Can the Base Unibody MacBook Pro Be Had for $1500 or Less?

I really want to upgrade to the new unibody MacBook Pro (the base model that retails for $2000 new), but the most I can spend is $1500. I was just wondering if there's anywhere I would be able to find one that cheap (new, refurbished, used, doesn't matter, as long as it works ), or if anyone knows of any places that ever have deals like this. I've been checking craigslist and eBay constantly, but so far, no luck (it sucks being a jobless high school student ).

 

Have you looked into applying for an Amazon credit card and purchasing it there? You could pay $1500 first, and pay the remaining $300-$400 in 6 months. Newegg offers a similar feature with their Preferred Account customers.

 

blabus, have you considered selling your current MBP as well? That could help you gather quite an amount of funds needed to purchase an unibody MBP. The good thing is also that Macs tend to hold their value quite well.

 

while this would work... I don't recommend it. thit attitude is what caused the current economic crisis... to many people buy on credit.. as soon as the creditor want their interest and payment... people default... now everyone is suffering. your best bet is to wait for the money(the price is coming down) or look for a job(I know I'm look for a job too).

 

Well I found one, but it's a tad above $1500. http://cgi.ebay.com/Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-LED-2G-Ram-250HD-MB470LL-A-NEW_W0QQitemZ170310838557QQcmdZViewItemQQptZApple_Laptops?hash=item170310838557&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A570|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50

 

The refurbished Macbook Pro 2.4 goes for about 1699 at the Apple Store. That is probably the cheapest you re going to get directly from Apple. You may find some good deals on Ebay as well as Colton pointed out.

 

Yeah, I'll try to net around $1200 for mine, but I only have a few hundred dollars extra, and I do also need to save as much as I can for college next year.

And yeah, that eBay link is a good deal, but somehow I think there's probably someone who'll outbid me on that one.
And speaking of that, doesn't it seem like you really can't get very good deals at all on new products through eBay? It always seemed to me like the real deals were almost grabbed by snatching something up from someone who doesn't really know how much it's worth . I know it sounds bad, but whenever I look for electronics or fairly new or expensive items on eBay, lots of times the auctions that are ending are already barely lower (and sometimes even higher) than what you can get the same thing for elsewhere, from a more reliable source (such as Apple refurbished).

Then again, I'm a bit of a cynic, and have always had a sneaking suspicion that there are some really rich people that like to frequent eBay and push the bids way up, just for the fun of it. (In other words, I've never had much money, so I've never had much luck with eBay, as there's almost always someone who can outbid me).

 

What is wrong with your current MBP? By going with the 2.4 you will hardly notice a difference in performance.

Since you mentioned college soon...I would suggest:

keep using your current MBP until college time. Until then, I'm sure you can put together a few hundred bucks more to put towards the purchase. When the time comes, sell your MBP, and take advantage of the student discount and whatever back to school promotion Apple has.

That's what I would do in your situation.

 

Yeah, when you're bidding on things like laptops--especially things like Macs that are in high demand--they have tendency not to be any better priced than anywhere else you could by it (sometimes actually costing more). The secret I've discovered for items like this is that you need to look for Buy it Now's with lower prices. This worked well for me. And Right now you can get another 9% off through Live.com. That's how I got the laptop in my sig for less than half of what it would have cost from Dell at the time.

I would agree ToshibaDude, wait and see what kind of discounts you can get when you start college.

 

Well, the college discount thing is a whole other issue that ticks me off. Frankly, the college discounts (at least on Macs) are pathetic. We're supposed to be college kids with low paying part time jobs (if we're lucky) trying to get through $20,000 a year educations, and I go on Apple's education discount store online, and the rebates are like $100 off the MacBook Pro.

$100. First of all, forgetting that we're talking about poor college students here, would ANYONE benefit from that at all? How many people can afford a $1900 laptop but not a $2000 one?

I really think that the Mac education 'discounts' are a load of crap- they just have them so that they can advertise that they give discounts to students. But it doesn't really help us out at all.

Okay sorry, I'm done now.

 

its actually $300 off for a MBP

 

I think it varies from college to college doesn't? The college I attend I don't think had any discounts at all. But yeah, Mac's are unrealistically over-priced to be targeted at college students--probably the biggest reason I'm not a Apple fan.

 

Well, that might be the case, but I'll be going to Winthrop in South Carolina, and their online store only shows a $100 discount on all of their computers.

 

I checked the Craigslist listings around the Charleston area, and I didn't see any Unibodies at all. It must be a dry market down there for the new ones...

 

Hey, how'd you know where I am?

Yeah, it is pretty bad here. I've actually been concentrating my efforts on Charlotte, NC and Altanta, GA, as I don't really mind driving 2 hours (or more for the right price ).

 

Hehe, you said you were going to the University of Winthrop SC, so I Wikipedia'd that, and then I Wikipedia'd the town the college was in, and that said it was around the Charleston area, so that's how I found you. I'll see what some other cities have around you, and mabye I might see something you skipped over. I'll give it a look.

 

Ah, I'm an idiot.

But yeah, thanks again for the help!

 

No problem!