I posted this message on another thread. More or less it's relevant as it concerns Best Buy and the 18 month thing. FYI ... I think you may be wrong, I don't think BB is doing this anymore... but will again soon. But just read this thing, it's so long I didn't bother to edit it. But a poster above is wrong, some BBs will deal on the apple promo, you just have to talk to people who know what they're talking about. And that's not the first person who picks up the phone at BB. Just read the following though...
This is an issue I've been wrestling with myself. Today, coincidentally, I called a few different bestbuys just to get a broad survey of opinions. The answers I got were varied. Some said no deal at all to be made. One store said, "yeah man, I'll match any deal, you can have a free ipod, no problem." Another one had a more complex deal... it was basically I get the student price on the mbp, so 1099 (for the one I want), and any ipod. Then they would knock off $75 for each the ipod and the computer. Then, they would issue me a gift card for $150. So say I want ipod nano 16 (which I do), my math would work this way... 1100 (computer) + 200 (ipod) - 75 - 75 = 1150 + tax I'd have to pay. Then, I would get a best buy giftcard for $150. This, for me, is actually better than the apple deal. Granted, I only am getting $150 refunded in total for that ipod, but it's instantly refunded. Added to that, I'm getting a giftcard for $150. I bought a hella sweet canon multifunction on clearance for $50 at best buy about a month ago (apple sells the same model for $150) btw, so no need for a free printer from apple. This is just as well for me because I'll be a law student this fall and I HAVE to buy a bunch of crap as it is. Ink... sleeve... wireless mouse... paper... microSD/SD cards... and on and on. So whereas with Apple my total discounts would be just the normal $100 off + 200 back for ipod, with best buy my total discounts are the normal $100 off + 150 instant rebate + 150 giftcard (which again is awesome since I need way more stuff anyways, and had i gone through apple I just would have used that 200 for the same stuff). So with apple my total rebates are 300, and with bb my total rebates are 400.
Moral of the story I guess is to go see them in person, or else call. If you call, do NOT speak to the rep who answers. That person won't know jack about anything. What's worse is if you ask them to transfer you to someone in computers, they won't do that, and they instead will just ask you for the question and then they will try to answer you. Don't bother with this, it results in terrible customer service. You'll end up asking something, they'll go find out, answer you, or worse blow you off. So don't do that... After calling the first two stores I learned to do the following... simply ask to be transferred to the mobile phone kiosk (the standard rep who will answer as a general rule at least knows nothing about the phones), ask the mobile phone guy a lame question (I asked the cost of the blackberry curve with verizon on a 2-year upgrade)... get your answer and politely ask the associate to transfer you to someone in computers. That's the way I was successful in getting to speak to knowledgeable people in regards to this issue. Worked every time. So if a best buy is not nearby, just try that out and you should get some answers. The moral of the story, though, is that most best buys are aware of the apple promotion, most of them will have some sort of policy in place to compete with apple, most will admit that they've received many phone calls about the issue, so if you speak to someone in computers, they should be able to communicate the policy quite easily. Good luck.
PS: In case some of you were wondering, best buy was doing an 18-month 0 financing promo, they no longer offer that. Apple is doing a 12-month 0 promo. However, I also asked best buy about that special, and most admitted to not knowing why it was taken off, but it is widely believed at least amongst the associates there that the special will come back soon, especially for the back to school crowd. One associate went so far as to say it was stupid to have taken it off. Another associate wasn't even aware it had been taken off, but he expressed surprise and said he would expect that special to return soon. And another associate said the return of that special was imminent. So if one of you guys are interested that, there is your answer. School won't start until August. And these specials just will get more special, so no need to panic. I've been quietly waiting for a long time now. I wanted to buy a month before wwdc, but i figured updates would be made then. I've wanted to buy since wwdc, but i figured specials would just get better, so no need to jump ship on a big purchase that i don't technically need for another 2 months. Apple's 12-month 0 special is going nowhere. And if best buy gets back the 18-month deal, then I'll be jumping on that. At the worst, however, I'll get 12 months. Warning to any who do this... if you go that route, MAKE SURE you pay it off within the time period allotted for the 0 interest special. I've never personally had problems with those types of specials, but i'm young and single so im fairly drama free with money, so paying out an extra 100/month on something isn't a big deal. And it's more convenient for me, personally, than shelling out $1300 at once, especially when I have a lot more stuff I need to buy for school. Just don't want everyone going out spending more than they can afford. At bottom it's debt, but if played right, it's same as cash, and will do nothing but boost your credit score even higher! Just be responsible!!!
