I'm a teacher, I cannot afford a new mac

[willentrekin]

Just out of frustration, let me share that I cannot afford a new mac.

I own several Apple products, including a MB Pro and a Mini. I tend to buy refurbished. Especially through Apple.com. Some great deals to be had. Not new, but comes with a pretty solid year-long warranty.

I'm a teacher, and I use a 10 years old macbook pro in a daily basis, from preparing lessons to book designing. This old mac is getting old and slow, but I have kids now and my income is tied to the family budget. To buy a new mac just doesn't fit into it.

What's your budget?

Apple is making millions in profits every year.

Yes. They are a business, and a very successful one at that. Not sure how Apple's profits are relevant to your budget, though.

Yet their computers keep the same expensive price tag they always had. At some point I'd like to see Apple considering their clients as people, not as milking cows.

The fact that they keep "the same expensive price tag" doesn't help your argument much. For example, in December 2007, an 8GB iPhone cost $399 over the holidays. That's about $480 now. But you can buy an iPhone 7 outright, right now, for $449; the cost has actually decreased in the long run.

Depending on your budget, perhaps consider an installment plan or the like. Apple's got some good promo pricing with some of its partners, charging no interest over specified amounts of time depending on amount of initial purchase.

 

[Escher2112]

The OP isn't alone. I'm a Senior Engineer and I can't afford a $2.5K macbook Pro either. I generally buy several generations old and upgrade them (used to until they started soldering everything down).

I only recently got a new 2018MBP 15" touchbar version through an insurance claim as my previous MPB was damaged in an accident.

I fixed the old MPB that was damaged (needed a new screen) with ebay parts and actually use that more than the newer model (I don't care for the new keyboards or the giant trackpad)...

Don't be too upset you can't afford the newest - sometimes the newest isn't what you'd enjoy using the most!

 

[Audit13]

OP, you are not alone.

I have seen threads from people employed in various industries that can't afford a new Apple product.

I have never purchased a new Apple product at full price. My 2015 Air was put together from different machines with various defective parts. My late 2013 13" Pro was purchased as a refurb using gift cards, and my Apple Tv 4K was free after paying for 3 months of DirectTV at a cost of $73.

I know many people who see Apple products as overpriced but that does not stop them from buying Apple. People vote with their wallets and there are enough people that vote for Apple based on their price structure.

 

[Plutonius]

I think many people here missed the point.
Instead of attacking him, or telling him he doesn't need a new Mac or a powerful one, just look at the issue itself. MacBooks Pros are expensive, we had many people already state especially in the UK that the Macs are priced exorbitantly and they cannot justify (or afford). Its seems odd now that you're blaming the OP instead of looking at its Apple charging the premium.

The OP has options to be sure, refurbs, used, or older models, but that doesn't get away from the fact that apple has priced these at a level that makes it hard for many people to justify and/or afford the laptops. From my perspective, I chafe under the get an older model suggestions because the OP can buy a nicely equipped brand new PC that is a lot less then a MBP. If I'm plunking down close to 2,000 dollars I don't want a used machine. For some that's a great suggestion and maybe for the OP, but I'm just taking my personal perspective and I'd want a new machine.

To me MBPs are expensive and while this post was on a fan site where many folks will justify apple's pricing because they support apple zealously, its my opinion that MBPs are too expensive.


So he has no right to complain how expensive it is, because other nations have it worse? Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and he's stating his, he has every right.

It is what it is as far as Apple pricing. I don't believe people are attacking him but are expressing the realities of Apple pricing and the options the OP has.

@hiorgos certainly has the right to complain about the cost and should complain about the cost but was the post only to complain about the pricing or was it asking for options ?

 

[Howard2k]

I have never seen something like this. A guy rants on a forum about MacBook prices, and gets eaten by community.

There is a very good reason why "rest of the technological world" considers Apple users as idiots. You are not helping with alleviating those stereotypes.

Ferrari should make a $10,000 car for the lower end market right?
Tag Heuer should make a $25 digital watch that you can buy at WalMart?
Louis Vitton should make disposable plastic bags for those who can't afford their premium products?
Movie cinemas should have a second smaller budget cinema where you pay $3 and with 24 other people sit around a 40" flat screen and get 5 kernels of popcorn each?
Oakley should make a $20 pair of glasses for the bottom end of the sunglasses market?

 

[maflynn]

I don't believe people are attacking him but are expressing the realities of Apple pricing and the options the OP has.

There were definitely some comments that seemed more blaming then helping him.

Not an economics teacher right?

Stop complaining. In some countries a Macbook Pro costs more than multiple month salaries on average.

so if you can’t afford that - look elsewhere to blame.

I don't have a garage full of supercars...

I don’t expect Rolls Royce to lower their prices to fit my budget.

 

[Absrnd]

Just out of frustration, let me share that I cannot afford a new mac.

I'm a teacher, and I use a 10 years old macbook pro in a daily basis, from preparing lessons to book designing. This old mac is getting old and slow, but I have kids now and my income is tied to the family budget. To buy a new mac just doesn't fit into it.

