[MojoRising022]

I placed my order with the Apple store for the CD-RW iBook on May 1st. Basically, I saw the iBook, had to have one, and ordered within 10 minutes of having read the specs.

Apparently, I will be waiting for some time for this to actually get shipped. In the interim, it has come to my attention that there is absolutely NO reason to order directly from Apple.

Ordering thru the Apple store means you pay shipping and tax. So a $1600 iBook becomes $1715 and I still wait until early June and speak to customer service reps with absolutely no clue. If I order from anywhere else, I still wait, I still pay shipping at some places, but I get 128mb of RAM free (at worse a $30 install charge).

So why would anyone in a similar situation (and I know there are quite a few of us) not cancel their order with Apple and take advantage of the free RAM and tax break?

I agree 110% I ordered on day 1, and payed an insane amount for shipping because of all the extras I got. I was told that the combo drive was apple store only. Now I am told you can get them anywhere. This is ridiculous. Not to mention the non free ram stuff. If I didnt need the financing I would have gone through somewhere else.......

[prodigy1387]

I also agree with you guys. I thought about ordering through apple, but then realized that i would not get the extra 128MB, would have to pay tax, and would not get overnight shipping. I am a lot happier knowing I ordered from MacMall the DVD iBook w/ the extra 128MB for a total of 256MB with an extra $30 installation fee (oh my god!) Plus, I don't have to worry about never getting it - I am guaranteed to get my iBook with MacMall's first shipment. How great is that? And I ordered yesterday! The way to go is MacMall, or MacWarehouse, or any of the other ones.

[Bernard Ducamp]

Regarding the "Why order from Apple?" question:

Some persons will want a 20 GB Hard Drive (Apple option). Is that option available elsewhere?

[WinsOBoogi]

1) Faster through Apple.
2) I like Apple.
3) Had to oder a bunch of accessories.
4) 20 gig HD.

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"The Macintosh is the temple of your soul." -Moi

[This message has been edited by WinsOBoogi (edited 05-16-2001).]

[Voch]

Not to anger the have-nots, but I ordered by iBook 500/DVD from the Apple Store the day of the announcment and I've had it since May 8th. I paid a little extra (tax + $15 FedEx 2-day shipping) but it was no big deal (I had budgeted the $1799 + tax to get the iBook SE/466 a few weeks earlier). And I bought my last machine there, too (my G3/266 beige desktop) because Apple was running a deal where I got Virtual PC 2.0 with Windows 95 for free with purchase.

Voch

[BrunoBruin]

To defend the Apple Store, I should point out that a lot of people who ordered basic configurations of the CD and DVD models got their 'Books already, while the resellers still have no definite date for receiving stock.

Also, while I have seen combo models listed with a couple of resellers (certainly not all), I suspect that all they're doing is taking a deposit for a special order, ordering that model from Apple and then passing it on to you. You might save the tax but it certainly ain't any faster.

That said, I ordered mine (DVD) from ClubMac to take advantage of their instant rebate -- $45 off rather than a 128MB stick. I really wanted to order from the Apple Store to get the 20GB drive but between the rebate and tax it was just too much to pay for a drive that I can upgrade later. They told me yesterday they expect shipment late in May or early June. Hearing that, I almost wish I HAD used the Apple Store.

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"I'm an award-winning
creative, the rules of society
no longer apply to me."

[jblakeh1]

I was told that the combo drive was apple store only. Now I am told you can get them anywhere.

Or nowhere, depending on how you look at it. I ordered my Combo as soon as the Apple Store reopened on the 1st. I want! I want!

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.b
http://homepage.mac.com/jblakeh1
http://www.sit3.com

[MojoRising022]

I can completely understand ordering via Apple directly in the case of a BTO iBook and for accessories available ONLY through Apple, but for no other reason.

I placed my order on sheer impulse and now I am stuck with the dilemma: Do I cancel the order, order thru MacMall or someone, and DEFINITELY wait until early June to get the thing or do I keep my AppleStore order and maybe get it sooner or maybe get it in early June anyway(more likely)?

Patience is not a virtue I possess and the wait is just killing me at this point...actually, it isn't the wait so much as not having any idea of how long the wait will be.

[tswan]

I see absolutely no reason to order through the Apple Store. I ordered my DVD model on the third and I'm still waiting. If I hear one more person say that they've received theirs from (fill in the store name) I'm gonna scream.

