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M3 MacBook Air Gets Big $250 Discounts at Best Buy for Members, Plus Get OWC's Thunderbolt 3 Dock at $99.99

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Best Buy today has every model of Apple's 15-inch M3 MacBook Air on sale for new all-time low prices. These deals are only available to My Best Buy Plus and Total members, and reach $250 off each of these computers. We're also still tracking a massive $180 discount on OWC's 14-Port Thunderbolt 3 Dock today.

15-Inch M3 MacBook Air

m3-macbook-air-purple.jpg
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Starting with the 8GB RAM/256GB SSD 15-inch M3 MacBook Air, you can get this model for $1,049.00 if you're a My Best Buy Plus/Total member, down from $1,299.00. The 8GB RAM/512GB SSD model is available for $1,249.00 for members, down from $1,499.00, while the 16GB RAM/512GB model is on sale for $1,449.00, down from $1,699.00.

Note: My Best Buy Plus/Total membership required to see deals.​





It's worth noting that even if you have to pay the $49.99/year starting fee to join Best Buy's membership, today's MacBook Air deals are so steep you'll still come out paying around $1,099.99 for the entry-level model, which is a match for the typical best price on the computer. The same goes for the other two models as well.

OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock

owc-dock-purple.jpg


If you're looking to expand the port options on your new MacBook Air, or any other recent Mac model, OWC this week has its popular 14-Port Thunderbolt 3 Dock available for just $99.99, down from its original price of $279.99.



This accessory features two Thunderbolt 3 ports, five USB Type-A ports, one USB Type-C port, one Mini DisplayPort port, one gigabit Ethernet port, one S/PDIF digital audio output port, and one 3.5mm stereo audio input/output port. There are also two memory card slots for microSD and SD cards.

You can also find even more docks, hubs, external drives, and memory on sale in our main post on OWC's sale. Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

Article Link: M3 MacBook Air Gets Big $250 Discounts at Best Buy for Members, Plus Get OWC's Thunderbolt 3 Dock at $99.99
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/07/24/m3-macbook-air-owc-thunderbolt-dock/
Last edited:
turbineseaplane said:
How did we even get to a world where "a dock/hub of ports" is almost $300?
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Hey, the CalDigit TS4 is almost $400! :eek: But they aren't all that expensive. I snagged a Kensington Thunderbolt 4 dock (suspiciously similar to the OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock) for $175 last week on Amazon and see it's even less this week.

I also looked up my old order for comparison: I bought the OWC Thunderbolt 2 dock in 2015 for $219. I thought that was a little expensive back then (though not bad considering it would still work today if I wanted to mess with an adapter and didn't need dual displays where at least one wasn't Thunderbolt) -- but it's not too different from what many cost today accounting for inflation.

But yeah, OWC must really want to get rid of these TB3 models...
 
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turbineseaplane said:
How did we even get to a world where "a dock/hub of ports" is almost $300?
Click to expand...
When Apple chose "thinner" too many times over consumer utility. Furthermore, by jettisoning the ports to hubs, etc but keeping the price the SAME, margin was fattened to help contribute to "another record quarter..." and margin growing from the traditional 38%-40% (already relatively sky high) to now nearing 50%.

And since some can only buy stuff sold by and/or made by Apple, Apple dongles & hubs and/or the select few third party ones sold by Apple were quick to include that fat Apple premium to also contribute to "another record quarter..."

The Apple crowd being one that just rolls over and pays any (Apple) price and pretty much then becomes an unpaid evangelist rationalizing why kicking useful ports out to dongles & hubs was some kind of good thing then appears to be a crowd ready to pay hundreds for multi-port dongles.

Opportunity knocked and sellers answered... and- as usual- it worked! People rolled right over and paid up. 💰💰💰

Perhaps we will all eventually reach a point where we decide the money is worth more than "any price"... hopefully before we are forced there by running out of money.
 
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freeman727 said:
Not worth it. Prices are just $50 more on Amazon but you don't have to buy a membership.
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So basically, Best Buy has cooked the membership into their price to make it seem like the membership is "free". Why not just make it free to begin with, since it obviously has no value?
 
The 15” M3 MBA with 16/512 is a fantastic machine and a great deal.
 
brofkand said:
I have absolutely no interest in buying a membership to Best Buy.
Click to expand...

freeman727 said:
Not worth it. Prices are just $50 more on Amazon but you don't have to buy a membership.
Click to expand...

brofkand said:
So basically, Best Buy has cooked the membership into their price to make it seem like the membership is "free". Why not just make it free to begin with, since it obviously has no value?
Click to expand...

This is a glass half empty take and is getting old. Membership at Best Buy is not required, their prices are competitive without it.

If the membership had no value, people wouldn't pay for it and they would stop offering it. It pays for itself after one purchase, that's better than most memberships and seems reasonable to me.
 
Nekronos said:
This is a glass half empty take and is getting old. Membership at Best Buy is not required, their prices are competitive without it.

If the membership had no value, people wouldn't pay for it and they would stop offering it. It pays for itself after one purchase, that's better than most memberships and seems reasonable to me.
Click to expand...

Sounds a lot like what they told me when I went to a timeshare sales pitch, TBH. Not interested. Each to their own.
 
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HobeSoundDarryl said:
When Apple chose "thinner" too many times over consumer utility. Furthermore, by jettisoning the ports to hubs, etc but keeping the price the SAME, margin was fattened to help contribute to "another record quarter..." and margin growing from the traditional 38%-40% (already relatively sky high) to now nearing 50%.

And since some can only buy stuff sold by and/or made by Apple, Apple dongles & hubs and/or the select few third party ones sold by Apple were quick to include that fat Apple premium to also contribute to "another record quarter..."

The Apple crowd being one that just rolls over and pays any (Apple) price and pretty much then becomes an unpaid evangelist rationalizing why kicking useful ports out to dongles & hubs was some kind of good thing then appears to be a crowd ready to pay hundreds for multi-port dongles.

Opportunity knocked and sellers answered... and- as usual- it worked! People rolled right over and paid up. 💰💰💰

Perhaps we will all eventually reach a point where we decide the money is worth more than "any price"... hopefully before we are forced there by running out of money.
Click to expand...
seconded. I wouldn't have to buy a dock/hub if Apple put at least 1 USB-A port on their laptops. That port is not as obsolete as Apple claims. There are plenty of new devices made with that connector even today.
 
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fazzk said:
Even where it has Best Buy+ membership it just says save 64.95 on the 1299?
Click to expand...

Did it sell out maybe?

I saw the $250 off earlier today, but it was only on certain low end configs

All the configs "people tend to want" never get the big discounts
 
turbineseaplane said:
But it is required to get this advertised "best price", isn't it?
Click to expand...
What's your point exactly? Their price without membership is equal or better than other retailers and the membership provides more than just discounts. It's an objectively good deal, aside from someone hating best buy, I don't understand the general disdain I've seen on this forum for best buy membership.
brofkand said:
Sounds a lot like what they told me when I went to a timeshare sales pitch, TBH. Not interested. Each to their own.
Click to expand...
This isn't remotely comparable. If you buy more than one product that best buy sells a year, you benefit. Even if you only bought the one product, you aren't any worse off than buying at amazon or somewhere else.

I'm not trying to sell you a membership, I'm just baffled by obstinance.
 
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