Oh, and I live in a top ten GDP country, I wonder how difficult is to buy a mac for a teacher in other places.

Apple is making millions in profits every year. Yet their computers keep the same expensive price tag they always had. At some point I'd like to see Apple considering their clients as people, not as milking cows.

Sorry for the rant.

You could have saved up in those 10 years, (like I had done after buying my previous iMac) and you will get a student discount as a teacher, good luck :/

 

[zhenya]

At the Apple refurbished store in the US there are a large number of sub $1500 MBP’s available. Assuming that you use the new one for something like the same 10 years you have used your current model, that is $12.50/month to have a really nice computer. Note that this is approximately the same price per month as buying two less expensive devices that are likely to cause you more grief, and not be as nice to use every day.

If you can’t afford $12.50/month for a tool that greatly expands your productivity and access to the world, that’s more a failure to plan than anything else. In that case buy something cheaper until you have saved enough to buy what you want.

 

[koyoot]

Ferrari should make a $10,000 car for the lower end market right?
Tag Heuer should make a $25 digital watch that you can buy at WalMart?
Louis Vitton should make disposable plastic bags for those who can't afford their premium products?
Movie cinemas should have a second smaller budget cinema where you pay $3 and with 24 other people sit around a 40" flat screen and get 5 kernels of popcorn each?
Oakley should make a $20 pair of glasses for the bottom end of the sunglasses market?

Apple is NOT a Ferrari. In Ferrari cars there is no FIAT parts. But sometimes FIAT can use Ferrari parts. Apple hardware IS NOT a statement product. It is increasingly embarassing to own Apple products, all over the world. Because of Apple's reputation being successively destroyed with each new product release and faults found in it, and by Apple users community, and how it is considered.

You do not want to be seen as one of those idiots, that believe in marketing lies, and reality distortion field.

In Apple products you have ton of Samsung's/Sharp/LG(FIAT) components. Only you guys believe Apple is like a Ferrari. It never was, never will be, unless ALL of their hardware will be custom made. Only thing that may make Apple to be considered as a Ferrari is Apple's own Engine(SoC).

 

[zhenya]

Apple is NOT a Ferrari. In Ferrari cars there is no FIAT parts. But sometimes FIAT can use Ferrari parts. Apple hardware IS NOT a statement product. It is increasingly embarassing to own Apple products, all over the world. Because of Apple's reputation being successively destroyed with each new product release and faults found in it, and by Apple users community, and how it is considered.

You do not want to be seen as one of those idiots, that believe in marketing lies, and reality distortion field.

In Apple products you have ton of Samsung's/Sharp/LG(FIAT) components. Only you guys believe Apple is like a Ferrari. It never was, never will be, unless ALL of their hardware will be custom made. Only thing that may make Apple to be considered as a Ferrari is Apple's own Engine(SoC).

Your comment confirms the opposite of what you were hoping. Ferrari cars are not 100% Ferrari built either. You are likely to find many of the same ‘parts bin’ components in a Ferrari and a Fiat.

Apple absolutely makes premium laptops compared to most of the market. You not understanding that says much more about you than Apple.

 

[Howard2k]

Apple is NOT a Ferrari. In Ferrari cars there is no FIAT parts. But sometimes FIAT can use Ferrari parts. Apple hardware IS NOT a statement product. It is increasingly embarassing to own Apple products, all over the world. Because of Apple's reputation being successively destroyed with each new product release and faults found in it, and by Apple users community, and how it is considered.

You do not want to be seen as one of those idiots, that believe in marketing lies, and reality distortion field.

In Apple products you have ton of Samsung's/Sharp/LG(FIAT) components. Only you guys believe Apple is like a Ferrari. It never was, never will be, unless ALL of their hardware will be custom made. Only thing that may make Apple to be considered as a Ferrari is Apple's own Engine(SoC).

None of that matters, you're misunderstanding the underlying economics.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Wife and I said the same thing many years ago. Saved up, kept an eye on BestBuy... managed to snag 2 Macbook Airs (2015) for $750? each. Used those for 3 years while we saved up for our Macbook Pros that we have now.

I would highly recommend an Air - even after owning a Pro for a handful of months now - Airs are still very capable machines. Keep an eye on BestBuy.

 

[Brien]

I have never seen something like this. A guy rants on a forum about MacBook prices, and gets eaten by community.

There is a very good reason why "rest of the technological world" considers Apple users as idiots. You are not helping with alleviating those stereotypes.

This forum skews upper middle/upper class. Probably why he got the responses he did.

 

[IngerMan]

Not sure why people are assuming it’s a Male. Unless I missed something? I did not differentiate between the OP, male or female. Not that it makes a difference anyway.

 

[udontno]

Not sure why people are assuming it’s a Male. Unless I missed something? I did not differentiate between the OP, male or female. Not that it makes a difference anyway.

If I had to guess, I would imagine a large percentage of this forum is male.

I tend to assume female when I don’t know. Most teachers are women. I also went to a women’s college, which contributes to me assuming female.

