Successfully negotiating MB discounts?

I want to buy a MacBook for my girlfriend as an anniversary present, but I'm just a student and don't have too much money to throw around.

I'd like to walk into a store and ask for a lower price on the basic MacBook model.

Has anyone done this? What negotiation tactics would you recommend?


(And how come under "Popular Apple Laptops" menu on left side of this screen, the "Apple MacBook" is listed for $729.00?)

Thanks!!

 

Just use the Apple student discount. http://www.apple.com/education/hed/students/. Or buy from the outlet. http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals.

 

The ad on the left of these posts are linking to Pre-Owned MacBooks at $730, unfortunately!

Its hard to negotiate these prices, definitely not at an Apple Store. Instead of lowering the price, if you try a small Mac reseller they might throw in some goodies like a sleeve or discounted messenger bag or something. That's my best suggestion to you!

 

The best thing you could do right now that I am actually planning on doing(next year) is to take advantage of the back to school promotion with the free iPod. You can get the Student discount and the free iPod. Take out a loan or something at first then buy the macbook and the iPod and then once you get the iPod sell it and you would have bought a very very cheap macbook! This is exactly what I plan on doing next year.

 

If you plan on taking a loan to purchase a laptop, please shoot yourself. Near the cranial region if you could. It's less painful in the long-run. Reference.

 

Haha, maybe I should have been more specific. Loan as in borrow money from someone, like relatives or close friends or something. Doesn't HAVE to be a bank loan. Just be smart about it.

 

You know, I saw the iPod deal and kind of ignored it because I don't need one. This is a great idea and I'll try it. Thanks!!

 

if you have to ask this question in the first place, you CANNOT afford a new laptop, FOR SOMEONE ELSE!

someone chime in here! oh lord

they touch will net you less than 200$ on fleabay now, since they just released the new ones... not worth the hassle IMO.

 

Are you talking about the old touches in new condition? If they are used, you can definitely get a better price than $200 with an unopened one for sure.

 

I just checked it out on ebay.com and you can get a good $270 for a brand new ipod touch old version. i would take advantage of that deal and sell the ipod to get some of your money back.

 

The new 8gb Touches are $229 at the Apple store. So I don't think the old ones will be selling for $270 much longer. Maybe for a day or two until people realize the price dropped.


As far as negotiation goes, you generally can't negotiate with people being paid by the hour, like typical Best Buy workers... but if you go to an independent Apple vendor, I could definitely believe you could probably haggle the price down a bit.

Apple sets rules about the prices that stores can advertise... but it's illegal (at least in the U.S.) for Apple (or other manufacturer) to set rules about what prices stores can actually sell the goods for. So... the store owner is free to lower the price to whatever he/she thinks makes it worth doing business.

EDIT: It looks like my legal info was a little bit outdated... mfr.-retailer pricing agreements aren't always illegal anymore.

 

Yeah, the old Touch prices will just fall so drastically. If they can get a newer, even better Touch for $229, and the only minor incentive is that the old one is "tried and tested" while the new one may have some bugs in the first few production rounds, I don't expect the old Touches to be selling for anything above $200.

 

Thanks again guys, I appreciate your thoughts.

I have a pretty good amount tucked away from my summer internship, but I asked because I still want to negotiate a better price. 50 bucks is 50 bucks

Does the basic MacBook have any tight competitors as far as price and specs? I found an HP and a Dell which are similar, but is there anything else I might look at to get a better idea of what to ask for?

Thanks!

 

Uhh... Macs tend to be more expensive compared to the competition. If you get a PC like an HP or Dell you could definitely save a couple hundred for similar specs. But go with a Mac for its operating system.

 

Quick update. Could not negotiate any price lower than the student discount. Still, I'm pretty happy with the final price because it does end up being a pretty nice discount.

I was also really impressed with the customer service, the guy I talked to showed me some cool Leopard features, gave me a quick tour of the store, and was extremely patient without being overbearing.

I'll definitely go back when I'm ready to make a decision regarding iPhone.

Thanks guys!

 

Sorry guys i gave you the price of the 16gb "old" touch. My bad!