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Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

dmurray.org

51–60 of 73 posts

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#51
Interesting. A friend of mine used to be an amateur cyclist, at the highest (non-pro) level. Through his club he could buy a bike for very good prices. So he'd buy it for 2.5 grand instead of 5, use it for a year, and sell it half price...so 2.5 grand.

It's a one-off big investment, but from then on he had a new bike every year, practically free.

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#53
post #4

Doesn't add up. The only way you can keep this with the numbers given here is if you buy near the start of a release cycle and always sell before it ends . In order to do both, you have to both predict the release schedule well AND spend a month or more with no computer while you wait for the new release. The numbers in the long run are weaker, since some of your purchases will invariably cross release cycle boundari…

Alternative title to original post: I LOVE APPLE! ALL HAIL STEVE JOBS!

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#54
post #40

Not a college student? Find someone who is. – beware of financial plans predicated on fraud.

I could be wrong, but I don't think there's anything illegal about having a student buy a laptap and then immediately resell it to you. (On the other hand, it might be illegal to directly claim that you are a student when you really aren't.) Whether you think that's immoral probably has to do with how moral you think price discrimination is in general.

Student discounts generally require that it be for personal use.

Edit: Added after the jrockway and tylerhowath replied, but didn't want to reply to both:

From the Apple Sales and Refund Policy… Purchases from the Apple Store for Education Individuals are not for institutional purchase or resale.

I presume the same applies to the in store discount. Apple has enough lawyers to cross that "t".

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#55
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know the unsubsidized cost of the phone is about $800-$900 right? Those people you're selling to are buying it at one third the price.

Well aware of this (though I think it's actually $600 for the cheapest in the US). I'm simply pointing out that if you are planning to remain on a given network for a long time, there's no reason not to upgrade the phone every year to the newest available model AND make a little money.

Wait, i'm confused (i'm living in Europe): US carriers don't require you to sign another two year contract when you buy their new subsidized phone?

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#56
post #9

Why should i buy every year a new laptop ? even it's free ? every time i buy a laptop , i have to; - backup my files / projects - destroy my personal files - sell my old laptop to someone and hopefully get my money - copy files to the new laptop - set personal settings ( wallpaper, mouse speed etc ) - and optionally : get used to new keyboard layout - hope for a fix if there is a some hardware/design error. for progr…

For the file issues you can just:

1) Swap in your old hard drive into the new machine

2) Copy hard drive over (dd even) and format

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#57
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could be wrong, but I don't think there's anything illegal about having a student buy a laptap and then immediately resell it to you. (On the other hand, it might be illegal to directly claim that you are a student when you really aren't.) Whether you think that's immoral probably has to do with how moral you think price discrimination is in general.

Student discounts generally require that it be for personal use. Edit: Added after the jrockway and tylerhowath replied, but didn't want to reply to both: From the Apple Sales and Refund Policy… Purchases from the Apple Store for Education Individuals are not for institutional purchase or resale. I presume the same applies to the in store discount. Apple has enough lawyers to cross that "t".

Require as in "we hope you do what we ask" or require as in "you've signed a legal document"?

Considering I was a big Apple fanboi when I was in college and I've never signed a legal document in an Apple store, my guess is that it's the first one.

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#58
post #55
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well aware of this (though I think it's actually $600 for the cheapest in the US). I'm simply pointing out that if you are planning to remain on a given network for a long time, there's no reason not to upgrade the phone every year to the newest available model AND make a little money.

Wait, i'm confused (i'm living in Europe): US carriers don't require you to sign another two year contract when you buy their new subsidized phone?

US carriers do require this. After one year, AT&T usually lets you get the newest iPhone at the subsidized cost if you sign another contract. It still locks you in to two years from the date that you last bought a new phone.

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#59
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could be wrong, but I don't think there's anything illegal about having a student buy a laptap and then immediately resell it to you. (On the other hand, it might be illegal to directly claim that you are a student when you really aren't.) Whether you think that's immoral probably has to do with how moral you think price discrimination is in general.

Student discounts generally require that it be for personal use. Edit: Added after the jrockway and tylerhowath replied, but didn't want to reply to both: From the Apple Sales and Refund Policy… Purchases from the Apple Store for Education Individuals are not for institutional purchase or resale. I presume the same applies to the in store discount. Apple has enough lawyers to cross that "t".

I have worked at an apple store, we only require proof that you are a student(student id, transcript, staff paycheck) and a drivers license #.

There is no check for the student pricing. You are however limited to buying one computer a year with the discount. So if you try to buy another computer within a year using an education discount with the same DL, you will be denied the discount.

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#60

according to ebay, my 2-year-old macbook is worth half the original purchase price. not quite free for me :(

Then make it worth more. Things like Applecare, the software you have on it, and other upgrades can increase the value.

Load it up with expensive software and you will earn a higher resale value.

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