Special Deals from Apple: Nearly a New Purchase Experience
The biggest differences between buying Macs and PCs is selection and price. Apple uses a completely different business model than Microsoft in that Apple is a completely self-contained product. If you want to run OS X [legally] then you have to buy a genuine Apple computer. Finding significant discounts on new Apples is virtually unheard of. Even sites like CDW and MacMall who pride themselves on lower prices rarely discount Macs more than 5 or 6 percent. When you consider Apple ships all their systems for free, the deal usually winds up being a wash. If you’re looking to save some money on a relatively new Apple then you only have one choice: the “Special Deals” section of the Apple on-line store.
When I say “relatively new” I mean you can get a factory refurbished Mac that’s usually a model from a few months ago with the same warranty and benefits you’d get buying a brand new Mac at your local Apple store. Discounts on these machines can be as much as 25%! Being the penny-pincher that I am, I just bought a 24” iMac from the “Special Deals” store for $1199. Equipped as follows:
- 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo
- 320 GB 7200 HDD
- 2 GB RAM (800 MHz)
- 1066 MHz Front-side Bus
This machine is one generation removed from the newest iMac, but certainly plenty of machine for my needs.
The purchasing experience couldn’t have been more pleasant. I went to the site, found what I wanted, added it to my shopping cart and put it on my credit card. Since the basic ground shipping was free, I had it overnighted for only $36 more (I’m the impatient type). I also wanted to max out the system memory [from 2 to 4 GB] so OWC was happy to sell me the 4 gig kit for $39. Both boxes arrived the next day.
The iMac arrived in a plain white box with a handle just like a new machine from the Apple store minus the pretty graphics. Unboxing this refurbished machine was just like opening up a brand new one. All the protective film was in place and the keyboard and mouse were brand new as were the OS X DVDs. Before I even removed the protective film, I swapped out the memory so when I turned the machine on for the first time it would boot up with 4 gigs.
Because this was a refurbished machine, I really gave it the “white glove” treatment before turning it on. I used a flashlight to carefully inspect the case and, more importantly, the screen and aluminum bezel. If there ever was a blemish on this computer either I didn’t find it or Apple removed it. Its’ physical condition was perfect.
Next, I powered up the machine and went through the OS X initial configuration. My only disappointment was finding the OS X version at 10.5.4. Not a huge deal, just more downloading required. Before starting all that though I checked every port on the machine to make sure they were all in working order. No problems there either.
I spent the next eight hours updating and installing software and copying documents from my MacBook Pro. It’s amazing how much stuff I collected in just a few months. I synched with MobileMe and now everything I need is on the new machine. All in all, this was almost exactly like a new buying experience and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the “Special Deals” section of the Apple on-line store to anyone looking to save a few bucks on a “like new” Mac.
Recent Comments