Here's a savvy shopper tip for those of you not impressed enough with the new Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros to pay full retail - visit Apple's refurb section [US store link] to save 22%-37% on the portables that were top of the line just yesterday. Apple Certified Refurbs come with free shipping and the same warranty as brand new Apple hardware. Some people say that buying a refurb ensures you even fewer problems than buying brand new since presumably the machine has already been repaired and more thoroughly bench tested. As always, YMMV.
As you can imagine, there are a slew of Intel Core Duo MacBook Pros in Apple's Sale section this morning, so if you're looking for a bargain, start there. If you want to keep close tabs on what's new and trendy in the Apple Store Special Deals section, you might also check out While Supplies Last, which updates the inventory and status of Apple refurbs and deals twice a day for the US, Canada and UK stores.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-24-2006 @ 11:54AM
mungler said...
i wonder if the £928 MacBook Pro 1.83ghz on the uk store will get any cheaper? if so, its mine! ;)
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10-24-2006 @ 12:00PM
Gary Gulley said...
I'm going to add one little caveat to that bit of consumer advice. Remember that you will be paying state sales tax in almost every state when buying direct from Apple. So take your state sales tax and multiply that by say $1450, and the deal starts looking less attractive than buying the brand new Core 2 MacBook Pros at Amazon.com when they're available. Amazon is the only reseller that I'm aware of that consistently offers rebates on new Macs. For MacBooks Pros, it's been $150. And they have free shipping just like Apple.
So, subtract $150 from your new MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo (if you can wait for Amazon to get stock), add state sales tax when buying the refurb, and the refurb deal starts looking less and less attractive. IMHO.
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10-24-2006 @ 12:44PM
jason mark said...
A caution. Over the past 5 years we've ordered about 5 refurbished machines. One from SmallDog, and the rest from Apple. ALL had problems. It was much easier to get the problems fixed when it was "Small Dog Refurbished" than Apple refurbished, but when we added in the time lost (transferring systems, sending out a machine, transferring it back) it always costs us more for refurbished.
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10-24-2006 @ 3:08PM
P Diddy said...
Thanks for this post. I just bought a mac book pro core duo 2.16 for damn cheap. Thanks.
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10-24-2006 @ 7:25PM
The Jeremy said...
There seems to be quite a bit of difference in pricing on some of those MacBook Pros despite having the same features. I'm looking at two identical refurb 15" MacBook Pros (2.16 Intel Core Duo) with the same exact specs, but one is listed at $1599 and the other at $2149.
I'd say that is odd.
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10-25-2006 @ 5:08AM
Eric said...
Both of these links are crazy wrong.
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10-25-2006 @ 5:59AM
Brian Richards said...
Related to the above comment Amazon still charges sales tax so you have to pay it on a new or refurbished machine.
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10-25-2006 @ 3:40PM
TylerDurden said...
I just ordered one myself from Amazon. No sales tax, no shipping -$100 rebate. Noice!!
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10-26-2006 @ 8:24PM
Jack's complete lack of surprise said...
They should have launched this new computer with the slogan; "Duo 2, we've made everything two times better." Anyone who owns a MacBook Pro, released back in March, really got the shitty end of the stick! They downgraded the Firewire, took away DL burning capabilities, but put in an Intel chip, a camera and a magsafe adapter! You own it for seven months and then they release this upgrade -- the one you should have owned in the first place. It has all of the features of the PowerBook, but with a fast processor. But the processor isn't the problem, it's the rest of the upgrades, i.e. HDD, RAM, FW, DVD etc. They should offer free copies of Leopard to the sad folks that dished out $1999.00 when the upgrade is the exact same price. Pass the vasoline?
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11-01-2006 @ 10:05AM
Adam said...
I didn't miss the FW 800 or DL burning, but I loved the faster processor. I don't feel like Apple owes me anything for my $1999 purchase, as my MBP is hands down the best computer I have ever owned (although I wish I'd waited a few weeks and gotten the 2.0 instead of the 1.83!).
I thought I would miss DL burning when I finally bought my first DVD single layer burner in 2004(ish), but since that day I've burned maybe 10 CDs, and only 2 DVDs that I can recall (Vista RC1 and RC2, out of morbid curiosity).
As for FW 800, every electronic gadget I have is USB2 based anyway, all the way from my card readers to my iPod to my Nikon. In fact, aside from a few ÜBER professional cameras, I have never even seen a FW 800 device.
Anyway, my two cents. Love that MBP, and I don't feel that my end of the stick was shitty at all! In fact, I think I might try and get another one as a refurb so that my roommate will stop stealing mine!
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