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RAM Upgrade: Buyback?

C

Critical Hippo

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 14, 2007
46
0
I just purchased a new aluminum Macbook eight days ago and I've already decided to help future-proof my purchase with a RAM upgrade. I'd prefer to have Apple do it. Someone mentioned a RAM buyback program in-store that would reduce the cost of the upgrade to about $150, but when I called the Apple store the person on the line didn't know anything about it.

Can anyone give me any information on this or did I just misread a few posts on different forums?
 
$150 for how much ram? you should check out crucial.com they have good ram and it's MUCH cheaper. is there any reason you want to buy apple ram?
 
I dood it yesterday

Bring in a receipt to an apple store, tell them you want the apple ram buyback program. They'll charge you 150.00 for 4 gigs, "buy back" your laptop, install the ram, and give it back to you in 1-3 hours. In OKC Thursday, it took them 30 minutes, just enough time for me to drive back to my office.

Installed opera as a browser right after that, and it really seems to make a difference. Think I'm gonna install a 7200 rpm drive and see if that speeds it up further.
 
I also understood you could have Apple do the install for you and they'll gladly take the ram that they would otherwise overcharge you for. However, for $140 you can get it from OWC (in stock now) and do it yourself. It's not as hard as you may think. Still, if the $30 ~ savings isn't quite worth it to you then Apple will do it for you. However, calling it a buyback is stupid. $150 for 4gigs of RAM that is $140 at OWC and they take your chips from you in the end. They're not really buying anything from you.
 
nanvinnie said:
$150 for how much ram? you should check out crucial.com they have good ram and it's MUCH cheaper. is there any reason you want to buy apple ram?
Click to expand...

You're thinking of the previous gen Macbook RAM. DDR2 is much cheaper, yes. But since the late 2008 MBs use DDR3, you won't get 4 gigs for much cheaper than $150.

My advice is to take it in to a store and talk to a genius, concierge, or other "higher up" that would know more about these things. I was lucky enough to get an employee that was nice enough to check with the manager, and they swapped out my 2 gigs for 4 gigs for $150. Also, like the other person suggested, be sure to bring your receipt. I'd bought mine from the same store so they had my receipt on hand.
 
skorpien said:
You're thinking of the previous gen Macbook RAM. DDR2 is much cheaper, yes. But since the late 2008 MBs use DDR3, you won't get 4 gigs for much cheaper than $150.

My advice is to take it in to a store and talk to a genius, concierge, or other "higher up" that would know more about these things. I was lucky enough to get an employee that was nice enough to check with the manager, and they swapped out my 2 gigs for 4 gigs for $150. Also, like the other person suggested, be sure to bring your receipt. I'd bought mine from the same store so they had my receipt on hand.
Click to expand...

Wrong you can get 4GB for $130 shipped:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231212
 
fuzzielitlpanda said:
Wrong you can get 4GB for $130 shipped:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231212
Click to expand...

Assuming you want dual channel RAM, you'll have to buy them in a set. Check those prices out. Even the same manufacturer is charging $170 without shipping.

And yes, you can get them for $20 cheaper (assuming you live in the States, which I do not), but for me that $20 plus the 2x1GB sticks are more than adequate payment to have them professionally installed and guaranteed not to ruin the warranty (I'm not confident enough in my skills to install RAM on a laptop -- especially a $2,000 one). Not to mention as others have noted in another thread, getting rid of your old memory is not all that easy. It seems that hardly anyone on eBay wants used RAM. And $150 for the buy-back program leaves you no worse off than if you were to upgrade to 4GB from the get-go.

To each his own.
 
well being cheaper is one thing, but not having the confidence to install is entirely different. if that's one of your reasons for not buying 3rd party, then it doesn't matter what the cost is. anyways, best of luck
 
one other consideration

fuzzielitlpanda said:
well being cheaper is one thing, but not having the confidence to install is entirely different. if that's one of your reasons for not buying 3rd party, then it doesn't matter what the cost is. anyways, best of luck
Click to expand...

How about the assurance that your ram is covered under Applecare? Not to mention instant gratification (i.e., not having to wait however many days on the mail). Can I save a couple of dollars (literally) by going 3rd party? Sure. I just think it's wonderful you can have apple do it and not get raped like in times past.
 
clyde2801 said:
How about the assurance that your ram is covered under Applecare? Not to mention instant gratification (i.e., not having to wait however many days on the mail). Can I save a couple of dollars (literally) by going 3rd party? Sure. I just think it's wonderful you can have apple do it and not get raped like in times past.
Click to expand...

i think it's great that apple can do it for a reasonable price too, but i wouldn't call a $20 savings "a couple of dollars." To a lot of people, every dollar matters for these parts
 
clyde2801 said:
How about the assurance that your ram is covered under Applecare? Not to mention instant gratification (i.e., not having to wait however many days on the mail). Can I save a couple of dollars (literally) by going 3rd party? Sure. I just think it's wonderful you can have apple do it and not get raped like in times past.
Click to expand...

This is why you buy from OWC or somewhere that gives you a lifetime warranty. Much longer than Applecare. You end up with two 2GB chips and still have your original chips if something goes wrong.
 
Apple wouldn't let me upgrade the RAM with the same deal they gave other posters in this thread, so I'm just going to order from Crucial or OWC or Newegg and install it myself. I've built my own PC before so I'm not that averse to installing the RAM myself.

Thank you for your input.
 
Critical Hippo said:
Apple wouldn't let me upgrade the RAM with the same deal they gave other posters in this thread, so I'm just going to order from Crucial or OWC or Newegg and install it myself. I've built my own PC before so I'm not that averse to installing the RAM myself.

Thank you for your input.
Click to expand...

Go to the apple store.
Ask to speak with a manager.
Show them your receipt.
Tell them you want the apple ram buyback program.
Say you know this from message boards and that it is their policy.
 
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