy as the CD trays are on those, it's probably worth just getting a new printer. I just feel weird getting rid of a perfectly good printer.

Yeah, I hate that too. 🙁 Every time I buy inkjet ink, I wonder to myself why I don't just take the plunge and get a little laser. 🙄 But, at least Apple seems to have been gentle with the C8x printers they were giving away 1-2 years ago. The cost of ink for them seems very reasonable, particularly if you mostly use black, and they don't seem terribly susceptible to the issue of ink cartridges drying out over time in the absence of usage.
 
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