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Is there an advantage to buying Amazon, Bestbuy (Non-Apple Stores)?

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pmcneil

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 10, 2011
15
0
I'm in the market for a 13" Macbook Pro Retina Display, I'm just wondering if there is any advantage to buying from the Apple store/site in terms of Warranty, AppleCare etc..

I'm a college student so I get the educational discount, the model I'm looking at is the base 13" Macbook Pro with Retina Display, 128GB Flash Storage.

On Apple.com my total with tax and my educational discount is:

$1496.00

On Amazon, due to no tax I could potentially get the same model, with 256GB Storage for about the same price:

$1499.00

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MacBook...5&sr=8-1&keywords=apple+macbook+pro+13+retina


I'm just wondering if I go with an amazon purchase that would be cheaper than straight from apple, would I be eligible for the same coverage by Apple, etc as if I did buy it from Apple? I would buy Apple Care from where ever I can find it cheapest.

Thanks
 
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The advantage to non-apple stores is finding one that doesn't charge sales tax. Amazon in most states doesn't, and if you live in one that does you can always look at expircom or abt. As far as AppleCare goes you can save a bundle buying it from lacomputercompany - just go to their website and search for it. Instead of $350 for applecare on a 15" retina macbook pro I bought it from them for $235. The 13" applecare is only $167.
 
I bought my rNBP from Amazon to save sales tax--Florida has sales tax but has not yet jumped on the bandwagon to aggressively pursue sales tax from online merchants.
 
If you want to buy from someone other than apple, the choice of retailer does matter, aside from the best price. Apple assigns special serial numbers to machines sold by retailers like Best Buy, but Amazon sells machines with normal Apple serial numbers.

Does this matter?

If the machine comes and is perfect out of the box, then no. It is the same machine no matter where you buy it. The serial number is just a tracking code for Apple. But if the machine arrives with a defect or DOA, then the serial number DOES matter. If you bought from Best Buy, you can't walk into an Apple store and exchange it for a new one. You must deal with Best Buy.

Since Amazon sells machines with serial numbers identical to those sold by Apple, you CAN walk into an Apple store and get a brand new replacement right there without having to deal with warranties or repairs. Oh, the lower level geniuses will hassle you about not having an Apple receipt, but just ask to speak to the manager and they'll help you out. I've unfortunately had to do this 2x before on totally different macbook purchases.
 
Hungry&Foolish said:
Last week Baseline 13 retina was on sale for 1299 on Macconnection. http://appleinsider.com/mac_price_guide
Click to expand...

Thanks for that site! B&H seems to be the best posted price.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...A_MACBK_PRO_i5_2_5g_8GB_128GB_RETINA_13_.html

The reviews from B&H seem to be solid, are they a good alternative to Apple Store?

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful.

Edit:

Base rMBP , With Applecare + lojack for laptops (free) from B&H:

Total : $1,566.00

lojack for laptops seems like the software that interests me the most. I dont do any photo editing and I'm not sure if Parallels interests me much. However, I would be interested in hearing any free software suggestions?
 
Last edited:
pmcneil said:
Thanks for that site! B&H seems to be the best posted price.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...A_MACBK_PRO_i5_2_5g_8GB_128GB_RETINA_13_.html

The reviews from B&H seem to be solid, are they a good alternative to Apple Store?

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful.
Click to expand...

The selection of merchandise at B&H is extensive. I live in New York. It's a large store, and the place is always on my list when I want to check out a variety of similar products, and to look at and get my hands on any one product before purchase. Management of the store from sales staff to purchasing is impressive. I don't need to purchase things online, but I have no doubt this department is up to par.
 
Well, you could sign up for an Amazon credit card with the purchase, then you could get money off the purchase, and get the points, which will further your discount.

Just pay it off immediately, and you're setting pretty good.
 
Murgatroyd said:
The selection of merchandise at B&H is extensive. I live in New York. It's a large store, and the place is always on my list when I want to check out a variety of similar products, and to look at and get my hands on any one product before purchase. Management of the store from sales staff to purchasing is impressive. I don't need to purchase things online, but I have no doubt this department is up to par.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply!
 
dacreativeguy said:
Apple assigns special serial numbers to machines sold by retailers like Best Buy, but Amazon sells machines with normal Apple serial numbers.
\
Click to expand...

Care to provide proof of this? A quick googling found nothing even remotely mentioning this about Apple products. I'm not saying it isn't true, but I am questioning why Best buy but not Amazon.... In the end a reseller is a reseller isn't it?
 
The advantage is obvious.

Price

Resellers are able to skirt map pricing. I.e. best buy and micro center ads that show the msrp price on an apple item then have save $xxx right below it. Best buy for example also has a rewards program, and on occasion has bonus days. During the christmas season Wednesdays were 3x points.

Last fall bh photo was selling rmbps at less than msrp, with discounted apple care available and free parallels. Not a bad deal.

Chances are the only discount you'll get in an apple store is academic.
 
