Buying a MacBook Pro at a big box store

I am considering buying a MacBook Pro 13 fully spec’d out with 16 gb, 1 Tb, 7i processed. Does it make any difference buying it at Best Buy verses the apple store?

Return policies are the same, although Apple makes it less difficult to do so.

When you purchase at an Apple Store the product is automatically associated with your Apple ID account. (Buy anywhere else and you need to register it to your Apple ID, which isn’t terribly onerous.)

If you’re not in New York/New Jersey you might consider a licensed reseller like bhphotovideo, which doesn’t charge sales tax where it doesn’t have a physical location.

Or if you get an Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card (backed by Chase) you’ll get a 5% Amazon credit to your Amazon account on any purchase made at Amazon, Whole Foods, or Zappos.

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Also FYI Best Buy stores are now officially authorized repair centers for Apple products. I often buy devices from stores other than the Apple store and have had no issues. I decide based on price. The only times I’ve done otherwise is when I wanted a custom configuration.

If Best Buy (or Amazon) is offering a sale, it might be worth knowing that the Apple Store will price match up to a max of 10% off the list price. Also, if you have Apple gear to trade in, I’ve found for my last few trades that Apple was offering the best trade-in price, sometimes the best by a significant amount.

That still doesn’t always make the Apple Store your best deal financially, but it’s worth factoring in to your considerations.

Unfortunately for me Apple has not given me the best deal on my last two trade ins. Gazelle beat them. Always good to price shop.

Absolutely!

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After years of only buying Apple gear direct from Apple, I started shopping around for the best deal a few years ago. So far, I’ve always been able to get a lower price at Amazon, BHPhoto, BestBuy, etc.

IMO, as long as you are buying from a known reputable dealer, I see no advantage buying from Apple if they don’t offer the lowest price.

Just don’t get suckered into an additional warranty other than the official Apple Protection Program.