Apple store vs. retail

[redsoxjaz]

A loyal blackberry user for 4 years I am finally making the move to Apple. My question is, is there any benefit to purchasing my new iPhone at an Apple store? My other options are either a Sprint store or Best Buy. Thanks in advance for any advice or help.

 

[Garz]

A loyal blackberry user for 4 years I am finally making the move to Apple. My question is, is there any benefit to purchasing my new iPhone at an Apple store? My other options are either a Sprint store or Best Buy. Thanks in advance for any advice or help.

Here in NV, Apple store only charges me tax on the upgrade price. BB and AT&T charges me tax on retail. That's reason enough for me but I'm sure will vary in different states.

 

[ntaan]

My experience with purchasing my iPhone was through Best Buy great. Yes you have to pay the full tax on the unit; however, there are a few legitimate reasons to go through them rather than Apple and/or your carrier.

1. I signed up for buy back program which will allow me to get 20% of my origanal price of the phone to go towards the next phone I purchase at the end of my two year agreement. This is the original price not the discounted price I payed.

2. I also signed up for the $14.99 protection plan which seems steep but i was already paying $8 for the insurance through Sprint on my HTC Evo which included a deductible if the issue was my fault. With Best Buy's protection plan you get basically an unlimited amount of fixes which include water damage. Sprint does not offer a protection plan. Apple offers their Apple care which I believe covers 2-3 times of drops or water damage.

 

[Fausty82]

My best experience ever was buying directly from the Apple store... second best is your wireless carrier... and the last place that I would buy a cell phone is a third-party retailer... They have the least skin in the game, and are hungry to make to biggest profit, usually through add-on third party contracts.

And paying extra sales taxes just to get some other benefit makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

If there's an Apple store close to you, then I'd go with it. The people working there know their products
and would be able to thoroughly explain things to you.

 

[Eileen89]

I loved the service that I received from my local Apple store back when I purchased my factory unlocked 4S from them, so I would definitely recommend it if you have a Apple store in your area.


Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk.

 

[Garz]

My experience with purchasing my iPhone was through Best Buy great. Yes you have to pay the full tax on the unit; however, there are a few legitimate reasons to go through them rather than Apple and/or your carrier.

1. I signed up for buy back program which will allow me to get 20% of my origanal price of the phone to go towards the next phone I purchase at the end of my two year agreement. This is the original price not the discounted price I payed.

2. I also signed up for the $14.99 protection plan which seems steep but i was already paying $8 for the insurance through Sprint on my HTC Evo which included a deductible if the issue was my fault. With Best Buy's protection plan you get basically an unlimited amount of fixes which include water damage. Sprint does not offer a protection plan. Apple offers their Apple care which I believe covers 2-3 times of drops or water damage.

That is $180 a year or $360 for 2 years to cover your phone. Apple Care + is only a one time $99 fee. Yes you only get 2 physical damage replacements but if you damage your phone that much that you need to pay $360 over 2 years, then maybe you should invest in a Otterbox or Life Proof.

 

[redsoxjaz]

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm still not 100% sure of what I'm going to do but I am leaning towards the Apple store.

 

[gvndeb60]

That is $180 a year or $360 for 2 years to cover your phone. Apple Care + is only a one time $99 fee. Yes you only get 2 physical damage replacements but if you damage your phone that much that you need to pay $360 over 2 years, then maybe you should invest in a Otterbox or Life Proof.

Plus their customer service is horrible if you actually have to use the plan(Best Buy). They say there is no charge if it is your fault or not, but they interrogate you when you drop it off and there is fine print galore. I tried to use it when I had my Evo a few years back....phone was flawless except for a huge bright white spot in the middle of the 4.3 in screen that you could not miss, yet after sending it off for repair twice for over 6 weeks total it came back twice with the same issue. I am not sure if they have changed anything since, but I can tell you that I had the same problem with a digital camera and their protection plan. I dropped it from 45ft in the air(part of my job) and it was completely smashed. Two different people interrogated me including a manager before they would even accept it. Then they had to send it off for a possible repair even though it was obviously beyond repair and I had to wait over a week for their repair facility to say they couldn't fix it.

