Hello everyone longtime lurker and first-time poster here. My 2008 unibody mbp has been on its last legs so I decided to pull the trigger on a rmbp. The 2200 price tag seemed a little sleep so I got lucky and picked up an open box base model for 1749 at Best Buy today and I couldn't be happier. The unit is mint with no scratches and only had one battery cycle and still has the 30 day return policy. I also traded in my 4 yo unibody and got a 350 dollar gift card to bring my price down to 1400! I must say that this laptop is expensive but I think its worth getting over the classic because if you want to sell in a couple years the classic prices should plummet. Been only playing around for a couple hours but coming from a 2008 2.4 core 2 duo unibody I feel like I'm in a futuristic sic fi movie with the speed difference. Also this is my first ssd machine and theres def no going back now.
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Just got an open box rmbp for 1749 from Best Buy!
- Thread starter blerner11
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Hey yeah I was def lucky to get the machine but I also spent close to two weeks trying to get an open box and had missed one by an hour at another best buy. I actually had to drive an hr round trip to get it when there is a best buy thats a five min walk from my apt. If your persistent and check the open box website every day and call the store and be really nice on the phone you may be able to snag one if you put in the time and effort like me. I just got it but it def seems worth the effort to save 450 dollars of the price!
Where do you live?. I live in Delaware,the open box retina at best buy was 1949$. Thanks.
I live on Miami Beach, South Beach to be exact 
I had to drive to a store about 30 min away in Aventura to snag the laptop even though theres one I can walk to. Yeah I actually got quoted only 10% off at a different store but my best advice is to go to the store and speak to the manager bc sometimes they quote you a different price on the phone or the person one the phone is just plain wrong.
I had to drive to a store about 30 min away in Aventura to snag the laptop even though theres one I can walk to. Yeah I actually got quoted only 10% off at a different store but my best advice is to go to the store and speak to the manager bc sometimes they quote you a different price on the phone or the person one the phone is just plain wrong.I live on Miami Beach, South Beach to be exact
Thank you much for the information. I will go right now to the store. The website says they have an open box, can go try my luck. Thanks again.
$350 to trade in your old macbook pro thru Best Buy is a rip off. Im sure you bought it around $1999 back then. Coz that what I spend for that piece of MAC. But my unibody macbook pro late 2008 does not feel like it has a $350 price tag on it. It still up to par with current technology. That is why I am planning to keep this and beat it to its last breath.
Good catch. My local one had one the other day too and it took a good bit of restraint not to buy it.
I'm going to suggest you take it to your local Apple Store and have them check it. Bought an open box from Best Buy once that had a weird smell. Ended up taking it to my local Peach Mac (local Apple authorized place) and they opened it up and sure enough.....fairly obvious water damage.
I'm going to suggest you take it to your local Apple Store and have them check it. Bought an open box from Best Buy once that had a weird smell. Ended up taking it to my local Peach Mac (local Apple authorized place) and they opened it up and sure enough.....fairly obvious water damage.
thanks everyone for the comments. I decided not to sell my unibody on ebay bc it has been shutting down randomly and the problem was getting worse. The fact is that best buy didn't even turn my machine on so I don't feel bad giving them my old laptop for 350 which seems like it might die off any day now
yeah i'd buy it on the spot for 1700, its enough to keep me from worrying about the 16gb
thanks for making this post. I've been reading these forums for quite a while, but just decided to register today. I saw your post and checked the local bestbuy stores in my area, I ended up finding one about 20 minutes away and took the trip and sure enough it was there. Got it for $1879.99. Not as good as $1750, but I didn't think I'd get a better deal. This is my first mac as well.
I absolutely agree. The OP got shafted on the trade in. But I don't agree that it's on par with current tech, a C2D is substantially worse than a ivybridge i7 in both performance and power consumption.
Of course you are comparing orange with apple. They are 4 years apart technology. When I say up to par it means whatever apps ivy bridge can run... c2d can. It might not be the most fastest or efficient way to run it when using core 2 duo but still it can get the job done. It is not like you are using pentium 3 or even pentium 4 technology.
It would have taken two of those and you still would have paid less than what I paid for mine. Plus I got an education discount, $100 iTunes card, and free shipping.
I found one too, but at 1799
It was strangely all re-sealed including the outside box. I noticed an inch long scuff on the bottom along with some misc. crumbs that fell out when I opened the machine. Also has 7 battery cycles, but its the scuff and the crumbs that sort of bother me. Still have 30 days though. Screen looks superb (as expected). Anything else to really look out for?