PowerMax = Authorized Reseller

[ITASOR]

Searched and found nothing.

PowerMax.com has this cool trade-in thing, which I'm thinking would be good for me.

However, they state they are an Authorized Reseller.

On Apple's page here it doesn't mention PowerMax. This page also contains the text:

Please be aware that if you purchase a product over the Internet or through a Catalog from a Reseller who is not on the list, you are not buying from a reseller authorized by Apple to make Internet or catalog sales.

Now, I'm pretty sure that PowerMax is a good company, as I've only heard good things about them.

Did I miss something? What's up with this?

Thanks!
-itasor

 

[bigsteve3]

I have done business with PowerMax before, and I never had problems. About two years ago, I traded in my old iBook and bought a Powerbook, and things were great! I also bought a used iPod from them, and it was in very good condition.

Your experiences may vary, but I would recommend them.

-S

 

[rdowns]

They are an authorized reseller. Do a search, not the online/catalog page.

 

[ITASOR]

They are an authorized reseller. Do a search, not the online/catalog page.

Hmm thanks. I wonder why they aren't listed there!


bigsteve3: What did they give you as a trade in and for what type of iBook?

 

[sacear]

PowerMax problems

I have done business with PowerMax before, and I never had problems. About two years ago, I traded in my old iBook and bought a Powerbook, and things were great! I also bought a used iPod from them, and it was in very good condition.

Your experiences may vary, but I would recommend them.

-S

I am trying to do business with PowerMax right now. I am very disappointed. I had heard good things about PowerMax. They are having unexplainable trouble getting me my order.

First, two of the items I ordered that were shown as in stock actually were not, what bothers me is they didn't notify me about that and charged my card for those items anyway! They only told me about that after I contacted them. That is very bad business.

Second, I still haven't received my order after they told me it shipped back in June. Then I asked them where is my stuff and they still havn't shipped it. I am very surprised about a company I heard good things about.

[xxx], I certainly apologize for the delays with this order. I will find out where the items are and get back to you today.

Gary


--On Thursday, July 7, 2005 11:05 PM -0700 [xxx] wrote:

> Gary,
>
> Were the items shipped separately?
> Were the items shipped at all?
>
> The items I ordered and was charged for on 27 June 2005 are:
>

Hmm, not as professional and efficient as I expect from a company.

 

[ReanimationLP]

Powermax's prices are friggin insane. x.X

 

[ITASOR]

I am trying to do business with PowerMax right now. I am very disappointed. I had heard good things about PowerMax. They are having unexplainable trouble getting me my order.

First, two of the items I ordered that were shown as in stock actually were not, what bothers me is they didn't notify me about that and charged my card for those items anyway! They only told me about that after I contacted them. That is very bad business.

Second, I still haven't received my order after they told me it shipped back in June. Then I asked them where is my stuff and they still havn't shipped it. I am very surprised about a company I heard good things about.


Hmm, not as professional and efficient as I expect from a company.

I just got off the phone with Gary, and he is a really nice guy, or sounds like it. I'm sure he will help you out.

So I've come to the conclusion that PowerMax is a good company overall.

Here's my little problem. I am 15 years old. I have a PayPal account with debit card, and a bank account, but I don't have a real credit card.

With PowerMax, they have agreed to give me a $650 trade-in on my Quicksilver. I think that' s very good.

The problem is, I can do the trade in 2 ways. I'm getting an iBook. I can have them send the iBook first (I pay full price of iBook). I then transfer my data and send the Quicksilver to them. In 2-6 weeks, the $650 will be credited to the credit card.
The other way I can do the trade is that I can send them in my Quicksilver, and in 2-6 weeks I will have the $650 credit towards a purchase and only be charged with the difference of cost between the iBook and $650 (QS trade in). This way I will be billed only the rather small difference.

Now I have to ask my parents if they'll order it for me. I'm sure they aren't going to want to shell out $1,000+ dollars and get a $650 credit in 5-6 weeks, as they could end up paying interested on the charge by the time PowerMax gives the credit.

