I have a question about buying from apple.com, and bear in mind I'm a dumb college freshman and I've never bought anything expensive before... But uh, I noticed when you have your item in the "cart" in check-out it says the price, then it say "Or as low as $15 a month." What's the catch here? Do you have to have Apple credit or something to be able to pay monthly? I'd rather not spend $400 all at once, but I figure paying 15/month seems too easy...
its through their credit card, which you have to sign up and get approved for.... i was going to do this when i bought my ipod, but i didn't want another credit card on my report, so i just broke down and paid for it. i'm sure there is interest on it, so $15/mo is cheaper but will cost more in the long run.
You can get a rebate on one, go to their Education section and choose your college, think you get like $30 off or something
usually these retailers require that you sign up w/ their store credit card. You need to have good credit usually to receive it. I dont have bad credit, but i dont have much credit. When i applied at circuit city i was rejected. I used to work there and i asked the manager why because i knew i didnt have bad credit. its usually for those stores you need to have really good credit. also there is a huge catch to those cards. never buy anything with the store credit cards unless its on 0% interest promotion. these cards have absurd interest rates and it must be paid within the time frame otherwise all the past interest will accrue and be charged. usually the sales person will say the minimum amount that will need to be paid monthly, never pay that amount pay more. usually this amount will not cover the entire balance over the period of no interest time. for example if you need to pay 30/mo over 2 years for a 1000 purcahse over two years that would not be paid off in 2 years paying 30/mo. if u get a best buy/circuit city/comp usa card and they have what you want on a no interest promotion by all means get it but just be on top of all the payments
i was too young to run my credit when i worked for ccity, but ya. if you dont pay on time, those interest charges kick in.
if you dont have credit now, you may want to check in to getting a card. you're a freshman now so that makes you 18 or 19. the sooner you get a card and start building your credit the better you'll be. just stay on top of the payments.
You don't have to sign up for the Apple credit card, but the terms of their loans are horrible. They charge like 25% interest or more in some cases. You're better off with a signature loan from a bank.
I bought my Apple iBook from Atlanta tax free! Their tax free weekend includes computers, unlike in Texas...
If you are a student buy from an Apple store and save like 15-25% off with proof that you are enrolled (ID, class schedule)... note, this can easily be faked with a "made up" class schedule.
You don't even have to work that hard a lot of the time. They will often take your word for it that you're a student. On some stuff, though, the fact that they charge sales tax makes it less attractive than buying from someone like MacMall without the student discount. Depends on the item, though, as to how big the discount, etc. is.
