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Switched2Mac · Jul 11, 2004, 01:20 PM

I have been sweating the purchase of a PowerMac all week.

The dual 1.8 is just at the right price.

So, I was at CompUSA over the weekend and they had a single 1.8 (rev A.) on the demo floor. When asked, the CompUSA Apple guy said he could give it to me for $1899.

I laughed and reminded him that I could drive 15 minutes to the Apple store, pay $100 more and get a Dual 1.8, brand new, Rev B., etc.

He was unyielding.

Thought maybe I could get it for $1000-$1200 since it was older and a floor/demo model.

Now the question is......do I go to the Apple Store or not?

If I go, I will most likely walk out with one.

reader50 · Jul 11, 2004, 01:49 PM

Originally posted by Switched2Mac:
...
So, I was at CompUSA over the weekend and they had a single 1.8 (rev A.) on the demo floor. ...

You said "single", did you mean one demo model on the floor, or a demo model with a single CPU? His price for it may be reasonable if it is a dual 1.8 Rev A, depending on the unit's condition.

losta · Jul 11, 2004, 02:29 PM

As a point of reference I just got a floor demo G5 1.8 DP with airport extreme and applecare for $1998, that was from CompUSA. I tried the Apple store first because last weekend I saw a single 1.8 (or was it 1.6?)there with a gig of RAM for $1299 and a dual 1.8 for $1799 they were floor demos. By the time I decided to go for it they were sold. After calling several other apple stores and looking online I didn't find much. I went to my local CompUSA and talked to the Apple guy it was marked $2099 but I told them about what the apple store had last week and he knocked off $100.

The one good deal I found online was $1939 for a refurb dual 1.8 (older version) at smalldog.com

Switched2Mac · Jul 11, 2004, 03:59 PM

Originally posted by reader50:
You said "single", did you mean one demo model on the floor, or a demo model with a single CPU? His price for it may be reasonable if it is a dual 1.8 Rev A, depending on the unit's condition.

Single CPU.

It was a floor model demo.

johnnydr87 · Jul 11, 2004, 04:30 PM

This is very similar to my story. The CompUSA near me had a demo model dual 2 ghz and he tried to sell it to me for $2500. I told him I could easily get an apple discount from Apple, plus this was a demo model which everyone had been using. He then offered apple care and the dual 2 ghz for $2500, the same education price as the new dual 2 ghz with apple care. Except the one from Apple would be brand new. He kept harassing me with why I should buy from CompUSA instead of Apple...eh, to make a really long story short I just left.

Anyways, I told him I was more interested in the dual 2.5 ghz model....

reader50 · Jul 11, 2004, 05:51 PM

Originally posted by Switched2Mac:
Single CPU.

It was a floor model demo.

Pass. For $100 more you get a new dual 1.8 with faster RAM. The downside is the Rev A 1.8 has twice the RAM slots and PCI-X.

A demo model is a bit like a refurb. When Apple offers the dual 1.8 Rev A refurb, it is priced at $1800, so a single 1.8 demo/refurb should not be any more than $1,600 in my opinion.

OzarkMtn · Jul 11, 2004, 08:55 PM

Originally posted by Switched2Mac:

Thought maybe I could get it for $1000-$1200 since it was older and a floor/demo model.

Keep dreaming, not going to happen.

rogerkylin · Jul 11, 2004, 09:16 PM

I've had similar experiences at CompUSA. Basically, if they give you a discount, they have to put it in their books they sold a computer or a loss. I they never sell it, it sort of gets 'absorbed', and they never take a loss.

Makes perfect sense... huh???

turtle777 · Jul 12, 2004, 02:17 PM

CompUSA is always gonna find some stupid customer to pay too much for an outdated model.
Now just imagine what RadioCrap would charge you for a two year old Mac ?

-t

Gig103 · Jul 12, 2004, 02:50 PM

Always pass on CompUSA. Their salesmen are uninformed, their prices are outlandish, and their service is horrendous.

Yes I had a bad experience, if you really really care, details via PM, but they have a tendancy to bait-and-switch, and to not honor their own serice plans.

Luca Rescigno · Jul 13, 2004, 10:44 AM

Yeah man, if you want deals, you usually have to look online. I'm sometimes amazed at the polarization in retail stores as far as pricing on old products goes. I went to Best Buy in May of 2003 and noticed they were selling a 20 GB, second generation iPod (this was just after the new ones came out) for about $50 more than the 20 GB, third generation iPod. They have some asinine policy regarding how much they discount their overstocked goods, and they don't budge regardless of how ridiculous it gets. On the other hand, when my brother bought Halo from them about a year and a half ago, they didn't have it in stock but they shipped it to our door a few days later for free, so that was nice.

Anyway, back to my point... some places will charge you nearly as much for an old, less capable, and also beat up and obviously used/abused machine as they will for a brand new one. I saw some place selling a PowerBook 5300 for $300. When I asked if I could get it for less, say, a typical price of about $50 (that's what they were going for at the time, it's even less now), he simply said that the price was in line with what most places are selling them for. I said no, you can get a G3 for that much, that little thing is just 100 MHz, look at it! But of course he wouldn't yield. I suspect it's still there today, still sitting there with a $200-$300 price tag.

losta · Jul 13, 2004, 04:14 PM

I guess I got the only good CompUSA deal. Most CompUSAs have an Apple Rep on site they work for Apple not CompUSA. They are usually hard to find though.

I went to my Apple store first but I was a week late.

msuper69 · Jul 16, 2004, 12:02 AM

Originally posted by OzarkMtn:
Keep dreaming, not going to happen.

I just bought a refurbed single 1.8 G5, 512mb RAM, 160GB HD for $754 at MicroCenter.
AppleCare runs out in a couple of months so I'm going to get either their 1 year extended warranty for $80 or 3 year extended warrant for $160. Probably the 3 year as I expect to keep it that long.

Switched2Mac · Jul 16, 2004, 10:17 PM

Originally posted by msuper69:
I just bought a refurbed single 1.8 G5, 512mb RAM, 160GB HD for $754 at MicroCenter.
AppleCare runs out in a couple of months so I'm going to get either their 1 year extended warranty for $80 or 3 year extended warrant for $160. Probably the 3 year as I expect to keep it that long.

Nice going!

Hey, how does Unreal 2004 play on it?