Apple now selling refurbished 15" Retina MacBook Pros at over $550 off list price
Apple this week began selling refurbished 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display units through its online store, with savings coming in at over $300 for entry-level models to over $550 for fully-upgraded machine.
While it is unclear exactly when Apple put the certified refurbished 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display models up for sale, or how many units of each are in stock, the company is now offering a variety of configurations on its "Special Deals" webpage.
As of this writing, an entry level model with a 2.3GHz Quad-core i7 processor with 8GB of memory and a 256-gigabyte solid state drive is priced at $1,869, a 15 percent savings equaling $330. Also available is a 2.6GHz model with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD for $2,379, or a maxed-out 2.7GHz model with 16GB of RAM and a 768GB SSD for $3,189, with the prices representing a savings of $420 and $560, respectively.
For those looking to buy a new MacBook Pro with Retina display, deep discounts can be found visiting AppleInsider's Mac price guide.
While it is unclear exactly when Apple put the certified refurbished 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display models up for sale, or how many units of each are in stock, the company is now offering a variety of configurations on its "Special Deals" webpage.
As of this writing, an entry level model with a 2.3GHz Quad-core i7 processor with 8GB of memory and a 256-gigabyte solid state drive is priced at $1,869, a 15 percent savings equaling $330. Also available is a 2.6GHz model with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD for $2,379, or a maxed-out 2.7GHz model with 16GB of RAM and a 768GB SSD for $3,189, with the prices representing a savings of $420 and $560, respectively.
For those looking to buy a new MacBook Pro with Retina display, deep discounts can be found visiting AppleInsider's Mac price guide.
Comments
You are right Apple is way overpriced with these laptops now.
Yeah, even when you compare the old MBP to an equivalent spec PC, the price seems very high:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834310660
The entry 2.3GHz Macbook Pro is $1799 for a lower spec than the $899 Lenovo so for comparable components, that's half the price. Again though, it's not so much that Apple is too expensive but PCs are too cheap.
Lenovo's gross margin is less than Dell's at 12%:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/16/us-lenovo-results-idUSBRE87E1BV20120816
Apple's is 40%:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/10/25Apple-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-Results.html
While 40% seems excessive, the net is what's important as that's their actual profit. Lenovo generates $141m profit on sales of $8.2b - their net margin is under 2% and Dell's is around 3-5%. Apple's net is around 23%, which is healthy. You can see the net margins in the following links on the right:
http://www.google.co.uk/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:AAPL
http://www.google.co.uk/finance?q=HKG:0992&sq=lenovo&sp=2&ei=LCfoUOjjC8WCwAOFvwE
http://www.google.co.uk/finance?q=dell&ei=SifoUODFCOOZwQPGhAE
If you work out rough build/bundle costs from the gross margins, you get:
Lenovo: $791
Apple: $1079
I could believe Apple's computers and software cost 36% more to put together - they definitely have a higher build quality. Now say Apple used around 30% gross margin, you'd get maybe $1599. It's hard to link it all together but the Mac line accounts for a smaller portion of the profits now so $200 average off the Mac line would only affect their profits by $1b per quarter (4.9m Macs x $200 = ~$1b). Their net profit would be $7.2b per quarter = 20% net. Obviously they don't want to push it too much so that the Mac line starts dragging down profits from the iOS line but it would make them seem much more reasonable.
The entry 15" Retina MBP would then be $1885, which is pretty much what you see here. This is still a healthy profit. But if Apple sold at that price, resellers then have to sell at margins which might not be so healthy.
The other way for the price to come down of course is for Apple to cut some costs but that could have been what happened with Browett trying to cut costs with the retail stores.
I'd quite like to see them cut the Mac prices a bit as I think they'd still make a healthy profit but it's really up to them what they want to do. The way I see it is that while the iOS devices are expensive, they are still very competitive - there's only at most $100-200 difference between a competing brand, sometimes they cost the same. When you see a $900 difference on the Mac side, that's a big disincentive to buy for people. A $500-700 difference isn't going to resolve that but it's a big improvement.
I actually wonder if they are doing this to prepare for the switchover to the Retina models. That $1885 price is not far off the $1799 price on the old model. Having these comfortable margins will allow them to shuffle prices around as they please and not worry about it. They could sell the Retina model at the same prices as the old model tomorrow and still make more profit than anyone in the industry but I suspect we will see a more gradual switchover.
