Apple Stores in Best Buy

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

I have an Best Buy with an Apple Store inside close by and I was wondering if they do the student discounts at the Best Buy because I want to take advantage of the No Financing deals that Best Buy has. Does anyone know if they still have the student discounts at the Best Buy?

 

[TheStu]

I don't think that Best Buy does, but the Apple Store does... when you say the Apple Store is inside, do you mean an actual Apple Store, or simply that the Best Buy sells Apples, and keeps them in a separate section of the store (CompUSA seems to do the same)?

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

I mean a Best Buy that sells Apple computers, I know that there is a pilot program in the CA and other places that have Apple computers inside the Best Buy. Would those places, store within a store, honor the student discounts?

 

[HermDogg]

I highly doubt it.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Just making sure because the financing at the Apple Store is really short and I would like the 2-3 years that Best Buy is offering for their computers.

 

[TheStu]

Well, if you are already talking about financing for 2-3 years, then what does it matter if the ticket price is $200 more than what you could get at an Apple Store. My point is that when you spread that $200 across 2 years it is what, $3/month extra? Or you can get the student discount online or at an actual apple store, but you have less financing time... I leave it to you.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

The key is no interest and the ability to pay it over a long time period.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: TheStu
Well, if you are already talking about financing for 2-3 years, then what does it matter if the ticket price is $200 more than what you could get at an Apple Store. My point is that when you spread that $200 across 2 years it is what, $3/month extra? Or you can get the student discount online or at an actual apple store, but you have less financing time... I leave it to you.

/shudder

You do used car sales too?

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: dclive

Originally posted by: TheStu
Well, if you are already talking about financing for 2-3 years, then what does it matter if the ticket price is $200 more than what you could get at an Apple Store. My point is that when you spread that $200 across 2 years it is what, $3/month extra? Or you can get the student discount online or at an actual apple store, but you have less financing time... I leave it to you.

/shudder

You do used car sales too?

I have sold a used car, but I really didn't do a whole lot of work to sell it. I put it on Craigslist, and some Swede contacted me wanting to buy and willing to pay my price.

 

[dclive]

That was regarding your comment about 'just $200 more' - for a MacBook, for example, that's a 20% increase in costs! Even for a typical MacBook Pro that's another 10%!

If one needs to finance it, and it's not a house or a car (I consider a computer a luxury item!), I'm surprised that people would consider financing it if the cash terms are better than the financing terms. We live in a society that loves credit - and debt.

 

[MrChad]

Please do not finance a computer.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

What's wrong with financing a computer? It helps to spread the cost evenly over time w/ no interest. Best Buy has deals that have no interest so you can take that time that way it doesn't take that big of a chunk out of your earnings from work.

 

[dclive]

There is a tremendous amount of risk associated with financing anything - your financial situation may be different in a year than it is right now, and you may need the money for something else. Financing is terribly risky for assets that do not hold their value well - for houses it's a good risk (since the house in 10 years will likely be worth more) and for cars it's a reasonable risk (since you need it, and it will be worth at least something in 3 years), but for computers it's a horrible risk (since PC value drops like a rock). It also says something about poor financial planning when you must finance luxuries (rather than necessities, which includes the car and the house).

Overall, it's a very risky action for a luxury good. Save for a few months and get it in cash - and pay less money too.(*)

(*) All that being said, if your financial situation is strong, you have your 401(k) fully funded every month, you have $100,000 in the bank in spare rainy-day cash, and you don't need to worry about income, and you're doing this simply for the reason you described and have no other need for the money aside from a better time-value usage of it, go for it. But most people can't honestly say that or anything like that.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
What's wrong with financing a computer? It helps to spread the cost evenly over time w/ no interest. Best Buy has deals that have no interest so you can take that time that way it doesn't take that big of a chunk out of your earnings from work.

As dclive pointed out, the only things I'm comfortable financing are a house and possibly a car. If you need help spreading the cost, maybe you can look for a less expensive TV.