I thought that by ordering through the Apple Store there would be some sort of priority, but doesn't look like it. Plus, between the tax and the expedited (hah!) shipping charge, it's no bargain.

[prodigy1387]

I can understand anyone who wants the ComboDrive (I did at first, but realized that I would probably rarely use the CD-RW) or the extra 20 GB harddrive (I also wanted that, but thought I survived on my old PB G3 4GB HD so I could definitely live with 10GB) or any other Apple-only accessories ordering from the Apple Store. But for the rest who don't want to pay for slow shipping or taxes and want a free extra 128MB RAM or rebates with overnight shipping can order from MacMall or the likes. I wanted my iBook ASAP so I could only order overnight (the wait is long enough already I thought) and plus, and iBook is an iBook no matter where you order it, sooner or later it'll be in your hands (HOPEFULLY SOONER! Cheers to the iBooks!

[x user]

Here is the best place I have found. Free 128mb and Cheap (I think free, since the order is over $500) 2nd shipping. Outpost.com usually has pretty good deals on new macs. At least for those of us who don't like to pay CA sales tax.

[c0rvette]

the free 128mb is bullcrap, since it is low quality ram, and you are stuck with 256mb, which is a meager amount.

And selling on ebay would be no picnic either.

And a 10 gig internal?
How about them mp3s?

[Ambria]

or you could get an internal 20 gig hard drive seperately, pay less ... later down the road get an enclosure for the 10 gig and, tada!, you have 30 gigs of space ... 10 of which you can easily move from one computer to another.

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- Ambria

[FormerLurker]

Originally posted by Ambria:
or you could get an internal 20 gig hard drive seperately, pay less ... later down the road get an enclosure for the 10 gig and, tada!, you have 30 gigs of space ... 10 of which you can easily move from one computer to another.

I was going to go this route, but I heard that the hard drive in the new model was even harder to swap out than the original iBook.

I changed my Lombard hard drive in 10 minutes, but I barely survived a 3 hour ordeal helping a friend swap a drive in the old iBook model. When we were done, we had one screw left over, the speaker didn't work, and the warranty was completely voided.

So, I blew $200 for the 20 GB upgrade (a brand-new 20 GB is only $149) and over $100 on the tax, to save the hassle and keep the warranty intact.

[This message has been edited by FormerLurker (edited 05-17-2001).]

[tswan]

Another 24 hours has passed and I'm sure that I'll never place an order with the Apple Store.

They're coming into (and going out of) stores, but those of us that placed our order immediately with Apple are waiting...waiting...to get our emails that it's finally shipped from... Taiwan...hope you don't mind a few more days of waiting.

[graffix]

Patience, my little Grasshoppa's...

I placed my order on sheer impulse and now I am stuck with the dilemma: Do I cancel the order, order thru MacMall or someone, and DEFINITELY wait until early June to get the thing or do I keep my AppleStore order and maybe get it sooner or maybe get it in early June anyway(more likely)?

This is known as the 'Grocery Store' effect...
You're standing in a line that's standing still, while it looks like all the rest are moving right on through... so you decide to switch lines...
Now the line you were in speeds up and all the rest slow down... so you were probably better off just sticking with the first line you were in, because you still get out in the same amount of time, yet would have saved yourself a lot of anguish (and line switching)...

Another 24 hours has passed and I'm sure that I'll never place an order with the Apple Store.

/me checks the calendar... May 17, 2001
/me does some math...
/me realizes it's only been 17 days since the iBook's announcement
/me recalls notification of a 3-5 week (21-35 days) delivery schedule...
/me thinks you should wait at least 4 more days before bitching too loudly
/me is watching all mobile users lose their minds...
/me is losing his mind too...

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First there was man,
then there was
Macintosh

In alot of ways you are extremely right. However where apple faltered is allowing it to get to consumers in any stage too soon. They should have made sure none were shipped to retail outlets until the first people got there's. They have created there own frenzy.....

[tswan]

Fact is, if I'd placed an order with my local store instead of with the Apple Store, I'd have my iBook right now. Lesson learned.

/me checks the calendar... May 17, 2001
/me does some math...
/me realizes it's only been 17 days since the iBook's announcement
/me recalls notification of a 3-5 week (21-35 days) delivery schedule...
/me thinks you should wait at least 4 more days before bitching too loudly
/me is watching all mobile users lose their minds...
/me is losing his mind too...