Comments on: Ask Chanpory: When should I buy an Apple product?

By: Pat St-Arnaud

Pat St-Arnaud — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:11:47 +0000

With over a decade of participation in the Mac ecosystem, the one solid piece of advice I can give to avoid quick devaluation of the value of your new system is, always buy the generation-before-last.

Getting the newest, hottest features may look attractive, but remember, these will be obsolete within months, while you will be using your Mac for 3 years (on average), and perhaps paying for your credit card purchase even longer.

One generation removed from the newest Mac will provide almost all the features, almost the same speed, storage and connectivity at a substantial discount, and the end resale value versus the original cost ratio will be seriously increased.

There are exceptions, of course - The switch to Intel being one of them. But it is worth remembering to define the difference between what we want, and what we need...

By: Mr Funk

Mr Funk — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:34:19 +0000

I stand by saying it’s childish to be worried about the deal you “could have had”, but the best time to buy an apple procuct is a week after a new one is announced. If you want the new one, you’ve got the longest time before it gets replaced at the same price. If you’re happy with the old one, it’ll be going cheap. I was offered serious discounts on the outgoing 17″ MBP when I ordered my 15″ Santa Rosa.

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:25:38 +0000

Actually, buying mac stuff before a new release can get you great deals.

This tip is courtesy a knowledgeable London Drugs employee, believe it or not. I bought my first mac – one of the old iMacs – a few days before the “floating head” model was released (at the WWDC, I believe). Apple had a rebate running that expired on the day of the conference. I purchased my computer, received the rebate, and brought it home. When the price dropped $500 a few days later, I went back to the store and got that $500 back thanks to Apple’s (non-advertised) price-guarantee – if the price of your product drops within two weeks of your purchase, you can get the difference back.

By: Chanpory

Chanpory — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:24:48 +0000

@Josh, thanks for the link to mactastic, another great resource which I haven't seen before.

@Mr. Funk, I'm all for buying technology when the mood strikes, and if the product is good. But no one feels like they get their money's worth, when a brand new and better model comes out for the same price or cheaper right after you buy it.

Opinions to the contrary are of course welcomed, but please respect other readers.

By: Sean

Sean — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 05:54:57 +0000

Now, now, Mr Funk. Name-calling is rather childish in my book.

By: Mr Funk

Mr Funk — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 02:42:50 +0000

When should you buy any technology? When you’re happy about the product you’ll get in return for your money. Stop being a child, it’s always going to be better and cheaper in future. If you need it, buy it, if not, don’t. Somebody else is always getting a better deal than you, and there’s always a better faster shiner version just around the corner.

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 15:57:41 +0000

Same thing happened to me when I bought my 12" Powerbook. >_

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 15:29:30 +0000

I'm the apple campus rep at VCU. I can't exactly answer any questions, mostly because I don't know any more than you do, but I can say that the best time to buy a new apple product is right after a new release is made.

Usually you can find out about a month in advance when a major product release will be. WWDC and Macworld are good references.

-Mike

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:43:03 +0000

Mactatic is another decent site for determining an Apple purchase.

http://mactactic.com/