[X-Newbies] Buying Macs

[Lee Morgan]

Thanks, everyone, for the responses.  This is very helpful and exactly what
I needed to know.

Lee Morgan

On 4/25/06 10:13 PM, "Randy B.Singer" <randy at macattorney.com> wrote:

> Lee Morgan said:
> 
>> What are the pros and cons of buying Macs from sources other than Apple?  I
>> see ads in places like MacWorld for other vendors and I wonder how they can
>> manage to sell at somewhat lower prices, and what would I be missing if I
>> bought from them.  Any thoughts on the subject?  Thanks.
> 
> 
> If you see an ad for a Macintosh that is substantially lower than the
> price you find everywhere else, it more than likely means that the dealer
> is not an Apple-authorized dealer and/or that the product is "grey
> market" which means that it was acquired by the vendor in a manner that
> violates Apple's agreement with authorized dealers.
> 
> Long story short, a grey market Macintosh is ineligible for service and
> warranty support from Apple.  Making the deal a very bad one, no matter
> what the discount.
> 
> Apple very tightly controls the pricing on new Macs via something called
> "MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) contracts" and protected dealer
> territories.  Other than package deals that include periperhals or RAM,
> you will almost never see a substantial price discount on a new Mac.  At
> least not a *legitimate* price discount from an Apple-authorized dealer.
> 
> The best deal going for a new model Mac is usually a factory refurbished
> Mac.  But don't get a refurbished Mac that isn't *factory* refurbished,
> or it might just be a lemon that a dealer is trying to offload on you.
> 
> 
> 
> Randy B. Singer
> Co-Author of: The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th and 6th editions)
> 
> Routine OS X Maintenance and Generic Troubleshooting
> http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html
> 
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Lee Morgan
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