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Macintosh, Mac Apps, iPhone, Steve Jobs, Apple

Macs For Less

by Juan on July 3rd, 2007

So let’s have some respite from iPhone news, views and whatnots. You want a new Mac but can’t afford to pay the sticker price or maybe you’re just smart and want to get value for money, either way Apple has provided a way for you to get Macs for less. Enter the Apple refurbished products.

I read this article at Mac Talk discussing this very topic. This got me thinking too. Are refurbished Macs worth it. If you’re going to spend hard earned money on a Mac, is refurbished a wise decision? Most of the time the answer is a resounding yes.

A refurbished Mac is a computer that a customer returned to Apple within 14 days of purchase because of one defect or another. If returned within this time frame a customer is entitled to have his unit replaced. Apple then takes the returned Mac and a tech guy looks at it and repairs it. They inspect it further and if it’s good, the repack and sell it as a refurbished. The refurbished unit carries the same 1 year warranty that Apple gives for brand new ones sans the 90 day telephone support. You can still buy AppleCare for it.

The refurbished Mac might have cosmetic defects. This is not covered by the refurbishing process. So if you’re unlucky, you’ll get a unit with scratches or a dent on it. But this is rare. Most refurb units are close to brand new conditions.

A refurbished deal could be something like a Macbook Pro 2.16 Ghz, a model just prior to the most recent one. This can sell for about 20% less the sticker price. For a savings of close to 400 dollars. The retail of this unit was $1999 and Apple will sell it at around $1599.

So is a refurb worth it? Well if you’re someone who doesn’t need to have the latest and the greatest or doesn’t mind buying something second hand, then a refurb unit is a good option of owning a recent model Mac at a fraction of the cost. Warranty is available and best of all it’s been looked after by an Apple technician. The downside to it is that it might be cosmetically imperfect. Then again most of us can live with that.

So the next time you’re in the market to buy a Mac, you might want to take a look at refurbished units at Apple’s site. If you have any thoughts on this matter, please share them with us via the comments.

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