Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

selowitch · Jan 22, 2004, 03:25 PM

I wonder if I should I go for Amazon's deal of $100 off a PowerBook.

My chief concerns are:[list=1][*]What is it like to get warranty service from Amazon?[*]How's their support in general?[*]Can I use a local Apple Authorized Dealer for service?[/list=1]
Comments, please.

new newton · Jan 22, 2004, 03:43 PM

Your warranty is from Apple, not from Amazon. Amazon is an authorized dealer, so you won't have any problems taking it in to Apple or any other Apple service provider.

NYCFarmboy · Jan 22, 2004, 03:56 PM

I very highly recommend using Amazon.

I used to use the resellers such as MacMall/ClubMac etc....

but after their hardball sales tactics approach on trying to deal with them on the phone I went to Amazon. (They --the catolog resellers--about beat you to death on the phone to buy extended warrenties/ram upgrades etc).

Amazon's customer service is amazing.

You can change your order online easily until it ships, which is very convenient.

Other pluses: No sales tax (in most states) and completely free shipping (no gimmicks as the catolog resellers use such as rebated shipping for 10 bucks on a 50 dollar shipping charge).

Also... I have found the prices on Amazon are much better than the resellers so its a better deal all the way around.

The ONLY thing on Amazon is they don't give you that free RAM upgrade. But I installed the ram I purchased myself and the price of the ram was about what the charge was to install the "FREE" ram from the catolog resellers anyhow.

PeterKG · Jan 22, 2004, 03:56 PM

I just purchased one at $6.00 off retail price. It is every bit worth a$100.00 rebate and no sales tax, plus free shipping. If I have a problem with the PB it is Apple who I would call, not Amazon. If you for some reason would want to return it after receiving, then they are fine to deal with in that way too. For mail order they are easy. It has already shipped and will arrive Tuesday 1/27.

selowitch · Jan 22, 2004, 04:04 PM

Originally posted by new newton:
Your warranty is from Apple, not from Amazon. Amazon is an authorized dealer, so you won't have any problems taking it in to Apple or any other Apple service provider.

Oh, cool! Then it really looks like the best deal running. Thanks for the info.

selowitch · Jan 22, 2004, 04:09 PM

Originally posted by NYCFarmboy:
I very highly recommend using Amazon.

Excellent. Thank you so much for that very detailed and informative answer! Much appreciated.

Now if I could only decide between the 12" and 15" PowerBooks. But that is already well covered in other threads, so I'll go there.

MojoRising022 · Jan 22, 2004, 05:41 PM

I'll say this....Apple itself provides the least appealing offer. You will pay sales tax in most states, shipping a lot of the time, you willl pay full retail to the dollar, and you will never get anything free or thrown in.

PeterKG · Jan 22, 2004, 06:30 PM

Originally posted by MojoRising022:
I'll say this....Apple itself provides the least appealing offer. You will pay sales tax in most states, shipping a lot of the time, you willl pay full retail to the dollar, and you will never get anything free or thrown in.

The only deal you get with Apple is a discount on refurbs. They come in brown boxes with the badge of "discount". So they don't make very good gifts! Apple is indeed cheap when it comes to deals. Thank God for the resellers.

Starry Night · Jan 22, 2004, 10:37 PM

Originally posted by selowitch:
Excellent. Thank you so much for that very detailed and informative answer! Much appreciated.

Now if I could only decide between the 12" and 15" PowerBooks. But that is already well covered in other threads, so I'll go there.

Amazon is, by a wide margin, the best online Apple reseller out there. They give you an honest 30 days to decide whether or not you want to keep the computer. You can return it even if you're just not satisfied with its performance, for a full refund less shipping. If it's defective, they'll replace it, no hassles. I've put them to the test over a defective ibook and Amazon gets very high marks.

CompUsa and Smalldog give you 14 days for defective merchandise, but I believe it's for exchange only or at a 15% restocking fee. Every other online dealer that I know of, and I've researched a bunch of them, send you to Apple and offer no return policy whatsoever.

Added to that, the "free ram" offers aren't really free, just discounted because they charge $40 to install it, and it's low quality ram to begin with. It's also debatable whether or not those junk free printers are worth the effort.

Take you hundred bucks from Amazon and be happy!

After my very positive experience with Amazon, I'll only buy Apple products from them......

MarkusYamamoto · Jan 23, 2004, 08:04 AM

Every time Amazon offers the $100 rebate, a new Powerbook is on the horizon within six weeks.
I have personal experience with a previous Tibook 667 that I purchased from Amazon because my iBook was in for repair and I couldn't wait until it came back. Then, a few weeks later a updated Tibook 800 W/Superdrive for the same price came out and I kicked myself for buying it.
Don't get me wrong I love the Tibook that I have but, if it wasn't for my iBook (that had a broken hinge from dropping it) being in the shop I could have waited longer. Maybe even for another revision.

hostvisions · Jan 23, 2004, 08:58 AM

Big thumbs up for Amazon. No hassle 30-day returns, no sales tax, free shipping in most cases.

