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Student Purchasing First Macbook Pro

F

F.Breezy

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 23, 2010
13
0
Hi, I'm new here and I decided to stop running around asking for advice about MBP with people who simply cannot or choose not to answer. I'm unaware if I'm breaking any forum rules this is only the second forum I've joined.

So here I go....
I'm a 16 year old student who currently lives in the GTA and I was originally planning on purchasing a 13" MBP, but everyone I asked almost automatically referred me to the 15". I had a teacher who religiously followed everything apple related and I would honestly not be surprised if he had an account here, telling me to go with the 15". So I've decided to get the 15" currently I have 1600 dollars saved up. And I just can't wait any longer so I've web browsed for refurbished MBP or used ones and only considered them if there was the option for applecare.

Now online I found a seller on ebay who I discovered after researched had an account here but was banned "iSelliMacs" (account: 364708). Well he has 2 MBP one comes with the option of applecare the other one doesn't and he recommended SquareTrade.

I'd just like to know if it is worth it. Here the links for the two MBP I'm considering
First One:http://bit.ly/bd5hV7
Second One:http://bit.ly/bCcX4w

Thank you so much in advance. Sorry if I have done something wrong I sincerely apologize.
 
You haven't done anything wrong. Both of these are good buys. You can't get those prices on the Apple website even with student discount.

I wouldn't give him my CC information over the phone though!

Also, you haven't done anything wrong. :)
 
Good luck buying your first Mac :)

One bit of advice, even though I'm sure you already know this, is to be careful when buying Macs on eBay.

I'm a student myself and I got the 13" for portability, but the 15" is very very delicious :p

Again, good luck!
 
Clete2 said:
You haven't done anything wrong. Both of these are good buys. You can't get those prices on the Apple website even with student discount.

I wouldn't give him my CC information over the phone though!

Also, you haven't done anything wrong. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm going to pay with paypal.
I have one question is the first MBP display the same as the second ones
 
i suggest buying from the refurb store, your in canada and the seller is in the states, youll get hit with 13% on customs, the laptop does not have a warrenty and has scratches/dents. Either buy from the refurb store or new.
 
I would get the second one, cheaper, better cpu, 320GB personaly is enough but your choice,

ANd someone correct me but i think this one has the SD card slot and the other one is an older version without it, cuz its A 2.4 ghz and apple sold that befor last junes release :)

Hope that helps
 
tac22 said:
I would get the second one, cheaper, better cpu, 320GB personaly is enough but your choice,

ANd someone correct me but i think this one has the SD card slot and the other one is an older version without it, cuz its A 2.4 ghz and apple sold that befor last junes release :)

Hope that helps
Click to expand...

Can someone tell me if SquareTrade is a good warranty.
 
Seems good, just google people with first hand experiences, heres a quote from someone on another forum

"SquareTrade warranty is fantastic. Basically no matter what happens, if you have SquareTrade they will send you a replacement if available or send you the funds that you originally paid back as a PayPal or a Check.

I would recommend them. Especially because they are considerably cheaper then most warranty plans."
 
tac22 said:
Seems good, just google people with first hand experiences, heres a quote from someone on another forum

"SquareTrade warranty is fantastic. Basically no matter what happens, if you have SquareTrade they will send you a replacement if available or send you the funds that you originally paid back as a PayPal or a Check.

I would recommend them. Especially because they are considerably cheaper then most warranty plans."
Click to expand...

Thank you so much! And they say Mac owners are arrogant and stuck up. :)
 
just some extra advice as a 16 yr old I assume the 1600 you have saved wasn't so easy to come by so why not try to maximize it .... here is what i would recommend to do..... bare with me ... hope i can type this out correct for you..

1. create a bing cashback account. that will attach to your paypal
2. go to bing and type "laptop" in the search field
3. click on the ebay link at the top and it will take you to ebay and at the top of the page you should see microsoft cash and a price tag that currently reads 8%
4. in ebay search for macbook pros here is a link for the 15" 2.53ghz
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380209669342
this one above is 1599.00 free shipping and depending where you live probably no tax... i think you can make an offer for $1,499 and they counter offer with $1,574.99 which is a great deal. if you buy it now then you will get 8% back from Microsoft cash back which is going to be $125.92 back so total for that mac book its going to be $1,449.07 at the end of the whole deal. At that price your getting a smoking deal!! if you need more help let me know ! good luck and i know you will love your mac when you get it everyone always does haha !!
 
Honestly I would not buy someones scratched up dinged up used computer from $1700. Buy something new or wait.
 
Congrats on getting your first mac. I too had teachers who swore by their macs, i could never understand why until i purchased my very own in august '09. Now i know what they were talking about.

I can't imagine saving up $1,600 was easy, especially for a 16 year old. So i assume you want the best value.

Now both of the laptops you mentioned in your post are both late '08 models with a removable battery. And seems both are in terrible condition at least on the outside.

Also after checking the mac2sell.net website i found out both models are a little steep on price considering the values quoted below.

Mac2sell.com Quoted Values:

1. $1,320 USD.
2. $1,370 USD.

I would suggest you wait until the new MBP refresh do any day now and maybe then you can snag up one of the current models in the refurbished store at a discount, plus the option of Applecare i still there if you want it.

Just something to consider before you spend your hard earned money.
 
F.Breezy said:
Do you know if this works in Canada?



Thanks for the heads up I've decided not to go with them and be patience and see if I can save up more or wait untill a better deal comes my way.
Click to expand...

I just looked around online and I don't think cash back works in Canada so that's gonna be an issue look online see what they say
 
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