If you have a Discover Card see if any merchant you are looking at accepts ShopDiscover. Apple does for most (but not all) products which is worth 5% cash back. Last year on a Macbook Air I combined the academic discount with the 5% from Shop Discover and the 5% cash back for online shopping for a nice savings and 10% back.
 
paulrbeers said:
Care to provide proof of this? A quick googling found nothing even remotely mentioning this about Apple products. I'm not saying it isn't true, but I am questioning why Best buy but not Amazon.... In the end a reseller is a reseller isn't it?
Click to expand...


There is no proof because that post is 100% false.

----------
dacreativeguy said:
If you want to buy from someone other than apple, the choice of retailer does matter, aside from the best price. Apple assigns special serial numbers to machines sold by retailers like Best Buy, but Amazon sells machines with normal Apple serial numbers.

Does this matter?

If the machine comes and is perfect out of the box, then no. It is the same machine no matter where you buy it. The serial number is just a tracking code for Apple. But if the machine arrives with a defect or DOA, then the serial number DOES matter. If you bought from Best Buy, you can't walk into an Apple store and exchange it for a new one. You must deal with Best Buy.

Since Amazon sells machines with serial numbers identical to those sold by Apple, you CAN walk into an Apple store and get a brand new replacement right there without having to deal with warranties or repairs. Oh, the lower level geniuses will hassle you about not having an Apple receipt, but just ask to speak to the manager and they'll help you out. I've unfortunately had to do this 2x before on totally different macbook purchases.
Click to expand...
You're spreading complete BS. You can walk into an Apple store with any machine still under warranty and get it fixed / replaced for any reason as long as it is covered under warranty terms. They don't care if the laptop was stolen found on the side of the road given to you by a llama or bought at best buy.
 
troy14 said:
There is no proof because that post is 100% false.

----------


You're spreading complete BS. You can walk into an Apple store with any machine still under warranty and get it fixed / replaced for any reason as long as it is covered under warranty terms. They don't care if the laptop was stolen found on the side of the road given to you by a llama or bought at best buy.
Click to expand...

I've never heard of such nonsense as a special serial number.

However there is a chop shop in LA that will happily sell you a salvaged Lexus with the VIN numbers ground off.

While their cars are stolen, the prices are great :)
 
The thing I have run into a proble with is warrantee coverage. I bought an iPod from amazon and right around the one year mark the battery was shot and needed to be fixed. However, since I bought it from amazon, it went off the date it went to amazon which was a couple months before I bought it. I probably could have argued it or talked with amazon but I didn't make the effort and just replaced it myself.
 
plumosa said:
The thing I have run into a proble with is warrantee coverage. I bought an iPod from amazon and right around the one year mark the battery was shot and needed to be fixed. However, since I bought it from amazon, it went off the date it went to amazon which was a couple months before I bought it. I probably could have argued it or talked with amazon but I didn't make the effort and just replaced it myself.
Click to expand...

I am going to guess that is less of an issue if you go somewhere you can customise a mac order and do so. It is not like a reseller can keep all possible variations of the products in their warehouse. They probably will not sit on it either as the sooner they ship it to you the sooner they can charge your card and free up the space it was using in their shipping facility.
 
plumosa said:
The thing I have run into a proble with is warrantee coverage. I bought an iPod from amazon and right around the one year mark the battery was shot and needed to be fixed. However, since I bought it from amazon, it went off the date it went to amazon which was a couple months before I bought it. I probably could have argued it or talked with amazon but I didn't make the effort and just replaced it myself.
Click to expand...

You can submit a validated warranty date, requires a fax or scan of the original receipt to Apple and they will adjust accordingly
 
troy14 said:
There is no proof because that post is 100% false.

.
Click to expand...



I was 99% sure it was completely false, but I gave him the opportunity to prove otherwise. There's a lot of FUD out there. Just another example I guess!
 
pmcneil said:
On Amazon, due to no tax I could potentially get the same model, with 256GB Storage for about the same price:
Click to expand...

Remember that buying at Amazon is not tax free. It only means that the seller doesn't ask you to pay the tax and sends it to the IRS, you'll have to do that yourself. Buying at Amazon and not paying the tax is tax evasion. Whether you get caught or not is another question, but you should know what you are doing.
 
gnasher729 said:
Remember that buying at Amazon is not tax free. It only means that the seller doesn't ask you to pay the tax and sends it to the IRS, you'll have to do that yourself. Buying at Amazon and not paying the tax is tax evasion. Whether you get caught or not is another question, but you should know what you are doing.
Click to expand...

Sales taxes are handled at the local/state level, not by the feds.
 
gnasher729 said:
Remember that buying at Amazon is not tax free. It only means that the seller doesn't ask you to pay the tax and sends it to the IRS, you'll have to do that yourself. Buying at Amazon and not paying the tax is tax evasion. Whether you get caught or not is another question, but you should know what you are doing.
Click to expand...

I wonder how many people get caught.. Seriously, do you know anyone who pays the uncollected tax?
 
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