Trying to decide between buying a 20" iMac Core 2 Duo from Amazon, MacMall or Apple. I could get:

1. brand new from Amazon for about $1425 after rebate
2. brand new from MacMall for about $1374 after rebate(s)
3. refurb from Apple store for $1364 (after tax)

From a strictly monetary standpoint, MacMall seems to make sense, but then there are 2 rebates to deal with (1 for the computer, 1 for shipping). If brand new is important, Amazon is the best price with the least hassle, as there's only one rebate and I understand Amazon is pretty good about them. If I don't mind refurb, which I don't think I do, then the Apple store becomes the lowest price. One other factor would be whether an Apple refurb might be inclined to have some sort of silent upgrade, although I don't even know what that might be.

In all your opinion, does one of the above options stand out as making the most sense? Thanks. To me this is a big purchase and I'd rather not have second thoughts about having made a smart choice.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2006 09:49AM by wurm.

Unless I'm buying from a local store, I'd rather buy a refurb, because it's been through QC twice.

I've bought several refurbs, and I've never had any problems, as long as it's a factory refurb (i.e., in this case from Apple).

Try local stores "refreshed" items.
Otherwise, refurb.

Or, if you can afford it, new

---

******************************

******************************

I got a 17" Core2Duo from Amazon recently. I was a bit angered by the packaging (the iMac box was in a larger box with little protection) but all is well (it's been up and running for a couple of weeks now).

I went with Amazon (after buying and canceling a CoreDuo Refurb purchased via the Apple Store) because of (a) no sales tax, (b) free shipping (my company has an Amazon Prime account so I got it two days express for free), and (c) a $75 rebate (which is approved & processed, whatever that means, according to the online tracking site Amazon has). The rebate took less than a minute to fill in (you go to their master rebate site, enter the invoice number, and that's it, as I recall).

Agreed, in terms of ease of purchase & etc., Amazon is a good choice. It's hard to ignore a savings of $61 (if you went with Apple Store refurb instead), but I'd be inclined to go with new via Amazon.

---

Might try calling Apple and squeezing them a bit.

My brother in law had priced one online a few weeks ago and they sent him a $30 coupon
He ended up ordering one last Saturday - he squeezed a little more but all he could
get was a discount on MS Office - which he wanted + the $30

---

i ordered 6 refurb iMacs, from the Apple store online, and got 1 silent upgrade.

250 GB hard drive, 1 GB of RAM instead of 160/512.

I always use my AMEX to get double the warranty. However, people here have raised the question about whether those sorts of warranty policies cover refurbs. I haven't looked specifically at this for AMEX.

If you plan to buy applecare this may be less of an issue, but applecare can be expensive, so doubling the warranty for free is worth considering, and that may tip the balance for me to a new over a refurb model.

All very good input, thanks. There's also the variable of any possibility of Black Friday deals at Apple or Amazon. Part of me thinks it's silly to not get brand new for the sake of $61, but I also think there's some validity to the extra QC on the refurb. Because it's an iMac, I'd probably get Applecare (on eBay) if only because there's a monitor involved.

I do know that Amex' double warranty does not apply to demos or refurbs because I dealt with that with my "refreshed" Quicksilver 3+ years ago.

Keep the opinions coming, as I probably won't make a final decision until after Friday, just in case an even better deal comes along.

My experience with Apple refurbs has been excellent (and I'm waiting for a Core2 MacBook Pro to show up at the Apple Store now) however, I never got lucky on a silent upgrade. For the $61, I'd go new and use the credit card for an extra year warranty. Just my $0.02.

---

I am one for three on refurb iMac silent upgrades (G4 17", G5 17", and Intel 2GHz Core Duo 20"-this one came with a 500 GB HD as opposed to the standard 250). The G4 iMac had one stuck pixel which is not noticable; otherwise not any problems at all in all three machines.
This string of positive experiences has made me a believer in Apple store refurbs. Of course YMMV, good luck.

---