The end result of this article: do NOT buy Apple or Mac products at Best Buy. And now I will start from the beginning and say that many people are often confused as to which is the better place to purchase a sharp iMac with a warranty.
Do I pick up the sleek and sexy MacBook Pro in the Apple Store with an Apple Care plan (that extends the warranty from one year to three), or do I go to my local Best Buy (which can often be closer in proximity, because they rival McDonald’s in sheer numbers now that Circuit City has died) to grab an iMac with a four year Protection Plan?
Use my experience to your benefit…
E., a family friend of mine, bought a new iMac with a gleaming Magic Mouse at Best Buy along with the $279.99 Protection Plan, which was supposed to be comparable to the Apple Store’s offerings. The difference is that the Best Buy Plan pits the consumer against the Geek Squad, and they have no desire to know or learn anything about Macs in many cases.
When E. brought the Magic Mouse in, because it ate up batteries as if they were Swiss cheese (gone in a week), the Geek refused to take it back. He cited that it was wireless and needed to be manually turned off after every use (and why would Apple make such a painful product?). An argument ensued: the Geek had no idea what he was talking about.
At a later date, an Apple employee (who knew what they were doing) in Best Buy would explain to E. that there was a bunch of defective Magic Mice when they first came out. Why would an ignorant Geek deliberately hassle a once happy customer when they could have just provided a new mouse?
As an Apple fan I myself purchased the newest MacBook Pro version at the Apple Store and picked up the Apple Care plan for another $349.95. My student discount (which Best Buy provides also) took off a significant portion of about $115.
I was ready to have my flickering display replaced a couple of years later. In order to ensure the problem would be fixed, the Smithtown Apple Store, home of the Genius Bar and Mac genius, ordered and installed a new motherboard, video processor and screen, for nothing, in three days!
I buy my Apples at Stop & Shop.