Apple controls who is an authorized dealer, and the territory that such dealers can sell to, very carefully, and thereby they control retail pricing by limiting competition severely. They also use what is knows as "MAP contracts" (minimum advertised price) to limit discounting. So there are no really big legitimate discounts on brand-new Apple equipment to be found. The best that you can do is to either purchase your equipment factory refurbished at a discount, or purchase it as part of a package deal including a discount on included third-party items, such as a printer or RAM.
If you see brand-new Apple products offered with a deep discount, you should be immediately concerned that it is what is known as "grey market goods." Grey market goods are products that non-Apple authorized retailers receive from authorized retailers (usually overstock, sometimes intentionally purchased to get a discount from Apple based on volume) and then sell to the public. Apple has a contractual arrangement with every authorized Apple retailer that these retailers won't "trans-ship" Apple products to non-authorized retailers. Apple most likely won't honor the warranty on grey market goods, so they are best avoided.
You can get a current model Mac, or a recently superseded model Macintosh, "factory refurbished" at a good discount. But the computer will be virtually indistinguishable from a brand new comptuer.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac?mco=MTIzMzI
When I toured Apple's manufacturing facility in Elk Grove, it was explained that the majority of Macs sold by Apple as refurbished had failed a test when coming down the assembly line, and had to be pulled off the assembly line and repaired. These Macs are for all intents and purposes brand-new Macs, but they can no longer legally be sold as new.
I think that a refurbished Mac is an excellent idea, as long as you get a "factory refurbished" Mac. If it is not refurbished from the factory, but rather has been refurbished by a dealer, it is quite likely that the computer was someone else's lemon, and the original problem may not be perfectly fixed.
There are only three places that I trust enough to purchase a refurbished Apple computer from them. All of their refurbs should be factory refurbs.:
- The Apple Store
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/clearance?mco=MTIzMzc
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac?mco=MTM3MzI
- Small Dog
http://www.smalldog.com/refurb/wag20001
- PowerMax
http://www.powermax.com/cats/disp/sv
The inventory at each of these stores varies and changes often, so you have to keep an eye on their sites to catch the best deal. The best deal often can be found at PowerMax. But lately Apple has become very competitive with refurbished Macs.
I've purchased most of the Macs that I have owned refurbished. Each one was just like new and just as reliable (maybe more so) than new.
