Archive for the ‘Discounts’ Category

Sweet Refurbished Deals: $850, $900 MacBooks

Here’s what defines me as an Apple customer and not an Apple fanboy: I eagerly anticipate new Apple gear not for the new products, but for the great deals that appear for previous-generation gadgets in the refurbished section.

Think of it this way: Just yesterday, that speedy aluminum MacBook Pro you’ve always wanted was way too pricey for you. But the day Apple releases upgrades, your Mac of desire instantly drops hundreds of dollars in the refurbished section.

That’s smart shopping to me. Granted, with refurbished gadgets you run the risk of getting a unit that was returned because it was a lemon. But on the other hand, there’s a chance you’re getting a Mac that was returned with zero problems (perhaps a person with bad credit). I’ve owned two refurbished MacBook Pros in the past four years, and neither of them had any problems requiring servicing. Plus, refurbished products are covered by one-year warranty. Refurb is the way to go!

With that said, here are two hot refurbished Mac deals that popped up after Apple released new Macs today:

Expect more to come over the next few weeks as Apple, as well as third-party Mac vendors, continue to clear out inventory of “older” Macs. See any other great refurb deals out there? Add your finds in the comments below.

See Also:

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Posted: October 20th, 2009
at 2:02pm by Brian X. Chen

Topics: Apple, Deals, Desktops, Discounts, Macs, Notebooks, refurbished

Don’t Expect Recession Busting Prices At Best Buy This Holiday Season [Best Buy]

I don’t know if this is good or bad news. Best Buy’s CEO Brian Dunn is predicting an optimistic holiday season and is preparing by adding more blue shirt employees. Positive stuff for the economy, but don’t expect mouth-dropping prices.

Reuters reports that Best Buy does not plan to use “heavy discounts to fuel market share gains.” And for the kicker:

“Dunn also doesn’t expect to slash prices even if the holiday season gets off to a rough start.”

All in all, this means there probably won’t be too many “holy shiet” deals. We can still have some hope in Black Friday, but this makes me miss Circuit City, A LOT. [Reuters]