Best place to buy 15" Powerbook.

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Hey guys. I am thinking about purchasing a 15" Powerbook. I qualify for a student discount so that most definitely helps. The one thing I am wondering is this. Apple of course charges tax regardless of locations. Are there any other online stores that do not that also count the student discount? I am most definitely waiting till the update (finally) comes and plan to buy the top of the line 15". (And add more ram later and such). I qualify for the student discount because I currently attend high school. The Applestore said they only honor college enrollment butt that I could use a college enrollment letter as soon as that is all set. So,keep that in mind too. If anyone can shed some light here I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    Hmm, I don't really know of any, however you may want to check out www.smalldog.com



    they specialize in refurbished gear, they also don't charge sales tax, and they often have some really good deals.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    They do have some good deals. Looked there earlier, but did not find any sort of a student discount. Anyone know the sales tax rate in California? Guess I will try just putting it in my cart and hitting check out. The student savings are 300 dollars and I am sort of just wanting to buy this one new... It is my intent for this to last me all four years of college. Also, I know I have asked this before but I would rather be safe than sorry. It IS possible to buy Applecare at a later date right? And how long is that? 1 year? Thanks again.
  • Reply 3 of 9
    Blah. Even when I get to the page to enter the payment info it STILL does not show tax! They need to fix this! I am really hoping that they update soon so I can get this soon... Thanks again for any advice you have.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    just buy online from the applestore. the tax is there for a reason anyways... somehow you'll probably end up paying that money anyways, so you might as well make the process easy for yourself.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    cakecake Posts: 1,010member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ipodandimac

    just buy online from the applestore. the tax is there for a reason anyways... somehow you'll probably end up paying that money anyways, so you might as well make the process easy for yourself.



    Silly to waste money if you don't have to - especially if you're a student (I remember being broke all the time in those days).



    I've bought Macs from PowerMax before and they rock.

    Like Small Dog, they do not charge you sales tax and are Apple Authorized Resellers.

    Their customer service is incredible.

    I'm not sure regarding the Student Discount, but you'd probably be better off not paying tax versus the education discount and paying tax (You'll be paying about $165 in tax on a 15" combo PB at $1999).



    You have to order by phone the first time, but do it because you'll save hundreds that you'd otherwise spend in sales tax.

    With the extra money you can add more RAM (RamSeeker), external storage, etc.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    With the 300 dollar savings from the student discount, I am thinking that will be a much better way to go.
  • Reply 7 of 9
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Wrong Robot

    Hmm, I don't really know of any, however you may want to check out www.smalldog.com



    they specialize in refurbished gear, they also don't charge sales tax, and they often have some really good deals.




    Even though I live outside the allowable shipping area for Apple products, the doggies have always been friendly and helpful with any queries I have made. If you visit there website you can see they are not the normal computer resellers, but actually have a very solid fanbase.



    I would send them an e-mail outlining your situation to check if they do education. Trolling about their website is always fun as well.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    I don't know of one retailer that does education discounts as they would lose money giving you $300 off. I called 6 stores in my state looking for the education discount and they all said the same thing: "We don't do educational pricing. We'll lose money". Looks like your options are of the shelf from an Apple Store or whatever you please from the online store.

    The Apple Store I went to treated me quite well.
  • Reply 9 of 9
    cyloncylon Posts: 126member
    At 6% sales tax on a $2500 purchase your paying almost $150 in tax. If you buy from someplace like MacConnection or ClubMac, you usually get a RAM upgrade or some other freebie, worth over $100. Sometimes you get free shipping also. Add it all up and its almost a wash with your student discount.
Sign In or Register to comment.