Sorry to ramble, just wanted to share my very negative experiences with them, IMO AppleCare is much much better.

 

[ThaKrazyOne]

I would highly recommend going through the Apple Store. You get the best service in all aspects from start to finish. Plus the AppleCare warranty you can't beat compared to getting the carriers warranty. Also they will help you with any problem with the phone and can always stop by the Genius Bar for questions or concerns.

 

[anon(4698833)]

I would highly recommend going through the Apple Store. You get the best service in all aspects from start to finish. Plus the AppleCare warranty you can't beat compared to getting the carriers warranty. Also they will help you with any problem with the phone and can always stop by the Genius Bar for questions or concerns.

You don't have to buy an iPhone through the Apple Store to get any of that...you can buy an iPhone 2nd hand from some guy on Craigslist and still get every one of those things (including Apple Care if the phone is new enough).

 

[sting7k]

A loyal blackberry user for 4 years I am finally making the move to Apple. My question is, is there any benefit to purchasing my new iPhone at an Apple store? My other options are either a Sprint store or Best Buy. Thanks in advance for any advice or help.

Just go to which ever is closest and save the gas.

 

[Eileen89]

You don't have to buy an iPhone through the Apple Store to get any of that...you can buy an iPhone 2nd hand from some guy on Craigslist and still get every one of those things (including Apple Care if the phone is new enough).

This may Be true for Apples regular Apple Care, however, AppleCare+ can only be purchased within the first 30 days or the buyer is sol....

 

[Chase S]

My two cents... I prefer Best Buy myself. Unfortunately, the area I live in, the Apple store is almost always slammed. I actually stopped in there today (A Tuesday afternoon) and most of the reps were busy with customers. Don't get me wrong, I love going in there, but I prefer to purchase my Apple products from Best Buy.

I also like Best Buy's return policy with my Reward Zone Silver status. 45 day return policy... I also get points on my reward zone card. I figure I can buy Care later on.

 

[Garz]

My two cents... I prefer Best Buy myself. Unfortunately, the area I live in, the Apple store is almost always slammed. I actually stopped in there today (A Tuesday afternoon) and most of the reps were busy with customers. Don't get me wrong, I love going in there, but I prefer to purchase my Apple products from Best Buy.

I also like Best Buy's return policy with my Reward Zone Silver status. 45 day return policy... I also get points on my reward zone card. I figure I can buy Care later on.

You only have 30 days now on latest generation iOS devices to buy Apple Care since it covers physical damage now. If you figure to buy later, you probably will miss out.

 

[Eileen89]

You only have 30 days now on latest generation iOS devices to buy Apple Care since it covers physical damage now. If you figure to buy later, you probably will miss out.

This is correct. Apples new policy is that AppleCare+ must be added within the first 30 days.

AppleCare+ for iPad - Apple Store (U.S.)

 

[anon(4698833)]

This may Be true for Apples regular Apple Care, however, AppleCare+ can only be purchased within the first 30 days or the buyer is sol....

Notice the end of my post...

 

[Eileen89]

Notice the end of my post...

Yes, I did notice that you said "new enough". However, I don't know if one can actually add AC+ to an iPhone that was purchased on Craigslist or eBay...


Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

Yes, I did notice that you said "new enough". However, I don't know if one can actually add AC+ to an iPhone that was purchased on Craigslist or eBay...


Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk.

As long as it's within the 30 day period they can. Apple will know when it was purchased. And they'll just
inspect it when you're there.

 

[anon(4698833)]

As long as it's within the 30 day period they can. Apple will know when it was purchased. And they'll just
inspect it when you're there.

Bingo.

My dad bought a 4S on Craigslist a couple of months ago, it was 22 days into service, he went to the Apple store and bought the Apple Care + because even with some heavy duty cases, he's been known to tear a phone up in his line of work.