Time Capsule-Difference between buying from H.E Store & Refurb Store (UK)

[Azzin]

Folks,

If I were to buy a 2TB Time Capsule from the H.E Store, I would pay £222.00 instead of the normal RRP of £249.00 (so a saving of £27).

I can also get a refurb from the Apple store for £209.00 (a saving of £40).

So, is there any advantage to paying £222 from the Education store, versus £209 from the Refurb store?

Cheers.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

UK product protection laws may negate this advantage for you, but in the US refurb products warranty date is 1 year from the original sale, not from your purchase date. You'd get full 1 year with the EDU purchase.

 

[cxc273]

If you really need the original retail box, say for a gift or what not, the education store is the best way to go. Apple refurb products, at least in the U.S., come well packed with everything you would normally receive, but not in the same outer packaging you would find in retail. The refurb boxes can be elegant in their own right -- the Airport Express, iPod and Apple TVs I've purchased come in nice boxes. But the boxes for my Mac Mini and Time Capsule weren't as attractive.

I've purchased a number of items as refurbs, including a Time Capsule, and have had no issue with them. I would highly recommend them.

As for the warrant question, the Apple U.K. warranty for the Time Capsule can be found at http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/mac-english-uk.html.

I'm not a lawyer, but the warranty states that the warranty is good for a year after the original purchase date by the end user. Maybe I'm reading it differently than the previous poster, but I would think that the "end user" is you and the one-year warranty kicks in the moment you place your order online. I've never had to get warranty service on a refurb Apple product, so I have no practical experience with this.

 

[Fishrrman]

Actually, I wouldn't buy a Time Capsule at all.

They have a record of failure after a number of months (used to be about 18) due to internal heat buildup (not enough venting due to poor design -- i.e., "for style" and not "for function").

If you want backup, you'd do far better (and CHEAPER) to put together something yourself.

I'd suggest a USB3/SATA docking station and a couple of "bare" drives.

Use CarbonCopyCloner (or SuperDuper) to create 2 bootable clones of your internal drive, and "rotate" the backups regularly.

CCC backups are BOOTABLE -- VERY handy to have around in a "moment of extreme need"….

 

[Azzin]

If you really need the original retail box, say for a gift or what not, the education store is the best way to go. Apple refurb products, at least in the U.S., come well packed with everything you would normally receive, but not in the same outer packaging you would find in retail. The refurb boxes can be elegant in their own right -- the Airport Express, iPod and Apple TVs I've purchased come in nice boxes. But the boxes for my Mac Mini and Time Capsule weren't as attractive.

I've purchased a number of items as refurbs, including a Time Capsule, and have had no issue with them. I would highly recommend them.

Completely agree, I've had several refurbs and all have been first class.

As for the warrant question, the Apple U.K. warranty for the Time Capsule can be found at http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/mac-english-uk.html.

I'm not a lawyer, but the warranty states that the warranty is good for a year after the original purchase date by the end user. Maybe I'm reading it differently than the previous poster, but I would think that the "end user" is you and the one-year warranty kicks in the moment you place your order online. I've never had to get warranty service on a refurb Apple product, so I have no practical experience with this.

Yeah, the wording is ambiguous to say the least:

All Apple-branded desktop and portable computer products sold after October 1st 2005 within the framework of the HE National Agreement shall be subject to a 36 calendar month warranty period (the “HE National Agreement Warranty”) commencing from the date of delivery

Personally, I would say that a Time Capsule is an Apple branded desktop and portable computer product...

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Actually, I wouldn't buy a Time Capsule at all.

They have a record of failure after a number of months (used to be about 18) due to internal heat buildup (not enough venting due to poor design -- i.e., "for style" and not "for function").

If you want backup, you'd do far better (and CHEAPER) to put together something yourself.

I'd suggest a USB3/SATA docking station and a couple of "bare" drives.

Use CarbonCopyCloner (or SuperDuper) to create 2 bootable clones of your internal drive, and "rotate" the backups regularly.

CCC backups are BOOTABLE -- VERY handy to have around in a "moment of extreme need"….

The difference being here is that the reponsibility to ensure everything is backed up falls on me.

The reason I'm looking at a TC, is to remove myself from the backup equation and have it done for me, so saving a few £s is not my goal.

My reason for asking about an education purchase, is to find out if a TC purchased via the HE store would come with a 3 year warranty.

 

[jamesr19]

My reason for asking about an education purchase, is to find out if a TC purchased via the HE store would come with a 3 year warranty.

The TC would only have the 3 year HE warranty if you bought the TC with a Mac because the AppleCare covers the Apple accessories bought with the computer at time of purchase. Now, if you're buying the TC after buying a Mac through HE, you might be able to call AppleCare and ask nicely if they'll add the TC to your AppleCare for your Mac.

 

[paulrbeers]

UK product protection laws may negate this advantage for you, but in the US refurb products warranty date is 1 year from the original sale, not from your purchase date. You'd get full 1 year with the EDU purchase.

All of my refurbs from the US refurb store have carried a 1 year warranty from MY date of purchase. Last I looked all refurbs are given a new SN to differentiate them from New products and because of that the computer is given a one year warranty from the date of the refurb purchase.

Now this is from Apple directly, if you bought a "refurb" from a 3rd party then it is really a "used" Apple product and thus would have the one year warranty from the original purchase date.