In store pickup?

I have a little predicament on my hands. I am trying to get the best deal I can on a Macbook Air for school, and want to get the 1.8ghz processor without the SSD (not enough performance gain for the price, possibly upgrade down the road).

Here is my problem: I live in WA, a short distance from OR and there is no tax in OR. There is an Apple Retail store in Portland, and I would like to head down there to pick up my MBA. Problem is, I have to choose either the 1.6 HDD model or the 1.8 SSD model. They do not carry the 1.8 HDD config and said I would need to order it online. If I order it online, then I would have to ship it to WA and pay ~$200 in taxes. This is very much a deal killer here as I am essientially paying about $460 for the 2ghz jump (270 upgrade + 190 tax). In this sense, the upgrade is not worth it, and makes the SSD option seem a little more worth it since it is now only another $700.

So here are my options:
$1882 for 1.6 HDD + AppleCare (no tax)
$2343 for 1.8 HDD + AppleCare (tax included)
$3051 for 1.8 SSD + AppleCare (no tax)
*all prices with edu discount, and ADC student comes out to like $80 more + tax

Is there anyway I can order online and have them ship to the Retail Store in Portland and then pick it up there? That would solve all of my issue completely. If not, which would you guys recommend? And please don't tell me to get an Eee or X300 as I have thought this over thoroughly already. Also price is not really an issue, the issue is with paying so much for so little in actual performance increase.

Thanks for your help.
-sdelano

 

$1348 for 2.0 HDD + AppleCare - cool factor that no one cares about + more functionality = Macbook.

Tax Saved - ~$150
Cool Tax Saved - ~$500
WIN - Priceless.

 

Seconded..... might want to add in "Money saved in not having to buy a stupid external CD drive that defeats the purpose of having a laptop that thin- ~$99" as well... but I guess that's too long

 

[sarcasm] thanks for the help you saved my life! [/sarcasm]

All of that functionality you mention (I presume you are talking about expansion ports? CD drive?) I already have on my desktop. Thanks. This machine is for me to take to class, take notes on, use outside, use as a second screen/tool in the lab, etc etc. If I need extreme speed I can use my desktop or one of the lab computers in our CS department. The most important part of the machine (for me) is its portability, not its raw power. I just want to future proof it a little with a bump in speed but don't really feel that 200mhz justifies $500 dollars.

So again, is it possible to order online for in-store pickup?

Thanks

 

I have to say I went to buy Macbook Air today and ended up walking out with a Macbook PRO. The Macair is ok, but its ALL about the wireless...Id go SEE it first if I were you.

 

I have seen it thanks. And my roommates have both a MacBook and a MBP, so I've spent considerable time with both of those machines. The MBP has no chance in comparison with the size of the MBA. I don't want and don't need to be lugging that around to class with me. Although if it were my main computer I would for sure get an MBP.

 

Well I just called the store and they said that I cannot configure the machine in store and have it shipped there, so that answers my main question. So now do you guys think that the 1.8ghz is worth the extra 460? I'm really not sure here.

Oh and please refrain from offering advice on getting [insert computer here] instead.

Thanks

 

Hey get what you need, Im just saying I saw it and it wasnt for me.

460 bucks for 200mhz is crazy....maybe SSD is worth it, but thats 3 grand or so.

Do they not have the 1.6 in stock?

 

You know that you cannot get "ADC student discount" in stores. It is online only. The only thing you can get is regular student discount at stores.

 

Whats ADC?

 

Apple developer connection

 

I know. When I mentioned ADC discount I was just saying that the ADC discount + $100 membership fees makes the MBA like $80 more than the regular discount. then I need to a d tax on top of that as well. So buying ADC vs. in Oregon is going to be $300-400 more expensive.

 

Absolutely not.

 

If you still haven't bought it in two months, I'll be moving to Beaverton, OR, and you can ship it to my place and I'll "hold on" to it for a bit...

You may have to use a crowbar to get it out of my hands when you pick it up though.

In all seriousness though, you'll need an Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, or Oregon address to get out of paying taxes and using the online discounts.

Just think of it this way... You get a great deal not getting charged an income tax. If you want to avoid as many taxes as possible though, move to Alaska.
(I've been there, and done it... and all the women hated me there... so I moved back)

 

Also if I open this thing up down the road to say put in a faster SSD, will that void my warranty? Will I still be able to use AppleCare if something else goes wrong?

Thanks

 

As others have said, absolutely not . That little improvement in speed is not worth $400+. You most likely won't even notice a difference in everyday tasks.

 

So I found a great little site called pcprices.net that outlines all of the prices and taxes from different vendors on the web. Turns out a few places have discounts that are close to the student discount (which isn't that much to begin with). Looks like I'm gonna pick up a 1.8 HDD for $2019 (which is only $40 more than I would get tax free on the student edition) and then consider picking up AppleCare if I need it / when I get close to the 1 year mark.

Thanks for all the help,
-sdelano

 

It will most likely void your warranty. In the MBP it does, and I can only guess that in something where all of the parts are considerably more inaccessible it would too. You could probably take it to a certified repair center and have them pop it in for a nominal fee.

As for the 1.8 vs 1.6 question. .2ghz is nowhere near worth 500 dollars.