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spiff72 · Apr 5, 2005, 01:53 PM

Hey everyone,

My wife is currently a part time student in college.

We were planning to by a Powerbook and an iBook with the student discount that she is eligible for.

Is this something that is allowed by the Apple store? I have heard that you are limited to one system purchase per academic year...

I could buy them separately (since I want the Powerbook as soon as Tiger is announced, and the iBook once they are updated)...

Thanks,
Jeff

Cheetah223 · Apr 5, 2005, 03:32 PM

I believe you can only purchase one machine per academic year, but the academic year is about to end if I'm thinking correctly.

Qualifying purchases per academic school year (July 1 - June 30):

* Power Mac, iMac, eMac, PowerBook, or iBook - One per year
* Printers - One per year
* Displays - Two per year
* Software - Two per year

So from that, I'd say get a pbook as soon as possible (Tiger's being released this month from what I understand) then after June 30 you can buy your iBook.

spiff72 · Apr 5, 2005, 03:39 PM

This is starting to sound like the general consensus.

How do they actually verify if you buy online?

Thanks,
Jeff

Phrogman · Apr 5, 2005, 03:42 PM

Depending on the tax in your state, it might be cheaper to buy it from Amazon.com. They have free shipping and no tax (in most states) PLUS they have $100-150 rebates on the Powerbooks and iBooks. This should make it less than Apple's Edu discount.

Just a thought.

spiff72 · Apr 5, 2005, 03:51 PM

Originally posted by Phrogman:
Depending on the tax in your state, it might be cheaper to buy it from Amazon.com. They have free shipping and no tax (in most states) PLUS they have $100-150 rebates on the Powerbooks and iBooks. This should make it less than Apple's Edu discount.

Just a thought.

Really??? I haven't seen that.

I will give it a look.

Thanks,
Jeff

osxisfun · Apr 5, 2005, 03:59 PM

Originally posted by Phrogman:
Depending on the tax in your state, it might be cheaper to buy it from Amazon.com. They have free shipping and no tax (in most states) PLUS they have $100-150 rebates on the Powerbooks and iBooks. This should make it less than Apple's Edu discount.

Just a thought.

very true. and the sales tax you save can be set aside for later when YOU ABSOULLTEY MUST BUY APPLE CARE WITHIN ONE YEAR..

sorry for the caps but its really important that you buy apple care. the good news is you have 1 year to buy it.

spiff72 · Apr 5, 2005, 04:01 PM

Originally posted by osxisfun:
very true. and the sales tax you save can be set aside for later when YOU ABSOULLTEY MUST BUY APPLE CARE WITHIN ONE YEAR..

sorry for the caps but its really important that you buy apple care. the good news is you have 1 year to buy it.

One more question (for now):

Can you still buy apple care with the student discount if you didn't get the powerbook from their apple store??

osxisfun · Apr 5, 2005, 04:05 PM

Originally posted by spiff72:
One more question (for now):

Can you still buy apple care with the student discount if you didn't get the powerbook from their apple store??

that i don't know but i would not be surpised. apple care tends to be sold like a piece of software. you buy it then register it online with your computer's serial #.

please someone else correct me if i am wrong.

spiff72 · Apr 5, 2005, 04:08 PM

How about that...

The price with no tax from amazon is about the same as the education discount with the $200 rebate (ends today of course)...The only downside is I would not get it as quick (I think), and i have to wait for 8-10 weeks for the rebate.

I have to see if they rebate the ibook as much...

osxisfun · Apr 5, 2005, 04:10 PM

Originally posted by spiff72:
How about that...

The price with no tax from amazon is about the same as the education discount with the $200 rebate (ends today of course)...The only downside is I would not get it as quick (I think), and i have to wait for 8-10 weeks for the rebate.

I have to see if they rebate the ibook as much...

$150.

or were you looking at the 17"?

Cheetah223 · Apr 5, 2005, 04:13 PM

My only problem with buying from anywhere other than the Apple store is that you can't customize it...Can you? I'll check, so don't bother answering, but assuming they won't let me add whichever upgrades (RAM, HD, etc.) then I'd be deterred..

osxisfun · Apr 5, 2005, 04:16 PM

i _think_ CDW will do BTO.