My Brenthaven bag just arrived from Amazon this morning, and I ordered Wednesday.

selowitch · Jan 23, 2004, 10:22 AM

Originally posted by MarkusYamamoto:
Every time Amazon offers the $100 rebate, a new Powerbook is on the horizon within six weeks.

Interesting! So perhaps I should wait until the end of February to place my order. I can easily wait that long, since I have a trusty 450MHz G4 Tower that works just fine in the meantime. It isn't fun or flashy, but it does the job.

I also will at last be getting DSL after four years on satellite Internet access (*shudder* boy, was that dreadful) so I have that to keep me in a joyful state for a while.

BTW, Is there a way to support MacNN by buying at Amazon in the same manner as you can by using, say, a sponsored link at Macintouch? I'd love to in some small way say thanks to MacNN for being such a great forum and information source. (Okay, okay, I admit to sucking up a little bit. So sue me.)

PeterKG · Jan 23, 2004, 11:11 AM

Originally posted by selowitch:
Interesting! So perhaps I should wait until the end of February to place my order. I can easily wait that long, since I have a trusty 450MHz G4 Tower that works just fine in the meantime. It isn't fun or flashy, but it does the job.

I also will at last be getting DSL after four years on satellite Internet access (*shudder* boy, was that dreadful) so I have that to keep me in a joyful state for a while.

So let me get this straight. Some Joe who posts here says that Amazon rebates mean new models coming out in six weeks, so you will hold off for another month before buying?

Amazon or Joe have no clue what Apple will do in six weeks. If your going to wait you might as well wait until the G6 arrives. I hear that Amazon posting a rebate means that Apple will be coming out with a G6 Cube in 12 weeks.

I love all the crystal ball people that frequent these sites. They don't know sh*%t.

selowitch · Jan 23, 2004, 11:43 AM

Originally posted by PeterKG:
So let me get this straight. Some Joe who posts here says that Amazon rebates mean new models coming out in six weeks, so you will hold off for another month before buying?

Amazon or Joe have no clue what Apple will do in six weeks. If your going to wait you might as well wait until the G6 arrives. I hear that Amazon posting a rebate means that Apple will be coming out with a G6 Cube in 12 weeks. I love all the crystal ball people that frequent these sites. They don't know sh*%t.

I hear what you're saying, but it is at least somewhat possible to make generalizations based on Apple's prior pricing behavior. I'm willing to take the risk of waiting another month or so. After that, I'll probably just bite the bullet and order.

I'd love to see some guy with too much time on his hands go and perform a statistical analysis of PowerBook pricing changes over time to see if any patterns could be detected.

Hey, man --- lighten up a little. Some of us like to chit-chat about this stuff in our spare time as a kind of sport. Let us have our fun, you know what I'm saying?

PeterKG · Jan 23, 2004, 11:50 AM

Hey, man --- lighten up a little. Some of us like to chit-chat about this stuff in our spare time as a kind of sport. Let us have our fun, you know what I'm saying? [/B]

Hey, I included a

in my post!

selowitch · Jan 23, 2004, 11:54 AM

Originally posted by PeterKG:
Hey, I included a in my post!

That you did.

muchachotron · Jan 23, 2004, 01:18 PM

hey there,

i just ordered one (of three!!) open box return 17" 1.33gz powerbook from clubmac (look for item 298689). its $2529 ($470 off the average price, which is huge). check it out quick, they could go any time, but the site says they have 2 left.

i have ordered a refurb 17"pb from maczone in the past, and it just stopped working immediately. luckily they accepted a return, and sent me a replacement, but "only because it was a refurbished item, and only because i had just opened it".

did i make a bad choice with the open box return? does anyone have any experience with this sort of deal? the sales rep assured me that they wouldn't be selling it if there was a problem with it. he said it might have been just something they opened in house for whatever reason, and now can't sell it new or as a refurb. it is supposed to be just like new, with all hardware and everything included and in the original box. there shouldn't be any marks or fingerprints or anything. not bad, if all is well with the machine!

my main concern is bad pixels, which is why i was just about to buy from amazon, so i could return it. if the obr 'book has bad pixels, i guess i'm S-O-L, but as long as they are black and not stuck on a bright red or something i can probably deal with it for that discount. i am of course as worried as everyone else about apple unleashing a new killer powerbook, but i've had it with my 466 g4 tower (i sold the 17" rev A to a friend, cuz the new one has some significant perks like usb 2.0, 2x superdrive, better 3d card, etc).

the amazon deal is decent, but $470 off instantly is quite a difference from a $100 rebate! also, the shipping is about 23 bucks, but theres a rebate for up to $30 shipping. clubmac will also ask if you want the epson c84 printer, 100 bucks, free after rebate, which i took (brought the shipping up to 33, so shipping will only be 3 bucks after the shipping rebate)

- d

Tenacious Dyl · Jan 23, 2004, 02:48 PM

I have to go with the magazines. Sorry folks.

Through the MacZone (Or MacMall, can't remember) I got my 12" Brand New Alluminum Powerbook, with 512 megs of extra ram, a REALLY nice Bodyglove carrying case, a high quality PHOTO PRINTER (epson c84 durabrite) and a professional LOCK for the laptop... for the same price as apple's stock 12".... I was sold.

