on first install of Lion on 2011 MBA when you go to the Appstore you get option to install the iLife apps for free.
To confirm your eligibility for that 'free purchase' it checks the unique identifier of your machine, makes sure its not yet been logged against another AppleID, and then associates the apps with your AppleID
i.e. that unique machine id is the machines 'free iLife coupon' and it only gets to redeem it once.
Once its presented the iLife apps get permanently logged against whichever AppleId was being used at that time.
End result: Original owner, using that same AppleID in future, can redownload those apps as many times as they please, cos ever since that first download they're associated with his/her AppleID.
Silly end result (ie the one the OP finds themselves in) - a subsequent owner doing a clean install can't redeem the free iLife apps that should have come with the machine, as the 'coupon' (unique machine ID) has already been redeemed by original owner and associated forever more with his/her AppleID.
Even more ridiculous end result - I upgraded two of my SL machines to Lion and, as I understand it, neither would be eligible to a free iLife apps update. If Id wanted the iLife apps on either of them Idhave had to buy it at least once. But.. having now bought a 2011 MBA, and got it to associate the free iLife apps that it's entitled to with same AppleId as the other machines, I could now download them onto all three of my machines!
to OP I'd suggest the only things you can do short of returning the machine for a refund, is to try to get someone at apple app store support to reset your machines unique identifier on the database. So that next time its queried it shows as not yet having been used to redeem the 'free iLife apps', OR to have them reassign the iLife apps that were redeemed with it over to your AppleID (rather than the AppleId of the original installer) so that next time its queried it comes back as the correct AppleID (ie your one) and lets you download them.
Trouble with either of those is they're open to potential abuse, and there simply might not even be an appropriate procedure in place within the App Store admin software to allow them to do that.
Things were never this complicated when new computers came with install media, (or at least an install image set that could be placed on physical media)...
To confirm your eligibility for that 'free purchase' it checks the unique identifier of your machine, makes sure its not yet been logged against another AppleID, and then associates the apps with your AppleID
i.e. that unique machine id is the machines 'free iLife coupon' and it only gets to redeem it once.
Once its presented the iLife apps get permanently logged against whichever AppleId was being used at that time.
End result: Original owner, using that same AppleID in future, can redownload those apps as many times as they please, cos ever since that first download they're associated with his/her AppleID.
Silly end result (ie the one the OP finds themselves in) - a subsequent owner doing a clean install can't redeem the free iLife apps that should have come with the machine, as the 'coupon' (unique machine ID) has already been redeemed by original owner and associated forever more with his/her AppleID.
Even more ridiculous end result - I upgraded two of my SL machines to Lion and, as I understand it, neither would be eligible to a free iLife apps update. If Id wanted the iLife apps on either of them Idhave had to buy it at least once. But.. having now bought a 2011 MBA, and got it to associate the free iLife apps that it's entitled to with same AppleId as the other machines, I could now download them onto all three of my machines!
to OP I'd suggest the only things you can do short of returning the machine for a refund, is to try to get someone at apple app store support to reset your machines unique identifier on the database. So that next time its queried it shows as not yet having been used to redeem the 'free iLife apps', OR to have them reassign the iLife apps that were redeemed with it over to your AppleID (rather than the AppleId of the original installer) so that next time its queried it comes back as the correct AppleID (ie your one) and lets you download them.
Trouble with either of those is they're open to potential abuse, and there simply might not even be an appropriate procedure in place within the App Store admin software to allow them to do that.
Things were never this complicated when new computers came with install media, (or at least an install image set that could be placed on physical media)...
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