I imagine the next step that we'll see in April is to eliminate the top-end old-style model from the lineup and bring the entry Retina model down to $1999 and the top-end Retina to $2499. Similarly with the 13" but $1499 and $1699 for those.
Great deal here though. The rMBP is amazing
The discount is probably so high because Apple had to break apart the machines to 'refurbish' them. I'm not sure I'd trust one that Apple technicians had repaired; these are disposable machines.
Originally Posted by davida
The discount is probably so high because Apple had to break apart the machines to 'refurbish' them. I'm not sure I'd trust one that Apple technicians had repaired; these are disposable machines.
Yes, let's trust iFixit, who has no access to Apple's tools or means of repair, and who exists for the sole purpose of selling you spare parts, to give a fair and unbiased assessment of anything whatsoever.
????
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Yes, let's trust iFixit, who has no access to Apple's tools or means of repair, and who exists for the sole purpose of selling you spare parts, to give a fair and unbiased assessment of anything whatsoever.
????
Perhaps you should actually read the teardown. Or do you think Apple's tools include magic?
Originally Posted by davida
Perhaps you should actually read the teardown. Or do you think Apple's tools include magic?
I did.
Horrible News. Apple chose to use the dreaded g-word: glue.
Here's a g-word for them: Grow up. You want to build your own magical computer where if so much as a loose hair from a fly touches it, it'll fall apart instantaneously? Be Apple's frigging guest. They owe you absolutely nothing, you deserve absolutely nothing from them, and if you want to sell parts so much go sell PC parts, because they're DESIGNED TO BE TORN APART because they're NOT BUILT TO LAST.
Step 16
By the way: we also make software for teaching people to do things. [link redacted] makes it easy to create vibrant how-to manuals.
Dozuki is great for:
[link redacted]: improve quality by documenting how to get things done, one step at a time.
[link redacted]: make your customers love you by teaching them how to do amazing things.
[link redacted]: we've used Dozuki to teach over ten million people to repair electronics.
[link redacted]: build a knowledge base of expert knowledge with Answers, the Q&A engine that drives the popular [link redacted]
This isn't a step. This is an advertisement. And yet they literally treat it as a "step", incrementing by one more every further step in the teardown.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
I did.
Here's a g-word for them: Grow up. You want to build your own magical computer where if so much as a loose hair from a fly touches it, it'll fall apart instantaneously? Be Apple's frigging guest. They owe you absolutely nothing, you deserve absolutely nothing from them, and if you want to sell parts so much go sell PC parts, because they're DESIGNED TO BE TORN APART because they're NOT BUILT TO LAST.
This isn't a step. This is an advertisement. And yet they literally treat it as a "step", incrementing by one more every further step in the teardown.
Grow up? How sophomoric of you. Too bad there aren't moderators for this kind of inflammatory language.
Part of "built to last" is being able to repair and upgrade a machine. iFixit is a great resource for this, and you're not obligated to buy parts from them. iFixit, in my opinion, is both egalitarian and unbiased. If iFixit is biased because they sell parts, why would they tell you to not attempt to repair a machine?
I've repaired replaced, or upgraded the following (that I can think of) in Apple Laptops: fan, hard drive, DVD drive, memory, screen, screen hinge, video cable, battery, power connector, timekeeping battery and done cleanups after accidental liquid spills. The new machines aren't immune from the need for these.
As for Windows laptops, I'll admit to having very limited experience, but there certainly is a range of ruggedness. I suspect the ToughBook in your local police cruisers are much more robust than any Apple laptop.
You deserve what you get. IFixit really doesn't come in the picture here, your opinion of the rMBP is simply irrational. Nor is it impossible to fix those issues on these machines. Basically your point of view is as baseless as the home mechanic that rejects certain cars because of metric parts. Just because your set of tools needed to repair the device is less than optimal, doesn't make that device unacceptable to the majority of users. Users by the way that enjoy far higher reliability due to Apples design decisions.
Now you may think I'm some sort of Apple fan boy. Nothing could be further from the truth, I work on electronics on a daily basis and for my money there is nothing better than high integration. Of course there is a range of ruggedness. You can find that for almost any durable product made. However those ToughBooks aren't cheap either.
Line by line - the PC has no where near the included software -
or the always necessary added expense of virus software.
They rarely have equal ports - beyond USB -
I've tried to flip back to PC several times the last 7 years -
By the time you get close - the PC ends up costing more, and twice as thick.
Good Luck if anyone thinks they can pull it off.
Take Noise - every PC laptop ends up screaming fans in conference center meeting - the Mac sits there silent.
