But if that paper clip were to be damaged through no fault of your own of course, they would replace it with a refurbished product of similar value. Well worth it for just an extra $35.00 for 3 years.
…AppleCare… [is] always worth its price and then some.
Inexpensive? You're joking, right? Your definition of "inexpensive" is vastly different than mine.
Do none of you know how to fix your own hardware? I've had one issue with my MacBook. Half the screen stopped working about a year ago. Apple Genius wanted 300 dollars to fix it. Price of replacement panel: 109 bucks on eBay. Time to replace panel myself: an hour, maybe.
You all have essentially admitted you're ok plunking down hundreds of dollars to compensate for your own uselessness when it comes to minor repairs, but I'm the fool. No wonder Apple gets away with charging the ridiculous amounts of money they do.
It all depends on the country you live in, I suppose. Where I live we get 2 years warranty and 5 years extended coverage on all parts within their expected lifespan. Which means that if a battery goes bad after 3 years you will not get a new battery for free because a battery is not supposed to last longer than that, but if something breaks (through no fault of yours) before it normally can be expected to break, the shop where you bought it (not necessarily the producer) is expected to replace it for free. So the 2 years warranty is given by the producer, the 5 years extended coverage is given by the seller.
AppleCare is more practical because it is a "no questions asked" and fairly instant process, while here you will normally go through quite a process of arguing with the seller, but I very much doubt that AppleCar is worth the extra cost. In my 27 years of using Apple equipment I have had 2 issues - one was a MacBook that was DOA (which was replaced by Apple - no questions asked) and a 4 year old Mac Pro that had problems with the USB-ports. After being repaired 3 times with no luck, I got a new Mac Pro for free from Apple.
At the moment I have 10 Macs (1 Mac Pro, 1 iMac, 2 Mac minis and 6 portables). The machines I use the most are the Mac Pro (early 2008) and a MacBook Pro (2009). Buying AppleCare for these would have been very expensive and would have given me absolutely nothing in return.
Applecare is good for peace of mind but I've never made my money back on it. Even when my MBP's RAM and HDD both died I could have replacement them (with better parts) for cheaper that the cost of Applecare myself.
I'm sure that Apple makes a very healthy profit on Applecare.
It's more disconcerting that AI pushes these prices. What on earth are you talking about?
15" 2.7Ghz 768GB SSD Retina MBP(WITH Apple Care) is now $3,548 on the Apple Store website.
How much is this B&H paying AI? $3321.0 is a $227 difference, not $700+.
Incredibly misleading.
AI is pushing the prices out without changing the MSRP. Apple changed the official price, AI has decided that it is somehow only a sale price. Knock 3-400 off each price for the retina models and the discounts are more accurate. AI as usual is spinning things hard, and looking foolish for it.
It is still cheaper for these MBPs with the Education Pricing, assuming you don't have to pay sales tax in your state for an Apple purchase. BTO options like 2.8 GHz processor are not available. If you pay Apple sales tax and don't pay BH sales tax you save about $80.
It's generally well-known that when buying higher-end gear like Macs, getting AppleCare is not only important but well worth it. At least that's been my experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalclips
Agree 100%. Apple has saved my bacon with Apple Care several times. Once when facing a deadlines for an ESPN show they shipped me a monitor the same day when one of mine failed. They are extremely flexible and considerate in my experience.
Etc., Etc.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by wizard69
That is highly debatable. Each person buying a MBP needs to evaluate its worth based on their circumstances. Beyond that AppleCare is very expensive if you don't use it.
Instead of knee jerk buying people should evaluate AppleCare based on their specific needs. In my case I get it for my iPhone but not for my Macs. Most people would be better off stuffing the cost of AppleCare into a bank account someplace.
I agree that AC+ is a fairly reasonable insurance policy for a device that's bound to take a lot of inadvertent beating like a phone that goes where you do, unless you're particularly OCD (and in a good way).
But as Wizard69 notes, AC for Macs is an individual proposition. I URGE it on my friends who know (and seem to grasp) nearly nothing about PC's and less about the Apple they've never used. I do this if only to hold down their incessant calls to me when things go kablooey over some simple, or not simple but clueless user error (and some still call me first! Until I politely remind them a few times that they have AC and that the reps are just as digitalclips notes.)
