Question about Buying a macbook Pro @ Best Buy

[88888888]

Best buy is an authorized reseller of apple products.
After going to the my best buy store, I asked them about the macbook pros. They said they will still honor the education discount at the store, but not sure about the ipod nano back to school promotion coming early next month. In theory they should honor it right? hmm not sure.. I want to buy it at best buy cause they have an accidental plan..which in case i spill stuff or drop my macbook pro I would get coverage.. It would be an advantage right?

Are there any disadvantages in buying from an authorized reseller like best buy?

 

[88888888]

Also what are some significant differences between the 15inch(2499 model) and the 17 inch model?
I want to do a little gaming. Is it really worth it to get it up to the 17 inch one?

And what's the difference between the led lighting? the 17 inch has a option to upgrade to better resolution. Does that make a huge difference in gaming?

 

[iToaster]

Best Buy might honor the education discount, but I don't know for sure. Regardless, the differences between the similarly speced 15" and 17" are insignificant if you don't count the screen. As well, Best Buy does not sell the high-resolution MacBook Pro, if you want that you will need to visit the Apple online store and build it to order there.

 

[88888888]

I asked them today, they said they do honor the education discount, however i forgot to ask them about the free printer and the ipod nano promotion.
Do you think the high resolution is worth it? Hmm cause i really want the accidental damage... im a pretty careless person.. But then the high resolution would make gaming even more killer... omg.. dilemmaa!

 

[Eric.]

While we're on about Best Buy, does anybody know whether or not a Geek Squad at a Best Buy that sells Apples is also authorized to do upgrades/repairs? I only ask because there isn't another Apple store or retailer (besides a sound/video studio) around here and I'd like to let them do a HDD upgrade when I get my MBP.

 

[iToaster]

I asked them today, they said they do honor the education discount, however i forgot to ask them about the free printer and the ipod nano promotion.
Do you think the high resolution is worth it? Hmm cause i really want the accidental damage... im a pretty careless person.. But then the high resolution would make gaming even more killer... omg.. dilemmaa!

I would certainly get the high resolution if I had the choice, but you'll have to buy directly from Apple for that, but it's worth it.

While we're on about Best Buy, does anybody know whether or not a Geek Squad at a Best Buy that sells Apples is also authorized to do upgrades/repairs? I only ask because there isn't another Apple store or retailer (besides a sound/video studio) around here and I'd like to let them do a HDD upgrade when I get my MBP.

From what they told me, all they do is ship it off to Apple for you and charge you for it. Apple won't replace your hard drive and geeks squad doesn't do repairs/upgrades (from my knowledge).

 

[88888888]

hmm, do they sell the 200gb 7200 rpm hard drives in the apple stores? If not I think im gonna buy my mbp online.

Also I have a question about the apple care plan.

Does it cover battery life? Like you know how about after a year...the battery becomes very bad. Will they replace my battery if i buy the 3-year applecare plan?

 

[rpaloalto]

I know for a fact that apple care wont replace you battery after one year.
If you get one of those best buy warranty plan for your macbook, it just might cover it. I'm actually pretty sure that it would.

The only problem with the best buy warranty. Is that they actually just started selling apple computers again. After not selling them for a two year period. You could get screwed. If you actually needed a replacement some time down the road. And they decide not to carry apple computers any more.
With their warranty they are only required to replace your laptop with a comparable model. You could end up walking away with a del.l

 

[88888888]

With their warranty they are only required to replace your laptop with a comparable model. You could end up walking away with a del.l

Oh crap... i didn't know that.. noo i think im gonna stick with the apple care plan..

Wait..so they won't replace the battery like 2 years after...even though it might be pretty much dead..?
then what's the point of the applecare.. ><

 

[MacSpecbby]

I know this is an anciet thread, but I was looking to see if Best Buy would be selling the new 17 mbp and came upon this.

Best Buy's warranties, which they refer to as "Black Tie Protection" do cover accidental, which covers everything except full liquid submerssion. Beyond the accidental coverage, they also cover one free battery replacement within the coverage period of the given plan(eg. 2 or 3 years) and with geeksquads located in virtually every store they do all the replacement work themselves. This would include hdd and memory upgrades. The only limitations are going to be the parts. If the store doesn't sell the parts, then you either have to ask them to order it, and then pay for those parts, or purchase the parts elsewhere and bring them in. They typically only ship the computer to apple if the issue is a software based problem which they can't troubleshoot. Many issues regarding software are already discussed on online forums anyway so that is rarely a problem.

