mac vendors

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Thinking of an imminent Powerbook purchase - and would prefer to do it in a way that does not attract sales tax, such as that charged by the Apple website. Amazon does not charge tax, but was thinking it would be better to go with a more specialised vendor.



Any recommendations? I've seen some hatemail against MacMall, but that's all I've heard about to date?



Thanks

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    For the past three years I have never had problems with MacMall. I've purchased an iBook, iMac 17" Superdrive and a iPod. They came on time and a rebate check came in 6 weeks. It took me 6 months to finally get one from Amazon.com as they use an outside vendor. MacMall does rebates in house.
  • Reply 2 of 12
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MacsRGood4U

    For the past three years I have never had problems with MacMall. I've purchased an iBook, iMac 17" Superdrive and a iPod. They came on time and a rebate check came in 6 weeks. It took me 6 months to finally get one from Amazon.com as they use an outside vendor. MacMall does rebates in house.



    Hmm, so why, I wonder, all the hate mail about MacMall?
  • Reply 3 of 12
    I think the bundle deals (extra RAM, carrying cases and so on) are better at the resellers like MacWarehouse and MacZone. The only time to buy from Amazon is when they have a rebate offer; otherwise they're pretty much charging the same retail price as anyone else. But if you're not interested in yet another free printer, there's no reason not to use amazon. They're just reselling the same boxes as anyone else, and the warranty is through Apple regardless, so you're not gaining anything by going with a "specialized" reseller.



    I've never used MacMall myself but someone in my office bought a PowerBook from them a few months ago; they had the best overall combination of stuff. She had no trouble with them at all. I got a great deal on an iMac last December from MacWarehouse; there were about four different rebates I had to apply for, but they all came through.
  • Reply 4 of 12
    Does MacMall routinely offer the educator's discount?



    Years ago, just before the G4 came out I nearly bought a G3 Power Mac. They offered to essentially match The Apple Education Store Price. I was buying a printer too, as I recall. At the last minute I was given access to a G3 laptop from a school grant and didnt buy the Power Mac.



    If they regularly match the Apple's Ed prices, that would be a factor in their favor.
  • Reply 5 of 12
    I've had great luck with Smalldog over the past 4 years.

    Now that I work at a University, we make all of our Apple purchases through the online Apple Edu. Store.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    cakecake Posts: 1,010member
    Small Dog is great, but my last two new computer purchases have been from PowerMax. Great customer service and very fast shipping.



    Once the dual G5's and Panther are available, I'll be buying again from PowerMax.
  • Reply 7 of 12
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Cake

    Once the dual G5's and Panther are available, I'll be buying again from PowerMax.



    Here's another shout-out for PowerMax. I dealt with them recently when I was considering trading in an old iMac toward a new one, and they were VERY helpful and easy to deal with.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    Powermax seems kind of expensive, at least for used computers.

    I mean $489 for a G3/350, 192mb Ram, 12gb HD, CD-ROM and zip.



    Hey, anybody here want to buy my B&W G3?



    Powerlogix G4 450, 704mb Ram, 6gb HD, 30gb HD, Radeon 7000, Rage 128, CD-ROM, modem. In very good condition.



    I'll sell it for $489



    The one good thing I can see about powermax is that they take trade-ins. But, I have no idea how much they will give you for your computer.

    Maybe their deals on new computers (with a trade-in) are what makes powermax so nice?
  • Reply 9 of 12
    You'd be much better selling your Mac on ebay then giving it to Powermax. I got a quote for my Powerbook, and talk about low-balling. It was a maxed out 667 VGA, 1 GB RAM, 48 GB HD, Airport, the works...they offered me $1000 for it. Well I thought to myself...said "Bullsh!t" an sold it for $1600 through ebay...but I would buy a Mac from them because they don't charge sales tax if I am correct. But I still use the edu discount, which saves more money in the long run for me.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    cakecake Posts: 1,010member
    Well, to be fair, you have to realize that there are a lot of people on eBay who will pay too much for things.

    I sold my GF2MX on eBay for $168 ! I felt guilty for practically stealing his money, but I got over it.



    PowerMax will give you a fair price for your trade-in - remember they have to make a bit of money when they turn it around.

    If you want to maximize your profit then sell it to the suckers on eBay.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    I have heard that if you call Apple on the phone and ask if they can make it so it's as if you don't pay sales tax, they will deal.
  • Reply 12 of 12
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    PowerMax sometimes has some reasonably priced machines. However, some are ridiculously overpriced.



    Some examples:



    Quicksilver 733, CDRW, 640 MB RAM, 40 GB drive, keyboard - $1359! Yeah, $1359 for a machine with a bit over half the clock speed of the current $1299 PowerMac G4 1.25 GHz, which also has a Combo drive, is brand new, and has double the hard drive space, not to mention the graphics card. But it has more RAM!



    PowerMac 7200/120s range from $70 to $92 when people everywhere else are practically GIVING them away. Other old pre-G3s are similarly overpriced.



    But I don't want to knock PowerMax too hard, they used to be worse for that sort of thing (anyone care for an $800 Wallstreet?). Those were the only two examples I could find where their asking price was WAY out of line. You want some real ridiculous prices, go to Sun Remarketing (www.sunrem.com) and look at the 68k section... Quadras are being sold for as much as $400! I have a feeling that Sun Remarketing just doesn't update the lower traffic portions of the site much, because their prices for more modern ones are fairly reasonable.



    Actually, I've been looking for a good place to find a refurb G4, either an 800 MHz or greater single processor or a 533 MHz or better dual processor. PowerMax has a single 1 GHz for $1150 which seems like an okay deal. Unfortunately, SmallDog has no refurbished PowerMacs, only 1.25 GHz versions for a bit more than I am willing to pay.
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