Best way to buy a new Mac

tigerwoods99tigerwoods99
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Ok, I'm looking at some options for possible dual GHz G4 purchase (or 800, or 933 ). Basically I want some suggestions on how I should go about buying & the best deal.



First off my dad can get tax deductable at Microcenter, however the resellers give you extra goodies (RAM) that wouldn't be available through Microcenter (at least I doubt it). Question is, do the resellers like Mac Mall charge tax on stuff? If not then it would pretty much be the best to buy from there. Also, is there a resellers which can give me FREE overnight shipping? I don't wanna wait ages. That's the thing about getting one at a store is I figure they would have some in-stock and I could get it and set it up that day.



Also, I'm wondering about the education discount stuff. I'm pretty sure I could get it BUT can anybody tell me the edu prices for all the models? I looked at one random thing on Apple's store (prices differ for different schools?) and it only saved $200 on the dual GHz, plus I bet there was tax on that. I might ask my dad whether they still sell Macs at his unversity bookstore and check prices. Might be able to get a lot cheaper prices.



How and why I'm trying to jump the gun? This computer is crap, I'm doing a project in the next coming months which I need a good running computer for that won't crash, and I'm tired of waiting. Besides, this mofo goes STRAIGHT to eBay the day G5s are announced.



Thanks in advance and I'll be talking some more with the parental unit.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    Another question. Can anyone tell me the best speakers I can get for pretty cheap? Maybe $100-$150, 200 is possible but I really don't wanna spend too much. Just some affordable nice sounding ones. Klipsch Pro Media 2.1? And another question is Ti 4600 or Ti 4400, but that will come later.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    MacMall is in California. No sales tax for you.
  • Reply 3 of 17
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    Eugene: I believe you got a dual GHz right? Did you get it through MacMall? How fast could they ship it to me? If no sales tax and I can get it this weekend it would be good.
  • Reply 4 of 17
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    I am in California. If I were to go through MacMall, I would pay shipping, tax, and full retail.



    I wanted my computer as fast as possible, so I ordered from The Apple Store for Education



    I had to pay tax, but the end result was a total price that was barely more than the cost of Amazon.com's price with shipping. Amazon also doesn't let you order until they have the item in stock. By ordering from Apple I assured myself comprehensive tracking and a timely delivery.



    I don't think you'd be able to get a computer by this weekend unless you walked into an actual store though.



    You can call a place like MacMall, MacWarehouse, ClubMac, MacZone, Outpost or Amazon to see if they'll do overnight+Saturday delivery, but you'll end up paying a lot for shipping. I'd just go with 2-day service and expect the machine on Monday or Tuesday.



    [ 02-14-2002: Message edited by: Eugene ]</p>
  • Reply 5 of 17
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    Most places will ship it the same say if you order it by a certain time, so you could get it the next day. There's no way to get overnight shipping free as far as I know.
  • Reply 6 of 17
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    IF I decide on this machine and am able to get it I think I might just end up paying a bit more to get it in the store. I want it very soon. Amazon.com is good? I think some places might have free overnight as a perk (I know I've seen it before). They should if I'm spending frickin $3K!
  • Reply 7 of 17
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    If he orders today, it won't be on his doorstep tomorrow. FedEx and UPS cut-off times for overnight are usually in the mid-afternoon.



    Nobody does "Free Overnight" any more.



    They will bleed you if you choose overnight shipping. &gt;$100 from Amazon. $90 from MacConnection.



    If you're going to order from a catalog, you can get a $100 instant rebate from ClubMac.
  • Reply 8 of 17
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    [quote]Originally posted by Eugene:

    <strong>

    If you're going to order from a catalog, you can get a $100 instant rebate from ClubMac.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    If you wanna do that, I recommend it. I've always had good experiences with ClubMac.
  • Reply 9 of 17
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    Hmm......someone just told me I can get 10-20% off for the education discount. Is this tre? If so that works out to 2399.80 for a dual 1 GHz G4. I thought it was only a couple hundred off. ClubMac seems good. My dad doesn't seem to know about their university bookstore. He seems to think they don't really offer any discounts on the Macs, at least when they had them (isn't sure whether they still sell computers).
  • Reply 10 of 17
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    The educational discount is not that big. It's definitely not in the double-digits. How much is Ohio's state sales tax?
  • Reply 11 of 17
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    7%





    Anyone know of some good speakers for like $150?



    When did this come out! More importantly how long has it been out for PC? I think I'll get this game. Damn, Radeon or GeForce required.



    <a href="http://www.mac-o-rama.com/details.lasso?-Token.CartID=21402813088997&PID=SOFT4855"; target="_blank">http://www.mac-o-rama.com/details.lasso?-Token.CartID=21402813088997&PID=SOFT4855</a>;
  • Reply 12 of 17
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    Some questions (regarding X):



    Will I be able to use my printer in OS X? It is an HP Deskjet 935C. If anyone knows where I can get the drivers for it please let me know.



    Also, will my scanner work? I have a Microtek scanner of some sort.





    I just noticed this G3 getting even more ridiculous. I have a 24x burner and I burned some of my iTunes music onto a cd (I had almost a full CD) and it took over 10 minutes I think......something is wrong...



    Well Im gonna ask today if I can go ahead and get one. I'm paying for this I think with my own money.
  • Reply 13 of 17
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    Oh, forgot the biggest one. I connect via the net using the FreePPP software. This is in OS 9. How do I connect in OS X? Will there be something there for me to just type in the IP address and then connect?
  • Reply 14 of 17
    serranoserrano Posts: 1,806member
    yes, you just slap in the same info for the ppp. your scanner will almost definety not work, although of course you should check the website. you're printer should work fine, i'm going to go out on a limb and say that hp already released those drivers
  • Reply 15 of 17
    tigerwoods99tigerwoods99 Posts: 2,633member
    Cool thanks.



    Now for the challenging part......getting one today....
  • Reply 16 of 17
    bwanamattbwanamatt Posts: 1member
    There are definitely tax-free options with free overnight shipping from the various Apple resellers. I usually use a one of the price aggregator sites like Apple Sliced to find the lowest price with shipping/tax/discounts all figured in.



    http://applesliced.com
  • Reply 17 of 17
    sequitursequitur Posts: 1,910member
    And you waited 6 1/2 years to tell him - why? In any case, welcome to AI.
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