For any reasonable astute and experienced Mac Users who can keep a coffee cup away from a keyboard, however, I recommend the following: since you have a year to buy AC (note: my Mac is years old so I assume that's still true), that's plenty of time to ascertain:
1) if you somehow have gotten a lemon (or a line with a widespread issue), or
2) you find you're not quite as adept as you thought and keep having software/use issues you need hand-holding through.
And I recommend this strategy because:
1) Macs are still (from what I hear) still better to much better built than most computers even if (and I can't say) they have or haven't slipped a niggle on this (or perhaps have gotten even better). If anyone has a reliable link to a story about trends in the durability of Apple products over the last five or ten years that sheds real light on this, they should post the links, as anecdotal tales told on forums are not really "data."
2) Anything that's going to fail on a PC beyond a year and in less than three is really quite likely to have failed in less than a year. Digital parts are very stable because they have no "moving" mechanisms, and Apple's now virtually eliminated the two major mechanical parts: HDD's and ODD's! And of the mechanicals that remain, e.g., Apple's hinges and kb's, nearly all are robust and durable.
3) And while you can't depend on it, I know people who've been treated well and better for a fair amount beyond the various clauses of the standard warranty especially if their machine seems well-cared for and they don't act like jerks with 'tudes to the Apple reps. Apple values that year after year #1 consumer ranking in support. And Apple Care is one of the corporation's highest profit margin items (because their products are premium quality and generally well-designed), which is another reason Apple support staff are granted more personal discretion than at some companies.
Tablets are a tweener case - and again, depends on how casually or carefully you treat them. If like a notebook when out of the house, AC's not as compelling as it is for the phone, even though most people may still find theirs taking at least a few more drops from couch to carpet, if not to sidewalk, than their notebooks, and if you're "throw it in your bag without a case" type, bu all means get the extended warranty.
The more AI pushes AppleCare plans, the more I worry about A) what they know about Apple's quality control that I apparently don't, and how big of a cut they are getting for every plan they help sell. This is getting ridiculous. Best Buy doesn't try this hard to sell extended warranties.
Comments
But if that paper clip were to be damaged through no fault of your own of course, they would replace it with a refurbished product of similar value. Well worth it for just an extra $35.00 for 3 years.
Inexpensive? You're joking, right? Your definition of "inexpensive" is vastly different than mine.
Do none of you know how to fix your own hardware? I've had one issue with my MacBook. Half the screen stopped working about a year ago. Apple Genius wanted 300 dollars to fix it. Price of replacement panel: 109 bucks on eBay. Time to replace panel myself: an hour, maybe.
You all have essentially admitted you're ok plunking down hundreds of dollars to compensate for your own uselessness when it comes to minor repairs, but I'm the fool. No wonder Apple gets away with charging the ridiculous amounts of money they do.
It all depends on the country you live in, I suppose. Where I live we get 2 years warranty and 5 years extended coverage on all parts within their expected lifespan. Which means that if a battery goes bad after 3 years you will not get a new battery for free because a battery is not supposed to last longer than that, but if something breaks (through no fault of yours) before it normally can be expected to break, the shop where you bought it (not necessarily the producer) is expected to replace it for free. So the 2 years warranty is given by the producer, the 5 years extended coverage is given by the seller.
AppleCare is more practical because it is a "no questions asked" and fairly instant process, while here you will normally go through quite a process of arguing with the seller, but I very much doubt that AppleCar is worth the extra cost. In my 27 years of using Apple equipment I have had 2 issues - one was a MacBook that was DOA (which was replaced by Apple - no questions asked) and a 4 year old Mac Pro that had problems with the USB-ports. After being repaired 3 times with no luck, I got a new Mac Pro for free from Apple.
At the moment I have 10 Macs (1 Mac Pro, 1 iMac, 2 Mac minis and 6 portables). The machines I use the most are the Mac Pro (early 2008) and a MacBook Pro (2009). Buying AppleCare for these would have been very expensive and would have given me absolutely nothing in return.