If I do it the second way, I'll have to send them my quicksilver and wait 2-6 weeks until they "test" it and give me the $650 credit. Then, I'll be able to order the iBook and only pay whatever the difference is, which is around $450 with my customizations.

Can I afford to be without a computer for a week.....sure, it won't be easy, but I can do it. Can I afford to be without one for 6 weeks......heck no.

So, I don't know what I should do. This trade value is good for 10 days, so I need to figure out pretty darn soon. 9 days left....and counting as I type.

What would you suggest. I asked which way is quicker, and he said there would be no difference. Looks like I'm going to be really nice to my parents tonight in hopes that they will allow me to bill it $1,092.44.

Wow.

Ideas?

 

[CanadaRAM]

Simple: Whichever way you do it you want your parents to put it on a charge card NOT a debit card or Paypal.

The charge card is your protection if the transaction goes all pear-shaped on you. If after an honest attempt to allow the vendor to make good, you still have not received the products as advertised, you take your documentation to the charge card company and make a grievance. If your proof is all together, after reviewing the transaction and demanding a response from the seller, the charge card company can finally take the money away from the seller and refund it to you.

Just make sure to get the quote in writing and all communications back and forth in writing.

Some charge card companies also offer extended warranties or purchase protection as part of their plan - this depends on the programme that your parents signed up for on the card.

 

[slagonnee]

PowerMax & The Mac Store

I think that PowerMax is somehow related to The Mac Store (http://www.themacstore.com) - which has retail locations in Oregon and a store in Seattle (at which I worked many moons ago - when they were called 'The Computer Store').

IIRC they charged WA state sales tax when I ordered from them once (also many moons ago)....

 

[sacear]

PowerMax ideas

I just got off the phone with Gary, and he is a really nice guy, or sounds like it. I'm sure he will help you out.

So I've come to the conclusion that PowerMax is a good company overall.

Here's my little problem. I am 15 years old. I have a PayPal account with debit card, and a bank account, but I don't have a real credit card.

With PowerMax, they have agreed to give me a $650 trade-in on my Quicksilver. I think that' s very good.

The problem is, I can do the trade in 2 ways. I'm getting an iBook. I can have them send the iBook first (I pay full price of iBook). I then transfer my data and send the Quicksilver to them. In 2-6 weeks, the $650 will be credited to the credit card.
The other way I can do the trade is that I can send them in my Quicksilver, and in 2-6 weeks I will have the $650 credit towards a purchase and only be charged with the difference of cost between the iBook and $650 (QS trade in). This way I will be billed only the rather small difference.

Now I have to ask my parents if they'll order it for me. I'm sure they aren't going to want to shell out $1,000+ dollars and get a $650 credit in 5-6 weeks, as they could end up paying interested on the charge by the time PowerMax gives the credit.

If I do it the second way, I'll have to send them my quicksilver and wait 2-6 weeks until they "test" it and give me the $650 credit. Then, I'll be able to order the iBook and only pay whatever the difference is, which is around $450 with my customizations.

Can I afford to be without a computer for a week.....sure, it won't be easy, but I can do it. Can I afford to be without one for 6 weeks......heck no.

So, I don't know what I should do. This trade value is good for 10 days, so I need to figure out pretty darn soon. 9 days left....and counting as I type.

What would you suggest. I asked which way is quicker, and he said there would be no difference. Looks like I'm going to be really nice to my parents tonight in hopes that they will allow me to bill it $1,092.44.

Wow.

Ideas?

Well, my first tho't is, are you close enough that your parents can drive you to the PowerMax location? Probably not, that's a long shot. But if so, then you could do the trade in person and at the same time, transfer files, and get the credit.

Next tho't, you could present your plan to your parents and ask them (nicely) if they will help you out. (Is your birthday coming soon? That might help you.) If they agree, then you can order from PowerMax and do all the transfers between both Macs (BTW, the "set-up new Mac transfer from old Mac" option in OS X is brilliant and works flawlessly.) Then you won't be without a computer.

