[Kyle76]

Apple has announced a rebate for educational purchases. I bought my MBP less than a month ago. Is there any way I can qualify for this rebate? It always ticks me off when promotions are announced right after I have made a purchase. I'm tempted to return my machine (is there a free return policy?) and buy a new one to qualify.

[idykenano]

rebate purchase dates started 6/3, so yesterday. to qualify for the rebate, you'd have to not just exchange your mbp but return it all together then repurchase. a computer must be returned to apple in 14 days of receiving it for full refund.

[Nodnarb]

Kyle, I mean no offense by this, but doing a little research before dropping a couple grand on a computer never hurts---Apple has done this same promotion, at the same time of year, for about 3-4 years now (that I can remember, most likely even longer).

If you'd posted here even, asking whether or not to buy now, most people would have said to wait a few weeks (from your purchase date) until after WWDC, which is June 9th. Apple also does this education rebate (the one you're talking about, for the free iPod) every summer to clear out old stock of iPods before releasing new ones in September.

If you bought more than 2 weeks ago, than I'm afraid you're SOL. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but buying right before WWDC and before the annual summer rebate is just asking to regret your purchase.

[elbles]

I'm in a similar situation to Kyle, though I just purchased my MacBook Pro on Saturday. I figured there would be a promotion coming up, but I didn't think it would start as soon as it did, nor did I anticipate that the iPod Touch would be one of the models education customers would be eligible to get for free.

So, with that in mind, I called the Apple Store where I got my MBP today, and they told me that I should be able to bring in my receipt, and they should be able to give me an iPod Touch for free, on the basis of being within the 14-day "price guarantee" period. Of course, this was on the phone, and with my luck, I'll drive the 45 minutes down there for them to tell me no, so we'll see what happens. I'll be even more fortunate if this is the case because I'm in Connecticut, one of only two states where the rebate is done instantly in the store.

That said, what do you guys think the chances are that they'll actually allow me to do this? I was shocked when they said it shouldn't be a problem over the phone, but I'm also quite skeptical. I'm planning on heading down to the Apple Store tonight to find out for sure, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to hear your thoughts in the mean time...

[Kyle76]

Guess I'm SOL.

[elbles]

I'd still give it a try, if I were you. The worst thing that could happen is they'll say no, and you might find a sympathetic manager or something. Point is, you never know, and all that you could lose would be a little bit of your time.

For what it's worth, they gave me mine with very few questions, and couldn't have been nicer about it.

[Kyle76]

I didn't get mine from a store. I got it online.

[Kyle76]

I called the nearest Apple store, and they said if it was within 14 days, they could honor the rebate at the store even though I purchased online. Unfortunately, I'm not within that timeframe.