Buying at the Apple Store vs Best Buy

I have--I bought the old 20 gigger--and I'm glad I did--I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Mine blew up about a month ago, Best Buy checked it, and, after agreeing it was broken, gave me a brand new one on the spot. Well worth what averages out to ten dollars a year for insurance on a relatively delicate piece of equipment.

bought my first 20 gig ipod at Best Buy with the $40 service plan.
they kindly replaced it with a 30 gig and the warranty is still good on the thing for 3 1/4 years. rock on, best buy. :cool:

Originally posted by TheSunTheSea
When I bought my 20 GB iPod I went to the Apple Store. It was nice there because I got to try out the player extensively before I bought it. However, I'm thinking about going to Best Buy for my next iPod purchase because:

They will match the student discount price
For $40, I can have full service on my iPod for 4 years. That means if my iPod becomes defective, Best Buy will give me a brand new iPod, no questions asked.

I wanted to know if anyone else bought their iPod from Best Buy and if you've bought the $40 plan?

Originally posted by AMG
bought my first 20 gig ipod at Best Buy with the $40 service plan.
they kindly replaced it with a 30 gig and the warranty is still good on the thing for 3 1/4 years. rock on, best buy. :cool:

Uhh... NO extra charge? Amazering

I bought my 10GB 2Gen from Best Buy back in January and last week I asked them if I could get the 4 year service plan and they said sure. If mine broke bring it on back and they will give me the hook up of all hook ups!

interesting... the sales manager I spoke to in the computer department said that they wouldn't give a replace ipod if mine broke but rather a credit for the purchase price for anything in the store...

I purchased a 2nd gen 10gb for $199... maybe thats the reason why

I have heard that even if you don't buy your unit at Bestbuy you can bring it in and get the warranty. Anyone know if that is true? Mine is in the mail but I am going to try and do that before I open it once it arrives.

Originally posted by mongoos150
Except for the great warranty at Best Buy, there is no question that I would buy at the Apple store. The people at the Apple store are no preassure and very very helpful and friendly. In opposition, Best Buy is a big store where usually you can't find anyone to help you, and when you do they act like used car salesman, totally turning you off to your purchase. I ended up walking out. That was not an isolated case, and three different Best Buy stores I have received that crappy service...just bad in many ways. No question, go to Apple. Unparalleled customer service and facilities.

I have to disagree with that somewhat. Yes, their service is absolutely horrible (no question about that), but when you walk into the store you already know what you want. You want an iPod with the warranty. It takes 5 minutes, tops. I'd pick Best Buy over the Apple store anyday. That warranty is worth it

I didn't think twice about buying mine at Best Buy with their 40 dollar service plan. If you want to spend time playing with the Ipod...test it out at the Apple store, then leave and buy it at Best Buy. You shouldn't consider buying one without a Service Plan.

yes. same as compusa.

go here ( http://ipodlounge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=214&perpage=15&pagenumber=2) for info on your other questions.

Does anyone know if BestBuy shipps to Europe/Sweden? That is iPod offcourse.

Originally posted by tackhouse1
Yea Best Buy is cool like that. If your unit breaks, and they no longer make it, you get an instoree credit for the purchase price. Since the new 30gig's are $499, as were the 20gigs, I'm not surprised that they gave that to him.

BAck to the topic on hand, thats exactly why I bought my iPod from Best Buy, the 4 year service plan was just too good to pass up.

I do agree that the sales people at the apple store are excellent. But with the iPod I did all my homework before hand (alot of it here on this forum). And so like others I merely needed someone to unlock it from the case and let me pay for it.

I also had the advantage of having a BestBuy Credit Card, so I got 6 months 0% apr on my pod purchase. (Made the $499 price a little easier to swallow)

-Nick

Same here. I used the 6 months, 0% apr to my advantage. It's so great to know that I will have a state-of-the-art iPod for the next 4 years. Imagine iPods 2 years from now...they could even have DVD capability! And since our warranty covers for the next 4 years, we can have them!

does best buy offer any service plan that is less than four years? like maybe two or three? i think that would probably be all i would need. and if they do does anyone know the prices of them?

thanks,
brian

probably true. i was just thinking that i probably wouldn't need all four years, and that it would make sense to get one for fewer years, but your right, 40 bucks is a great price for what you get. do i need to bring the reciept in with me when i buy the plan, or do i just show them that it works and they sell it to me there?

brian

Bring your ipod in along with your receipt and you'll be ok.

You can get the warranty for two years rather than four, but IMHO the four is worth the price...

Originally posted by TheSunTheSea

For $40, I can have full service on my iPod for 4 years. That means if my iPod becomes defective, Best Buy will give me a brand new iPod, no questions asked.

I wanted to know if anyone else bought their iPod from Best Buy and if you've bought the $40 plan?

Yup, my dad bought my iPod at Best Buy with the 4 year insurance :) It's great. I wouldt suggest on doing that just to be safe.

I actually emailed Best Buy and asked the manager at my regular Best Buy about buying the PRP for a product that wasn't bought at Best Buy and they said it couldn't be done. So, I returned the iPod I bought at the Apple Store. Even though I lost $50 for the restocking fee, it didn't matter because I'd rather pay $50 to have a greater peace of mind when I'm using my iPod.

Best Buy's PRP is the way to go. They are less hassle than CompUSA.

I bought an IPOD at Best Buy in January 03. Can I go back now (4 months later) and get the $40 warranty if I still have the original reciept? It works perfectly, I'm just scared of it breaking.

I recently decided to purchase a new ipod from someone on another online forum. However, now I'm reading about how everyone buys extended warranties since the ipods are known for breaking down after a year or so (or at least have a big chance of doing so). Everyone here raves about Best Buy's $40 4 year extended warranty.

My Ipod will come sealed, does anyone have any suggestions on how to get a warranty for it? Since I bought it from an individual I'm not sure how Apple's 1 year warranty works, can anyone help please?

Originally posted by poison
I bought an IPOD at Best Buy in January 03. Can I go back now (4 months later) and get the $40 warranty if I still have the original reciept? It works perfectly, I'm just scared of it breaking.

I also bought an iPOD in Jan 03 at Best Buy and I called them up a few weeks ago and asked them if I could still get a warranty. They said no problem, just bring the original receipt and bring the iPod in to show them that is works and I had no problems. I would call up there and ask first though. It worked for me!

So is it true they will match the student price?

went to a BestBuy yesterday and asked if they honor the student discount and if i buy from apple can i get the 4 year warranty ?

both answers were a NO ! (from the manager)