Yeah... big deal, save 100$ on amazon, or get a photo printer, lock, 512 megs of ddr ram, and a carrying case.... if you bought those serperately, those exact things, it would be around $160 or more.

selowitch · Jan 23, 2004, 03:04 PM

Originally posted by Tenacious Dyl:
I have to go with the magazines. Sorry folks.

Through the MacZone (Or MacMall, can't remember) I got my 12" Brand New Alluminum Powerbook, with 512 megs of extra ram, a REALLY nice Bodyglove carrying case, a high quality PHOTO PRINTER (epson c84 durabrite) and a professional LOCK for the laptop... for the same price as apple's stock 12".... I was sold.

Yeah... big deal, save 100$ on amazon, or get a photo printer, lock, 512 megs of ddr ram, and a carrying case.... if you bought those serperately, those exact things, it would be around $160 or more.

That's all fine, but ...[list=1][*]What happens when you need service/repairs?[*]What if you don't need a photo printer?[*]What if you don't like the carrying case?[/list=1]
On the other hand, it's hard to argue with the extra RAM. Everybody needs that.

kagebird · Jan 23, 2004, 03:26 PM

It's an even better deal thru Amazon if you purchase using the Amazon Visa card. You'll get $30 with the first purchase and earn a $25 Amazon credit. Note: I have no affiliation with Amazon or Visa. Just pass'in on the savings. . .

Kage

selowitch · Jan 23, 2004, 03:48 PM

Originally posted by kagebird:
It's an even better deal thru Amazon if you purchase using the Amazon Visa card. You'll get $30 with the first purchase and earn a $25 Amazon credit. Note: I have no affiliation with Amazon or Visa. Just pass'in on the savings. . .

Unless it's a Visa debit card, there's no way I'd sign up for a credit card just for $55 in savings. It's way too easy to end up in debt. Remember, those credit card issuers have a lot of paid staff whose only job is to get you into the hole of revolving credit.

Starry Night · Jan 23, 2004, 05:40 PM

Originally posted by Tenacious Dyl:
I have to go with the magazines. Sorry folks.

Through the MacZone (Or MacMall, can't remember) I got my 12" Brand New Alluminum Powerbook, with 512 megs of extra ram, a REALLY nice Bodyglove carrying case, a high quality PHOTO PRINTER (epson c84 durabrite) and a professional LOCK for the laptop... for the same price as apple's stock 12".... I was sold.

Yeah... big deal, save 100$ on amazon, or get a photo printer, lock, 512 megs of ddr ram, and a carrying case.... if you bought those serperately, those exact things, it would be around $160 or more.

It depends what your priority is. For my dollar, a good return policy is very important and Maczone/Macmall have absolutely terrible ones. Amazon will take it back with even one dead pixel, I buy with the confidence that the machine will be up to my expectations without having to deal directly with Apple's lame return policy.

You also read post after post on these boards about people having trouble with the "free" (actually cost $40) ram. For me, it's Crucial or Samsung or not at all. YMMV.

I'd rather have $100 to spend as I wish than $160 spent for me in ways that I'd never spend it in the first place

Amazon does periodicly offer a free bag, I received a free targus bag once which they let me keep even though the ibook was returned.

To each their own, check out the ratings of Macmall at reseller.com, lots of unhappy customers. Amazon's customer service is second only to LL Bean ;^)

PeterKG · Jan 23, 2004, 06:49 PM

Yeah... big deal, save 100$ on amazon, or get a photo printer, lock, 512 megs of ddr ram, and a carrying case.... if you bought those serperately, those exact things, it would be around $160 or more. [/B]

It wasn't just $100.00 for me. It was

$100.00 Rebate

$6.00 off retail

123.53 Sales Tax savings (7.75%)

Free shipping.

Cash savings = $229.00 + Shipping

Don't need a crappy Body Glove case or a cheap printer. 512MB ram will run $80.00.

mlrtime · Jan 24, 2004, 11:04 AM

I'll put in my .02

I bought my 12" pb from amazon with the $100 rebate. The tax/shipping/100 rebate made it much cheaper than any other retailer.

I got a 512mb ram stick for around 80 and installed it myself. The rebate came VERY quickly and haven't had any problems since.

I did splurge on a $50 sleve from a local place in NYC, I didn't want to chance a cheap free bag.

i recommend amazon, the only thing is that there eta dates are always further out than what is delivered.

BTW, this is my first mac purchase, and I stayed away from the MAC* stores because of all the negative posts I read about them, stuff like that does affect their bottom line.

cc_foo · Jan 25, 2004, 10:41 PM

One other thing about ordering from Amazon. Some Mac web sites are sponsored by Amazon. e.g. Macintouch.

There are some links on the Macintouch web site that go to Amazon. Macintouch probably gets some kickback from that. The links don't inlude any PowerBooks though.

Another site I am aware of that is sponsored by Amazon is About This Particular Macintosh:

http://www.atpm.com/about/support.shtml

Doesn't cost you anything extra. But helps a Mac site.

(no relation to either of the above sites, except as a reader)