Furthermore, if your computer IS destroyed by accident or has so many issues that it is declared a lemon computer (four qualified repairs as a result of normal use qualifies your computer as a lemon) then Best Buy will replace with the current apple computer that is the equivalent, or, if you so choose, will credit you for the cost of the computer, which you can then use towards an upgrade, or downgrade depending on your own desires. So if you accidentally break your mbp 15" but upon returning to the store decide that you wanted the 13" mb anyway, then you can downgrade, or you can go with the upgraded mbp 15" if you didn't already have that. Or you could go with an imac, or a desktop, virtually anything you wanted to do within the computers realm of the store.

However, this current state of things was not the case at the time of this posting, I just felt this needed updated as is still shows up on google searches.

 

[trekster]

Best Buy might honor the education discount, but I don't know for sure. Regardless, the differences between the similarly speced 15" and 17" are insignificant if you don't count the screen. As well, Best Buy does not sell the high-resolution MacBook Pro, if you want that you will need to visit the Apple online store and build it to order there.

My local best buy didn't want to honor the education discount.

 

[Tallest Skil]

I know this is an anciet thread, but I was looking to see if Best Buy would be selling the new 17 mbp and came upon this.

Best Buy's warranties, which they refer to as "Black Tie Protection" do cover accidental, which covers everything except full liquid submerssion. Beyond the accidental coverage, they also cover one free battery replacement within the coverage period of the given plan(eg. 2 or 3 years) and with geeksquads located in virtually every store they do all the replacement work themselves. This would include hdd and memory upgrades. The only limitations are going to be the parts. If the store doesn't sell the parts, then you either have to ask them to order it, and then pay for those parts, or purchase the parts elsewhere and bring them in. They typically only ship the computer to apple if the issue is a software based problem which they can't troubleshoot. Many issues regarding software are already discussed on online forums anyway so that is rarely a problem.

Furthermore, if your computer IS destroyed by accident or has so many issues that it is declared a lemon computer (four qualified repairs as a result of normal use qualifies your computer as a lemon) then Best Buy will replace with the current apple computer that is the equivalent, or, if you so choose, will credit you for the cost of the computer, which you can then use towards an upgrade, or downgrade depending on your own desires. So if you accidentally break your mbp 15" but upon returning to the store decide that you wanted the 13" mb anyway, then you can downgrade, or you can go with the upgraded mbp 15" if you didn't already have that. Or you could go with an imac, or a desktop, virtually anything you wanted to do within the computers realm of the store.

However, this current state of things was not the case at the time of this posting, I just felt this needed updated as is still shows up on google searches.

This doesn't cover Apple products. It says so right in the pamphlet.

 

[nicfargo]

It covers apple products. I've got black tie protection on my MBP and my iPod Touch. They're going to help you because it doesn't actually cost Best Buy anything. This is all through their insurance company. If it's covered by their insurance company, they have no reason not to fix or replace or refund whatever you have, Mac or PC. And they will not replace a Mac with a Dell as comparable technology. I used to work at Best Buy...I know how they do things.

 

[MacSpecbby]

Yea, they definately DO cover Mac products. People would kill bestbuy if they couldn't have their ipods replaced when they die, or the buttons stop working, etc. The only downside to buying from bestbuy is that Apple doesn't let them carry everything that they have to offer. So if you want the highest-end 24" IMac, you'll still need to go to an apple store. Additionally, not every store has a highly knowledgeable individual to help out with all your Mac questions/needs. Most stores have either an Apple rep or an Apple specialist. The reps are employed by Apple directly, where as the specialists are bestbuy employees who have several hours of training. A good specialist typically has 30+ hours of training, and hopefully a certificate from Apple stating their qualification.

 

[AR15MBP]

Horrible Best Buy Experience

I won't get too deep into my experience, but it was not a good one. I bought my MBP 2.4 there to take advantage of the 18 month no finance offer. I had bad light leakage and flicker on my screen (9c85 screen), so I went to the Genius Bar to discuss. As soon as they saw the flicker on livescores.com, they recommended I send it in for repair. Since I was within the 14 day return period at BB, I went to exchange. To avoid the risk of a heart attack, I won't write too much about it. But since I bought online for pick up, I couldn't exchange, only refund (Does that make any sense from a commerce angle?). Then a Geek had to approve that it was defective, and he claimed he couldn't see the flicker, even though I had a paper work order from Apple saying it was defective! Then, right in the middle he left for lunch and pawned me off on someone else. Even the in store Apple rep jumped in the fray and second guessed everything I said! After arguing for an hour, I got a refund, went straight to my local apple store, and bought another one! Of course, I got another 9c85 with my luck, but at least I tried and I have Apple's backing instead of Worst Buy. Moral of the story, if you can buy direct from Apple, do it! Phew, I gotta go relax now.

 

[MacSpecbby]

That is an absolutely awful experience. I'd say with what you've been through that your decision was absolutely right, but I find the actions of the employees at your local best buy to be Absurd.