AppleMac laptop pricing.
Discussion
Do Apple computers set a certain price for their computers and laptops? I'm looking at getting one of the new Apple Mac laptops but all the prices that i have seen so far are the same (i've only been to the Apple store and John Lewis in bluewater).
Any insight would be helpful.
Thanks
Dean
Any insight would be helpful.
Thanks
Dean
robbieduncan said:
Do Apple fix their prices?
No, but the places you're supposed to buy from are often more expensive than certain on-line retailers. The margins are very very low.
I could give exact figures, but not on a public forum, or anything that could be traced to me.
Dean, if you want to e-mail me what you're looking for I'm sure I could point you in the right direction.
It's tricky getting decent discounts on new Apple kit. Magic Torch has the inside line 
One trick I've often used is to buy from John Lewis, since the only real support I need for Apple kit is to be able to exchange a unit if it's faulty... John Lewis not only emphasise their customer care credentials, they also add a year's no-bullshit warranty that they cover. The standard Apple warranty is one year, JL give you two years. This is a cheap alternative to buying Applecare. (For example, I bought a 15" powerbook from JL, used it for a week and decided it wasn't ideal portability-wise. JL were perfectly happy exchanging for a 12" powerbook with no quibbles. The retail Apple stores get a lot of chancers and can be very stubborn about replacements). JL may not have the latest kit on display but they can order anything you like in. Another money saving tip which I've done a few times is to ask the JL manager whether they'd like to dispose of a display model at a discount. This may be chancy with laptops (which tend to get bashed about by customers), YMMV. I bought a Powermac and 23" screen off display at Bluewater John Lewis with around 20% discount. Display model iBooks / MacBooks will probably be filthy, however the ally Powerbooks / MBPs clean up pretty easily.
One benefit of the restrictive pricing practices is that resale residuals are extraordinarily high for used computers... you can use a powerbook (sorry, MacBook... still hate the new names) for a year and then sell it on for a good proportion of the original price. Windows PC gear often loses virtually all its value second hand. Remember to price the residual into the overall cost of running a Mac as well as the ease of use - it often takes all the sting out of the higher initial cost if you work out the TCO over the likely time you'll be using the machine.
Oh yeah - last thing - the retail stores occasionally try to placate pissed off customers by offering a 'VIP' card that allows 10% off *one* transaction in that Apple store. It's a win-win since the customer usually is happy, and the store knows that they will make another sale when the customer uses the card. The manager in the Bluewater store gave me one when my iPod Nano cracked its screen rather than replacing the Nano... a move he instantly regretted when I bought a Quad and 30" screen with it
One trick I've often used is to buy from John Lewis, since the only real support I need for Apple kit is to be able to exchange a unit if it's faulty... John Lewis not only emphasise their customer care credentials, they also add a year's no-bullshit warranty that they cover. The standard Apple warranty is one year, JL give you two years. This is a cheap alternative to buying Applecare. (For example, I bought a 15" powerbook from JL, used it for a week and decided it wasn't ideal portability-wise. JL were perfectly happy exchanging for a 12" powerbook with no quibbles. The retail Apple stores get a lot of chancers and can be very stubborn about replacements). JL may not have the latest kit on display but they can order anything you like in. Another money saving tip which I've done a few times is to ask the JL manager whether they'd like to dispose of a display model at a discount. This may be chancy with laptops (which tend to get bashed about by customers), YMMV. I bought a Powermac and 23" screen off display at Bluewater John Lewis with around 20% discount. Display model iBooks / MacBooks will probably be filthy, however the ally Powerbooks / MBPs clean up pretty easily.
One benefit of the restrictive pricing practices is that resale residuals are extraordinarily high for used computers... you can use a powerbook (sorry, MacBook... still hate the new names) for a year and then sell it on for a good proportion of the original price. Windows PC gear often loses virtually all its value second hand. Remember to price the residual into the overall cost of running a Mac as well as the ease of use - it often takes all the sting out of the higher initial cost if you work out the TCO over the likely time you'll be using the machine.
Oh yeah - last thing - the retail stores occasionally try to placate pissed off customers by offering a 'VIP' card that allows 10% off *one* transaction in that Apple store. It's a win-win since the customer usually is happy, and the store knows that they will make another sale when the customer uses the card. The manager in the Bluewater store gave me one when my iPod Nano cracked its screen rather than replacing the Nano... a move he instantly regretted when I bought a Quad and 30" screen with it
Yes, good advice from cyberface.
Apple are very very very very very reluctant to replace hardware.
We repaired one item seven times and it was away from the customer (a major international purchaser of Apple hardware) for over two months. They couldn't get Apple to swap it. Well known journalists seem to able to manage it though
JL do swap stuff out. Whereas an Apple Service Provider may have to wait several weeks for a spare part that is in high demand, then need to action the repair.
You'll need to consider data transfer if the unit is swapped, but Apple don't cover this anyway.
Apple are very very very very very reluctant to replace hardware.
We repaired one item seven times and it was away from the customer (a major international purchaser of Apple hardware) for over two months. They couldn't get Apple to swap it. Well known journalists seem to able to manage it though
JL do swap stuff out. Whereas an Apple Service Provider may have to wait several weeks for a spare part that is in high demand, then need to action the repair.
You'll need to consider data transfer if the unit is swapped, but Apple don't cover this anyway.
picked up the Macbook today. by heck am i impressed with the Mac OS and software. It's so easy to use,except for the delete key as i can't find that yet, that i wish i got one sooner! These are built for entertainment in mind and i really am please about the purchase. Defo thumbs up to Apple from me
_deano said:
picked up the Macbook today. by heck am i impressed with the Mac OS and software. It's so easy to use,except for the delete key as i can't find that yet, that i wish i got one sooner! These are built for entertainment in mind and i really am please about the purchase. Defo thumbs up to Apple from me
Nice, aren't they!
The delete key is above the enter key.
_deano said:
picked up the Macbook today. by heck am i impressed with the Mac OS and software. It's so easy to use,except for the delete key as i can't find that yet, that i wish i got one sooner! These are built for entertainment in mind and i really am please about the purchase. Defo thumbs up to Apple from me
If you mean forward delete as per 'delete' on a PC, then try Fn+backspace on the MacBook.
cyberface said:
picked up the Macbook today. by heck am i impressed with the Mac OS and software. It's so easy to use,except for the delete key as i can't find that yet, that i wish i got one sooner! These are built for entertainment in mind and i really am please about the purchase. Defo thumbs up to Apple from me
If you mean forward delete as per 'delete' on a PC, then try Fn+backspace on the MacBook.
That's the one, cheers. And yes they are nice. I was thinking of putting Bootcamp on the laptop to have XP on here as well, but to be honest i don't think i want to.
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