But the problem with a BTO is that its not easy to return or exchange if things go wrong.

ram should be done by 3rd party to save $$

spiff72 · Apr 5, 2005, 04:20 PM

Originally posted by osxisfun:
$150.

or were you looking at the 17"?

Yep, looking at the 17".

And I think you are right, Cheetah. I can't get the iBook with the Bluetooth option, so it wouldn't work for me there.

But the amazon price is actually the same as the education discount (if i am right here), so with $100 off from the rebate, it is a better deal

$1005 including tax from education store, and 949 -100 rebate from amazon.

osxisfun · Apr 5, 2005, 04:22 PM

Originally posted by spiff72:
Yep, looking at the 17".

And I think you are right, Cheetah. I can't get the iBook with the Bluetooth option, so it wouldn't work for me there.

But the amazon price is actually the same as the education discount (if i am right here), so with $100 off from the rebate, it is a better deal

$1005 including tax from education store, and 949 -100 rebate from amazon.

bummer.

Cheetah223 · Apr 5, 2005, 05:20 PM

Yeah, when I buy it from Apple I'm gonna get a 100gb hard drive and max out the VRAM (hoping they bump it to 128 standard and allow for 256 upgraded) I'll probably max out the RAM on my own, because you're right, it is WAY cheaper.

fleaplus · Apr 5, 2005, 05:35 PM

There is a limit of one machine a year? That is funny, since I bought a mac mini 1.42ghz back in February and got a $50 discount on it, and just bought another 1.25ghz mini last week and got a $20 discount on it also. They were both purchased in an Apple retail store, since the campus store here still doesn't carry them on hand..

Cheetah223 · Apr 5, 2005, 05:50 PM

Yeah, that's one thing that I wondered about, you enter what school you attend, and that's it. They don't ask for proof you attend that school, they don't even ask how long you've been at that school...You just say 'Flathead Valley Community College' and it gives you a discount, there is no way for them to tell how many different people at the school buy a new mac in that year...It could be one person buying 5 powermacs, or 5 people buying a powermac each.

spiff72 · Apr 5, 2005, 06:07 PM

I have been thinking about just going to an Apple store once tiger is announced to go get a powerbook (I would like it by this weekend, as my wife will be away, and it gives me a chance to play with it guilt free). I wanted to go on Friday, but she will already be gone. I called one of the 2 Detroit area apple stores, and asked if I could buy one without my wife present (the student). They said I could if I had her student ID and drivers license.

I then realized that she would NEED her license while she is traveling, so I called the other store and asked about their policy (hoping I could just show them a copy of her licence). They said she had to be present. Two totally different stories.

If I go, the one that is closer (just barely) is the one I would go to, and they are the one that said they could do it without her there. I will call back and ask again before I do it, but I will MAKE SURE I am not driving 2+ hours each way and wasting my time!

We shall see how it goes...

Thanks,
Jeff

jknight8907 · Apr 5, 2005, 06:11 PM

You can buy as many as you want. However, according to the fine print, if they audit your purchases and determine that you bought more than the limit, your credit card is charged, or you are sent a bill, for the balance that you technically should have paid.

fleaplus · Apr 5, 2005, 06:35 PM

Hmmm, well that makes sense. When I get audited I can just pay the $20. I definitely didn't want to rip them off, since the mini is already such a good deal. But I see how they would want to limit this on large purchases like a powerbook when the discount is quite a bit. I know waaay too many people who would take advantage of that and try and resell them to make money..

romeosc · Apr 5, 2005, 07:21 PM

Originally posted by fleaplus:
Hmmm, well that makes sense. When I get audited I can just pay the $20. I definitely didn't want to rip them off, since the mini is already such a good deal. But I see how they would want to limit this on large purchases like a powerbook when the discount is quite a bit. I know waaay too many people who would take advantage of that and try and resell them to make money..

.... a lot of people buy through the Apple student developer program much better price on 1 system and numerous benefits......

spiff72 · Apr 5, 2005, 08:25 PM

Originally posted by romeosc:
.... a lot of people buy through the Apple student developer program much better price on 1 system and numerous benefits......

See this post (and the one just before)...

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...31#post2468063