Like I said - it's not possible to match a MacPro - even if the hardware is a grade slower - Wifi's reach a little weaker. Currently on 2nd MacPro over 7 years.
The new one, a month old, was taken out one night completely under water while it was on.
7 hours later - it works just fine w/o being taken apart.
Cheers
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Originally Posted by <strong>Tallest Skil</strong> <a href="/t/155322/apple-now-selling-refurbished-15-retina-macbook-pros-at-over-550-off-list-price#post_2254672"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" /></a><br />
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Here's a g-word for them: Grow up. You want to build your own magical computer where if so much as a loose hair from a fly touches it, it'll fall apart instantaneously? Be Apple's frigging guest. They owe you absolutely nothing, you deserve absolutely nothing from them, and if you want to sell parts so much go sell PC parts, because they're DESIGNED TO BE TORN APART because they're NOT BUILT TO LAST.</p>
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Is this a joke? Being able to replace parts when either they go bad or your needs evolve makes a computer not built to last?<br />
<br />
Of all the computers I've owned over the years, only two of them have lasted 5 years; one of them is a MBP (still going strong) in which I've replaced the hard drive and the RAM, and the other was a Power Mac in which I replaced just about everything, including the GPU, RAM, and two hard drives. If either of these had been non-repairable and non-upgradable, they wouldn't have made it half as long as they did.</p>
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Originally Posted by <strong>Durandal1707</strong> <a href="/t/155322/apple-now-selling-refurbished-15-retina-macbook-pros-at-over-550-off-list-price#post_2256192"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" /></a><br />
Is this a joke? Being able to replace parts when either they go bad or your needs evolve makes a computer not built to last?</div>
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Parts not going bad means they're built to last.</p>
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If either of these had been non-repairable and non-upgradable, they wouldn't have made it half as long as they did.</div>
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And every computer I've ever owned still works like day one. *shrug*</p>
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Parts not going bad means they're built to last.
And every computer I've ever owned still works like day one. *shrug*
You must not have been using computers for very long.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hface119
People act like Apple deliberately goes out of their way to say "eff you, customers!" when it comes to repairing their product. It's a cost/benefit situation, and they chose to go with advancing the computer's design over being able to upgrade/repair in 5 years. If that's something you're looking for.. WHY! WE HAVE OPTIONS! Buy a traditional Macbook Pro.
We have options... but not for long. Anyone who thinks the traditional MacBook Pro is going to be around much longer is kidding themselves.
Besides, what we need is not the traditional MacBook Pro. The traditional MacBook Pro is outdated. What we need is something like the retina MBP, but fixed to be a professional machine like the MacBook Pros always have been, with RAM on a socket like on a pro machine, and with the SSD on something standard like mSATA so we can upgrade it to something better when it inevitably gets too small (no one ever accused SSDs of having huge capacity), or when it fails. And don't try to tell me that Apple parts never fail — I've used Macs since 1985, and I've simply been around long enough to know better (and had to replace my share of machines due to crapped out soldered-on parts — anyone remember the iBook G4?).
Originally Posted by Durandal1707
You must not have been using computers for very long.
Over two decades good enough for you? I have multiple Apple ][ models that work like out of their boxes, and everything in between.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Over two decades good enough for you? I have multiple Apple ][ models that work like out of their boxes, and everything in between.
Oh, I've definitely used some Apple products that still worked quite excellently years or decades later (Mac Plus, early Power Mac G4, late 2008 unibody MBP). I've also used some Apple products that failed within the warranty period (iMac G5), some that failed as soon as the AppleCare wore out (hello, iBook G4), and some that were complete lemons from day one (PowerBook 5300, early 2008 non-unibody MBP). Apple isn't unimpeachable. Furthermore, even if a machine works perfectly until the end of time, if it becomes unfit for duty due to planned obsolescence, it doesn't matter much, does it? A machine where you can upgrade, for example, the hard drive/SSD once you use up your available space will be in active duty longer than one where you can't.
The unibody models were excellent in this regard, BTW. I'd go so far as to nominate the unibody MBP as the finest piece of hardware that Apple has ever produced. I'm hoping that the bad press from sites like iFixit and others on the Retina model will influence Apple to compromise a bit and move the SSDs to some kind of standard connector like mSATA, and put the RAM on a socket, and thus attain the best of both worlds. There are a lot of things I really like about the retina MBP — I just have a hard time justifying spending that much money on a machine that, because of design limitations / planned obsolescence, probably won't make it past 2-3 years of use.