Good deals on Mac computers?

[sunshinecruise]

Hi, My son is interested in getting a Mac computer. He is a 19 year old college student who is interested in graphic design. We have never had a Mac before and they are a lot more expensive than the pc's we usually buy.
Does anyone have any tips on getting a good deal?
Thank you

 

[graceesmom]

check Apple Online for refurbished models. They come with same 1 year warranty and you can also buy the Apple Care protection plan. I saved about $300 on my macbook pro this way. I also bought my ipod that way years ago and bought my parents an ipad this way. All of the devices have worked perfectly.

When you go to the apple store online, the link for refurbished models is on the bottom right side. Inventory changes daily, so if you don't see what you want today, it could be available tomorrow or next week.

 

[shwn]

check Apple Online for refurbished models. They come with same 1 year warranty and you can also buy the Apple Care protection plan. I saved about $300 on my macbook pro this way. I also bought my ipod that way years ago and bought my parents an ipad this way. All of the devices have worked perfectly.

When you go to the apple store online, the link for refurbished models is on the bottom right side. Inventory changes daily, so if you don't see what you want today, it could be available tomorrow or next week.

100% agree with this! Thats how I have bought most of my Macs too. Great way to save some money...

 

[ssawka]

Hi, My son is interested in getting a Mac computer. He is a 19 year old college student who is interested in graphic design. We have never had a Mac before and they are a lot more expensive than the pc's we usually buy.
Does anyone have any tips on getting a good deal?
Thank you

Since he is a college student, he should be able to get the student discount. That will save up to $200.

 

[HM]

DailySteals.com often has some Apples and Mac on sale. You might check them out.

I've bought a couple iPod Touchs and a couple smaller things from the site and had no problems with them.

 

[wiigirl]

check Apple Online for refurbished models. They come with same 1 year warranty and you can also buy the Apple Care protection plan. I saved about $300 on my macbook pro this way. I also bought my ipod that way years ago and bought my parents an ipad this way. All of the devices have worked perfectly.

When you go to the apple store online, the link for refurbished models is on the bottom right side. Inventory changes daily, so if you don't see what you want today, it could be available tomorrow or next week.

Refirbished is about the only way to get a cheaper price on an Apple product....they don't do many discounts.

 

[Svhadden]

We've bought refurbs from Apple and have bought from a reputable eBay Mac dealer. Got great deals from both. I can't recommend AppleCare strongly enough. Or at the very least, Square Trade or other reputable aftermarket insurer. The refurb we bought from Apple forever ago is about 9 yrs old and still going strong. We use it daily for homeschool. The Pro we bought from eBay arrived exactly as described, still had almost 2 yrs of AppleCare and was a fantastic deal (about $800 less than brand new). My only caution if you don't buy from Apple or an authorized seller, DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Craigslist and eBay are great ways to get good deals but you better know that you're buying from a legit source. Read reviews, feedback, search them out. It's possible to get great deals outside of Apple.

We won't buy anything other than Apple products. Yes, they're more expensive, but I've never had a PC that lasted longer than a few years before it started developing issues (dim display, locking up, etc). We have a MacBook, a G5, MacBook Pro, two iPods, an iPad, and three iPhones. Happy Mac owners .

 

[DawnM]

Last year we got the education discount, waited for tax free weekend, and got a $100 itunes gift card.

All told, we saved about $400 with all the discounts on an iMac.

 

[edk35]

Hi, My son is interested in getting a Mac computer. He is a 19 year old college student who is interested in graphic design. We have never had a Mac before and they are a lot more expensive than the pc's we usually buy.
Does anyone have any tips on getting a good deal?
Thank you

check with his university too....they usually have a discount program.

 

[sunshinecruise]

These are all great ideas. Thank you!

 

[graceesmom]

The other thing about refurbished models is that they you can sometimes get last year's model. So it may be $200 or $300 off that price, but you are saving even more by not buying the latest edition.

This is particularly true this year when they added the retina display to the macbook pro.

 

[Sadie22]

He can order online directly though the Apple Store for Education (if memory serves correctly as to the name) and get a student discount. However, he should check with the university bookstore and also with the academic department to see if there are any special deals available through them. There are deals on software also. Sometimes (usually over the summer, I think) there are deals which include something free.

Deal directly with Apple or a reputable Apple reseller and get AppleCare.

 

[Praying Colonel]

Besides the hardware, check with the university to see if they have software deals, too. DD got a free version of Office for the Mac through her university. (Son, at a different university--not so lucky. )

 

[tikistitch]

I bought a macbook air last summer when they were running a discount promotion for students, I don't remember the exact discount but it was several hundred dollars off and I got a $100 itunes gift card.