I think this is all being taken too far. If the OP wants to do this he probably will regardless of anyone else's opinions on whether it is ethical or not.
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I know this is sneaky but..
- Thread starter docgerrard
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so taking advantage of a tax free weekend is screwing the state? OP you could buy the laptop and than go back within the 14 days and just ask apple to re ring the same item up. Meaning they could return it and resell the SAME unit, and that saves you the tax. Than your not screwing anyone. Not the state or apple. The state doesn't care about what you spend on a tax free weekend. THEY WANT YOU TO SPEND ON A TAX FREE WEEKEND.
Seriously? Yet you name the thread "I know this is sneaky but.."
As for the charity stuff, don't delude yourself. You're not gonna donate that $140 to charity. Just stop lying. You thought up a sneaky way to cheat the system and get what you want, and you wanted people here to applaud you. Too bad your plan backfired.
It's within Apple's policy, so why not. It will also go into Apple's refurbished store and will provide someone with a good working MBA at a lower cost.
if you are equating this to yoru example, then yes you must have flunked Ethics 101
How is following Apple's policy a scam or fraud? He can return it for whatever reason. I returned my MBA yesterday and I didn't even have to give a reason why.
I'm not one who really likes to jump on the bandwagon of chastising someone for their personal decisions, but there's something I would like to clear up.
You are acting as if this is stealing $100 from a multibillion dollar company. That's not true. You are stealing $100 from your local schools, road crews, and emergency services. Yeah, your state is a multibillion dollar organization, too, but they are hurting for literally every penny right now. There's a reason why only a few states offer a tax-free holiday.
As for Apple, you are stealing far more than $100. If they have to sell something as 'refurbished', that is a 20%-25% drop in value. In this case, that would be $200+ dollars. I'm not sure how exactly this works, but I'm sure when something is returned, the Apple Store has to send it back to a warehouse or to Cupertino. I'm sure someone there has to inspect it/clean it up/wipe the drive/etc. They also have to reset the AppleCare warranty to 1 year. With all of the labor, even if it is in near perfect condition, as well as the shipping back and forth, you're costing them probably a couple hundred more.
I have no idea how much it costs Apple to build a MacBook Air (not including the millions in r&d), but I'm sure you're are eating most, if not all of their profit.
They are the largest consumer electronics company in the world, and well on their way to becoming the largest company in the world. They didn't get there by selling high end computers at a zero-profit margin.
Bottom line, do whatever you want. You're stealing $100 from your state, and several hundred dollars from Apple. You're the one who has to live with yourself...
You are acting as if this is stealing $100 from a multibillion dollar company. That's not true. You are stealing $100 from your local schools, road crews, and emergency services. Yeah, your state is a multibillion dollar organization, too, but they are hurting for literally every penny right now. There's a reason why only a few states offer a tax-free holiday.
As for Apple, you are stealing far more than $100. If they have to sell something as 'refurbished', that is a 20%-25% drop in value. In this case, that would be $200+ dollars. I'm not sure how exactly this works, but I'm sure when something is returned, the Apple Store has to send it back to a warehouse or to Cupertino. I'm sure someone there has to inspect it/clean it up/wipe the drive/etc. They also have to reset the AppleCare warranty to 1 year. With all of the labor, even if it is in near perfect condition, as well as the shipping back and forth, you're costing them probably a couple hundred more.
I have no idea how much it costs Apple to build a MacBook Air (not including the millions in r&d), but I'm sure you're are eating most, if not all of their profit.
They are the largest consumer electronics company in the world, and well on their way to becoming the largest company in the world. They didn't get there by selling high end computers at a zero-profit margin.
Bottom line, do whatever you want. You're stealing $100 from your state, and several hundred dollars from Apple. You're the one who has to live with yourself...
That sounded good, but the state won't be losing anything from this, nor Apple. I guess I just cost my state and Apple a lot of money because I returned my i7 MBA because I decided I'm going with an i5 instead. Apple really screwed it up by allowing returns.
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I'm with you on this one. It may not be nice, but you playing the game by the rules. These corporations have already calculated how many people will actually return a product when they offer a returns policy. They have priced their products accordingly. And they are gambling that they will sell way more units because of the return policy, than will actually take advantage of it.
All you are doing is taking advantage of an existing policy in a creative way that benefits you.
Besides the two caveats I've already mentioned, there is one more I've thought of.... transferring your content over from the old machine to the new one. As a return it may not qualify for Apple's transfer service at the genius store. So... you may need to buy your tax-free unit first. Let them do the transfer (or take it home and do it yourself) and then return the old unit for your refund. This means you'll need a bit more financial muscle for that overlap.
Some programs tag the machine that they are licensed for, CS3 being one of them. So you will either need to unlicense the old machine, and relicense the new one - or go through the hoops of contacting support to get the license moved over. Not a biggie, but something to plan for. Make sure *all* of your programs work as expected on the new machine before heading in to your first essay deadline.
I think everyone is really overreacting to the 100 in taxes thing. For one, the US government does billions in frivolous spending every year. Also why do you think they have tax free shopping days? They want to PROMOTE spending and buying of goods on those days. I do agree that AppleTax usually has returns covered. I am sure they are not going into the red why they take a return back to sell as a refurb.
The OP will be unable to do that. Since sales keep track of hardware serial, he will have to return the opened one to get the refund.