 

[AJAAY]

There were definitely some comments that seemed more blaming then helping him.

All I can do is laugh at this. Who is blaming anyone and how is there a way to help? If you cannot afford something, either save up or look into alternatives. I mean we can always create a go fund me for the OP so they can get that new MacBook Pro they deserve and are entitled to.

 

[trifid]

Just out of frustration, let me share that I cannot afford a new mac.

I'm a teacher, and I use a 10 years old macbook pro in a daily basis, from preparing lessons to book designing. This old mac is getting old and slow, but I have kids now and my income is tied to the family budget. To buy a new mac just doesn't fit into it.

Oh, and I live in a top ten GDP country, I wonder how difficult is to buy a mac for a teacher in other places.

Apple is making millions in profits every year. Yet their computers keep the same expensive price tag they always had. At some point I'd like to see Apple considering their clients as people, not as milking cows.

Sorry for the rant.

I can afford 2.5k MBP but I think it's insane paying that much, instead I'm really happy that there are AMAZING options in the used market. I highly recommend the late MBP 2013 through 2015 and has pretty much all you need. In the US prices ranges from $700 through $1400.

 

[IngerMan]

If I had to guess, I would imagine a large percentage of this forum is male.

I tend to assume female when I don’t know. Most teachers are women. I also went to a women’s college, which contributes to me assuming female.

Well it's ok for you to be a sexist, your a female lol

 

[PhilMacbook]

There were definitely some comments that seemed more blaming then helping him.

I don't think most of the posts you quoted blame him. As for helping him his options seem to be: earn more, save more, go into debt (not recommended), buy an older machine or another brand.

I'm not sure what else there is we can say to help him.

 

[udontno]

Well it's ok for you to be a sexist, your a female lol

I wouldn’t say that.

Statistically more women are teachers than men. It’s a fact.

There’s plenty of instances where gender is unknown (like in books) and people tend to make a guess. Just like when I am reading I have an image in my head of what the character would look like. If the book turns into a movie, the character might be cast as someone who is more in line with the author’s thinking.

I recall people getting upset that Hermoine from Harry Potter was cast in a screenplay as a black women. Rowling made a statement about it. It really isn’t that big of a deal.

 

[SDColorado]

I don't think most of the posts you quoted blame him. As for helping him his options seem to be: earn more, save more, go into debt (not recommended), buy an older machine or another brand.

I'm not sure what else there is we can say to help him.

Regrettably, that’s about it. There is always the option of petitioning Apple to build a more affordable model line, but we all know that isn’t going to happen.

 

[magicschoolbus]

You do know Best Buy and even Apple has financing plans? Nobody likes putting that amount on a card, but if it's 0% and fits your budget better to pay $100.00 a month instead of 2200 all at once, then why not just do that?

 

[Rocko99991]

Which new Mac model are you looking for? Not every MacBook is $6000.

A new MacBook or even MBA with your student discount would again be massively faster than your current model. You don’t have to go for the MacBook Pro.

Worst case, a cheap 2012 13” (very good price used due to market saturation) with an SSD & 8/16GB RAM will be a huge step up from your current one.

This. Not everyone needs a Pro. The MBA is a great machine and if your not editing videos it's more than enough for any spreadsheet, document creation, etc. I got mine on sale new from Best Buy with student discount for $650.

 

[kildraik]

Just out of frustration, let me share that I cannot afford a new mac.

I'm a teacher, and I use a 10 years old macbook pro in a daily basis, from preparing lessons to book designing. This old mac is getting old and slow, but I have kids now and my income is tied to the family budget. To buy a new mac just doesn't fit into it.

Oh, and I live in a top ten GDP country, I wonder how difficult is to buy a mac for a teacher in other places.

Apple is making millions in profits every year. Yet their computers keep the same expensive price tag they always had. At some point I'd like to see Apple considering their clients as people, not as milking cows.

Sorry for the rant.

I definitely get where you are coming from. Macs are expensive, but maybe there is a solution for you . If you're getting by on a ten year old MacBook Pro, then I would look at a 13" non-touchbar MacBook Pro or look for a deal on a 2016/2017 Touch Bar model, if you feel like you must have that status symbol for accomplishing extremely light tasks.

Depending on how you use your device, and which applications you use, an iPad Pro may fit you as well, since all of what you have described can be accomplished on that device, especially if you use Office. Take a gander through the iOS App Store. All of your needs do not point towards a traditionally formatted Mac anymore.

At the end of the day, a visit to the Apple store can answer all of your questions and address your concerns, and can help you get setup and moving with Today @ Apple classes, which are free.

 

[MacDawg]

OP has been a member since 2005
3 posts
1 in 2005 about an iBook purchase
1 in 2011 about a trackpad issue
1 to start this thread

and has not returned to this discussion while members throw out suggestions (and a few insults)

It appears, as the OP states, it was just a post out of frustration and a rant
No input was solicited or needed

Just your average, garden variety, drive by "dump on Apple" and run

Nothing to see here