Purchase MBA in-store or online?

[powerbook911]

When your model is in stock, Amazon is often a good choice too. Should you have any problems, they would immediately next day air a replacement (if you ask) and give you a return label for the bad one. Plus 30 days instead of 14 at Apple.

 

[momentum300]

Buy at BestBuy

If you look at your local BestBuy the 13 MBA with a 128GB SSD is actually $75 less than the Apple store price. At least it is a my local BestBuy.

 

[GoGoGadget1]

150 off is a great discount, how much percentage is that off? BTW, did you buy your Mac yet?

You betcha! In fact, I'm on it right now.

I'm very impressed with this darn thing so far...it's far more snappier than I remember at the MAC store for some reason. It's pure bliss!

Actually the EPP discount only turned out to be $100 (6%), but my company threw in an extra $50 voucher which I really appreciated.

Let's see, now where to start first? Apps or a skin/case? I ended up throwing in a wireless trackpad just for kicks...haven't tried it yet though.

 

[vitzr]

This may sound a tad cynical but I really do not understand the whole retail store experience. Other than actually seeing the product first hand I never gained any real knowledge from talking to the employees. In fact, I felt more creeped out about the whole idea of becoming one of ‘them’. I’m not hating on them…they have jobs, policies to follow etc. But the whole sort of antiseptic cultish feeling I got just made me very uncomfortable. Plus the stores are always crowded and the thought of standing in line or getting a hard sell on upgrades or accessories is just a turn off. I’ve learned more in my brief time on this forum than I ever would at the store

All that to say, I would get your best deal and order online…imo

To the earlier poster:
CTO means Customized To Order
BTO means Built To Order, used interchangeably.

Regarding this post I understand and agree with the points you've made regarding the in-store experience.

That said, my flexible schedule allows me to hit the store between peak periods. Since it's just a mile from home & three from my office, I tend to use the store to browse. Once I've decided I order 95% of all my Macs online.

Especially given the fact I always load them up with options. The store only carries standard configurations so that rules out most of my orders.

Also if I wait till after the rush of release day sales, I can order via Apples online store on a Monday & have the computer by Thursday.

 

[Jnardis]

If you look at your local BestBuy the 13 MBA with a 128GB SSD is actually $75 less than the Apple store price. At least it is a my local BestBuy.

I bought a 13 inch last Friday. It was $75 cheaper for starters, plus Best Buy had a $100 coupon. Then I waited for an hour for the guy to bring it to the front of the store and complained and got another $50 bucks off. Unfortunately I don't have a buss discount

 

[damir00]

There's just been an explosion in the number of '11 MBAs available from Apple refurb, if that's an option, eg 4/128s at $999.

Hopefully that's signaling the imminent announcement of the '12 MBAs.

 

[Neodym]

I'm going to go into the store and hopefully they will have the model I want. Too bad, we can't reserve these for in-store pickup.

I know the thread is outdated, though for the sake of completeness: With the Apple Store App for iPhone et al. you actually _can_ reserve for pickup at the store. I'm just not sure whether you can configure as freely as online...