Except the State is the one offering the tax-holiday. As part of the services they offer, they routinely do this to allow families to stock up on school supplies just before the school year starts. They don't make people justify the purchases, they just offer a really easy way to get some stuff for a bit cheaper. It is just part of the many services that the State offers their citizens.
It also puts a bit of a jolt into a local economy, and it employs people.
People who order online to avoid State taxes are doing for more harm to State revenues, since it online purchasing doesn't put any jolt into a local economy, nor does it employ anybody except the delivery drivers. It's a loophole that the States are trying to close.
Taking advantage of the tax-free weekend is perfectly fine. Perfectly ethical. The state has put the tax-free policy in place for just this reason--to encourage spending leading up to back-to-school.
The unethical part is buying a computer 2 weeks before said weekend with the intention of returning it just because the OP can't bear life without his MBA in the meantime. Seriously guys, he might die if he can't use that computer before the tax free weekend.
The unethical part is buying a computer 2 weeks before said weekend with the intention of returning it just because the OP can't bear life without his MBA in the meantime. Seriously guys, he might die if he can't use that computer before the tax free weekend.
Is it unethical to buy an 11" MBA with the intention of returning it (if it doesn't suit my needs)?
I think you guys are going a little overboard.
But why is it unethical? Apple has a policy that says you can return stuff. It doesn't ask you why, or specify the conditions. The purchaser, in this case, is benefiting by the timing. But that is not forbidden by the policy. Apple has calculated that more people will buy their stuff with a generous return policy. And the few people who find creative ways to benefit from it are merely the cost of doing business. imho, of course.....
+1
it's not killing puppies, but it's an abuse of the policy, and 'sneaky', as the OP said from the start, i.e., unethical.
buying an 11" to try it out knowing you can return it if you don't like the size is completely appropriate.
as has been said a billion times already, buying a computer knowing you will return in 14 days to save on taxes is not appropriate.
OP's gonna do it, or did it, anyways. no point in arguing. i doubt any one of us is going to convince the other.
this is a stupid thread and i want it to die, so i hate to post on it, but i guess i couldn't resist.
Nothing wrong with it at all. You are trying it out for 14 days then returning it beause of a promotion. Has noone not bought something, then find it on sale for a cheaper price, then return it to get the diff back? Same thing, just happen to know what the sale price is and when. I think everyone that lives in a state that has this over the next couple of weeks should do it.
Goodness, it's not unethical. Apple assumed the risk with the policy they implemented. And guess what, they're making a killing because of the business steps they have taken. The generous return policy is one of them.
First, where do you live that you pay $140 in taxes?
I live in Chicago (some of the highest taxes in the country) and still only paid $90.
Second, yeah dude, that is sneaky and wrong. But you're gonna do whatever you want, so why ask us? Is someone here really going to talk you out of it?
Midwest taxes are pretty cheap. CA/NY are way higher in many different taxes. Sure your parking meter rates quadrupled, but the rest is pretty cheap.
What you should do is buy now, and buy another one. You should be able to return the new Air you just bought on your old receipt. But avoiding taxes bugs me a bit because taxes to some extent help out your community. If the price is the same at a local store vs. Amazon/web store, I try to buy locally. Makes returns slightly easier most of the time and the tax money goes to your community. If it's a big ticket item where the savings would be significant (say $250+) then I would buy from Amazon. You're a student from what I gather so just do what you can afford.
Costco used (maybe they still do) have a 6 month return policy on laptops. That would mean you could simply get a new laptop every five months.
docgerrard, You've got a lot of growing up to do and hopefully learn about decency, morality, ethics, etc.
The greed you seem so keen on blaming that billion dollar company of is what's blinding you from seeing the error in your reasoning.
The greed you seem so keen on blaming that billion dollar company of is what's blinding you from seeing the error in your reasoning.
Costco used (maybe they still do) have a 6 month return policy on laptops. That would mean you could simply get a new laptop every five months.
That, and the similar policy on tvs, was abused badly. Now it's 90 days.
http://shop.costco.com/en/Customer-Service/Concierge/Electronics-Return-Policy.aspx
You realize that you basically just said "we all pay more because of people like him so it's ok!"? I hope so because that's exactly what you're saying. Yes, it IS unethical. I run a business too and I have had to increase the price on items specifically because of entitled jerks that try to screw me and my business over. But hey, Visa has a policy allowing them to reverse charges regardless of the legally binding contract they have with me so it must be ethical, right? The fact that I've already spent money over the last 2 weeks getting drawings & permits (or the money Apple loses refurbishing & selling computers at a substantial discount) is completely irrelevant, right? As long as this guy is able to skirt the rules to get his pie & eat it too, everything is wonderful. Thankfully the poor fella won't have to go without buying a laptop for a whole two weeks!
So congratulations, if you ever try to buy something and wonder why the price is so high, refer back to this thread and remember that you specifically WANT it to be high cause god forbid that another entitled jackass loses the ability to screw the system while staying inside the rules. Welcome to America, where you can have whatever you want as long as you don't mind screwing the next guy out of it! BTW, does anyone here remember the mortgage crisis that heavily contributed to the collapse of our economy? Yeah, most of that was inside the rules too so I guess nobody here minds too much about all the people who lost their houses and the CEOs getting multi-million dollar bonuses, right? After all, if it's in the rules, it must be ethical.