Third tho't, if your parents say they can't or want you to work it out on your own, then I guess the only option you have left is to send PowerMax your Quicksilver first. Do you have an external HDD? Or more than one HDD in the Quicksilver? If so, then you can back everything up and keep that drive until your iBook comes and transfer to the iBook.

I am curious, you are probably a student, so are you getting the Student Union iPod deal from PowerMax? If not, then you might want to think about that. You could sell your Quicksilver on MR or eBay, then buy the iBook from Apple or a retailer that will give you the Student Union iPod deal. Then if you don't want the iPod, you could sell it and get some cash back, making the total price of your iBook even less. Just a tho't.

You mentioned you have a PayPal debit card. The PayPal debit card is unique in that it is treated like a credit card (tell the merchant credit, not debit) and PayPal gives you a cash back bonus on your purchases, if you have the purchase amount available in your PayPal account. That is how I use my PayPal debit card (not the PayPal charge card) all the time for every purchase and it is better than a charge card. Use the PayPal debit card as a credit card and Instead of paying interest, you get cash back! Again, making the total price of your iBook even less.

I hope that helps.

Thanks for the info about Gary. I did talk with him and he is very nice (he is a saleman ). He doesn't know why my order is so messed up. Apparently something went wrong in the warehouse, so he says. At this point, there is not much I can do, I just have to be patient and wait. What irritates me is that I ordered most of the items for my mom's birthday, which is today, and I tho't three weeks would have been plenty of time to get the stuff. Oh well.

 

[ITASOR]

Wow, thanks for the reply! Are high school students eligible for the free iPod?

The problem is, that I don't think I can sell my Quicksilver for $650. If I could, that wouldn't be bad, as the free iPod would help.

BUT! The taxes alone from Apple are going to be over $100. Shipping is free from both companies. I understand that I could do this alot quicker this way though, and have the iBook quicker which is nice.

I really don't want to sell it on ebay. If someone on here wants it for $700 shipped, they can take it. That would still leave me with an additional 500 or so for the iBook I want.

I think the PowerMax way is nice, as I won't have to go threw selling my Quicksilver, and they are giving me a very reasonable deal.

-itasor

 

[sacear]

Wow, thanks for the reply! Are high school students eligible for the free iPod?

The problem is, that I don't think I can sell my Quicksilver for $650. If I could, that wouldn't be bad, as the free iPod would help.

BUT! The taxes alone from Apple are going to be over $100. Shipping is free from both companies. I understand that I could do this alot quicker this way though, and have the iBook quicker which is nice.

-itasor

Which iBook are you getting? Education price starts at $899 (CD-ROM version) and $949 (Combo drive).

Yeah, the taxes are an extra hit, so that is a discount of sorts from PowerMax. I just found out PowerMax is not qualified by Apple to offer the Student Union deal.

I also advise getting AppleCare.

 

[ITASOR]

Which iBook are you getting? Education price starts at $899 (CD-ROM version) and $949 (Combo drive).

Yeah, the taxes are an extra hit, so that is a discount of sorts from PowerMax. I just found out PowerMax is not qualified by Apple to offer the Student Union deal.

I also advise getting AppleCare.

sacear is a great person to talk to, and we had a nice chat on iChat!

I've decided to go with PowerMax, as I haven't seen anyone willing to pay more than $650.

http://powermax.com/cgi-global/generate_css_temp.cgi?p=c-u58330

^Get a load of that. Talk about profit. That's identical to mine!

 

[sacear]

sacear is a great person to talk to, and we had a nice chat on iChat!

I've decided to go with PowerMax, as I haven't seen anyone willing to pay more than $650.

http://powermax.com/cgi-global/generate_css_temp.cgi?p=c-u58330

^Get a load of that. Talk about profit. That's identical to mine!

Thanks ITASOR. That was a good chat chatting on iChat.

I think you made the right decision. Keep us all posted on the progress.