Applecare is good for peace of mind but I've never made my money back on it. Even when my MBP's RAM and HDD both died I could have replacement them (with better parts) for cheaper that the cost of Applecare myself.
I'm sure that Apple makes a very healthy profit on Applecare.
Quote:
Originally Posted by urbansprawl
It's more disconcerting that AI pushes these prices. What on earth are you talking about?
15" 2.7Ghz 768GB SSD Retina MBP(WITH Apple Care) is now $3,548 on the Apple Store website.
How much is this B&H paying AI? $3321.0 is a $227 difference, not $700+.
Incredibly misleading.
AI is pushing the prices out without changing the MSRP. Apple changed the official price, AI has decided that it is somehow only a sale price. Knock 3-400 off each price for the retina models and the discounts are more accurate. AI as usual is spinning things hard, and looking foolish for it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shameer Mulji
It's generally well-known that when buying higher-end gear like Macs, getting AppleCare is not only important but well worth it. At least that's been my experience.
Quote:
Originally Posted by digitalclips
Agree 100%. Apple has saved my bacon with Apple Care several times. Once when facing a deadlines for an ESPN show they shipped me a monitor the same day when one of mine failed. They are extremely flexible and considerate in my experience.
Etc., Etc.....
Quote:
Originally Posted by wizard69
That is highly debatable. Each person buying a MBP needs to evaluate its worth based on their circumstances. Beyond that AppleCare is very expensive if you don't use it.
Instead of knee jerk buying people should evaluate AppleCare based on their specific needs. In my case I get it for my iPhone but not for my Macs. Most people would be better off stuffing the cost of AppleCare into a bank account someplace.
I agree that AC+ is a fairly reasonable insurance policy for a device that's bound to take a lot of inadvertent beating like a phone that goes where you do, unless you're particularly OCD (and in a good way).
But as Wizard69 notes, AC for Macs is an individual proposition. I URGE it on my friends who know (and seem to grasp) nearly nothing about PC's and less about the Apple they've never used. I do this if only to hold down their incessant calls to me when things go kablooey over some simple, or not simple but clueless user error (and some still call me first! Until I politely remind them a few times that they have AC and that the reps are just as digitalclips notes.)
For any reasonable astute and experienced Mac Users who can keep a coffee cup away from a keyboard, however, I recommend the following: since you have a year to buy AC (note: my Mac is years old so I assume that's still true), that's plenty of time to ascertain:
1) if you somehow have gotten a lemon (or a line with a widespread issue), or
2) you find you're not quite as adept as you thought and keep having software/use issues you need hand-holding through.
And I recommend this strategy because:
1) Macs are still (from what I hear) still better to much better built than most computers even if (and I can't say) they have or haven't slipped a niggle on this (or perhaps have gotten even better). If anyone has a reliable link to a story about trends in the durability of Apple products over the last five or ten years that sheds real light on this, they should post the links, as anecdotal tales told on forums are not really "data."
2) Anything that's going to fail on a PC beyond a year and in less than three is really quite likely to have failed in less than a year. Digital parts are very stable because they have no "moving" mechanisms, and Apple's now virtually eliminated the two major mechanical parts: HDD's and ODD's! And of the mechanicals that remain, e.g., Apple's hinges and kb's, nearly all are robust and durable.
3) And while you can't depend on it, I know people who've been treated well and better for a fair amount beyond the various clauses of the standard warranty especially if their machine seems well-cared for and they don't act like jerks with 'tudes to the Apple reps. Apple values that year after year #1 consumer ranking in support. And Apple Care is one of the corporation's highest profit margin items (because their products are premium quality and generally well-designed), which is another reason Apple support staff are granted more personal discretion than at some companies.
Tablets are a tweener case - and again, depends on how casually or carefully you treat them. If like a notebook when out of the house, AC's not as compelling as it is for the phone, even though most people may still find theirs taking at least a few more drops from couch to carpet, if not to sidewalk, than their notebooks, and if you're "throw it in your bag without a case" type, bu all means get the extended warranty.
I missed something:
B&H is $3443 with AppleCare
Apple is $3548 with AppleCare
where is the magic savings at? Or was this just a sale?