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MacPro in store with NO taxes or Online (cust.)

B

boneca

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 2, 2005
301
1
Boston, MA
I'm about to make a MacPro purchase in a next couple of weeks and trying to justify where I should get it from.

Please advise....
I work in NH where there are NO sale taxes, so basically what u see is what u get.
I have 100 stores around me including Apple store and CompUsa where I can by pre-configured MacPro for $2499.00

which will have:
2x2.66GHz
1GB RAM
250GB HD
7300GT Video
Wired Apple KB and Mouse

If I would by it online the configuration I would choose is:
2x2.66GHz
2GB RAM
160GB HD - I have a WD 400GB SATAII hd to put in as second drive
7300GT Video
Wireless Apple KB and Mouse

The price for this config. $2807.00 + $140.35 tax = $2947.35

This means $448.35 difference.

The question I guess should I just go to the near by store and make a purchase and than I will have $400 to add 1GB of mem. + BT unit and BT KB and mouse?
Or should I still order in desired config?

btw:
I will purchase Apple care little down the road and I don't need a better video card (running 20" ACD at the moment and planning to add ACD 23" in a near future)

Thank you
 
Get the preconfigured one and then add the RAM yourself. I'd skip the wireless stuff, the mouse is MUCH less responsive than the wired one and you also need to keep changing / charging batteries etc. Not worth it in my opinion for very little gain.
 
boneca said:
That's right, I thought about it, to ship it to my work, but question remains.

waiting vs. no waiting :)
Click to expand...

Well, we can't decide that one for you..

Though I would say to still look into RAM and HD prices third-party and compare them to what Apple would be charging you. You might still be better off going stock and then doing the installs yourself - plus then, no waiting.
 
Wirelessly posted (LGE-VX8500/1.0 UP.Browser/6.2.3.2 (GUI) MMP/2.0)

Adding the memory yourself will be a much better value, you'll get your Mac Pro right away, and no sales tax for sure. I see no reason not to do it.
 
Thanks guys. I think I will follow the advice on buying it on site.

Just need to wait until my taxes comes in (maybe week or so).

Just stop by at the CompUSA for lunch break and played with one of them. Seems to be pretty quick with 1GB of ram comparing to my MacMin 1GB of RAM but than my MacMini is only PowerPC G4 1.25GHz :)
 
B&H Photo (bhphoto.com) stocks custom configuration Mac Pros and doesn't charge sales tax when shipping outside of NY in most cases. Free shipping on the Mac Pro as well.
 
if you are going to get a stock one and upgrade from third parties then buy from amazon.com. they have no tax and a $200 rebate on the mac pro. Pay an extra $25 and you get it in 2 days other wise it is free shipping. I almost did that, but I want the airport/bluetooth upgrade which is not stock so I have to order from Apple online. After which since I will be charged tax I might as well upgrade to other things that I want like the ATI card and a bit more RAM....then when I look at the price I just say no lol
 
PlaceofDis said:
actually it would depend on billing address i believe and not shipping address.
Click to expand...
In my experience, it is the shipping address, at least when dealing with Apple. I have learned that if I have it shipped to my home, I get charged 7.25% sales tax (the local tax rate at home). If I have it shipped to my work, I get charged 8.25% (the local tax rate at work). My billing address hasn't changed.
 
Couple of things.
1st. I just found out that the Shipping address is what counts, not the billing.
So I can save some money sending it to work address.
2nd. I just found out that my company has Apple authorization number which means I can possibly save some additional money going thr. my company's website to do the purchase (too bad they didn't say what exact discount it would be until you do a final check out)
3rd. I checked Amazon and it seems its also a good way to save some $ with that $200 discount and plus I have a Premium membership there which means I will get 2 days shipping free.

Decisions, decisions...
 
boneca said:
Couple of things.
1st. I just found out that the Shipping address is what counts, not the billing.
So I can save some money sending it to work address.
2nd. I just found out that my company has Apple authorization number which means I can possibly save some additional money going thr. my company's website to do the purchase (too bad they didn't say what exact discount it would be until you do a final check out)
3rd. I checked Amazon and it seems its also a good way to save some $ with that $200 discount and plus I have a Premium membership there which means I will get 2 days shipping free.

Decisions, decisions...
Click to expand...

My company also has a plan with the apple store for discounts. It is almost, but not quite, as good as the edu discount.
 
psingh01 said:
My company also has a plan with the apple store for discounts. It is almost, but not quite, as good as the edu discount.
Click to expand...

almost, but not quite - Can I get number more or less? Let's say $2500 what discount would be? around $200 maybe?

thanks

Edit: on the same note, Is it possible to use this discount in Apple retail store?
 
boneca said:
almost, but not quite - Can I get number more or less? Let's say $2500 what discount would be? around $200 maybe?

thanks

Edit: on the same note, Is it possible to use this discount in Apple retail store?
Click to expand...

The prices vary from product to product and I'm not sure if my company's discount will differ from yours (though I don't see why they would?). As an example, the MacBook Pro line.

EDU prices for the 3 default configs: $1799, $2299, $2599
Company store prices for same configs: $1839, $2299, $2575

Seeing the 17" actually cheaper than edu surprised me! I don't know if these prices are available in the physical store, I've never used the discount, I just know I have access to the online store. I have used the EDU discount in store though, just showed my student id card.
 
If you ship it to an address that's not your home (such as a friend's house), could that cause you problems with your warrantee or applecare? Of could you just register the applecare at your home address?
 
jpfisher said:
B&H Photo (bhphoto.com) stocks custom configuration Mac Pros and doesn't charge sales tax when shipping outside of NY in most cases. Free shipping on the Mac Pro as well.
Click to expand...

Wow! I didn't know that; do they do true custom configs or do they only have the custom ones listed on their site?
 
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