We believe in the long term value of Apple hardware. You should be able to use your Apple gear as long as it helps you remain productive and meets your needs, upgrading only as necessary. We want to help maximize the life of your Apple gear.
Like many people today, I do most of my shopping online. In this
article I'm going to share my firsthand account of different ways to
shop online - what to be careful with and what to look for when
shopping.
I must note I am not biased to any online store or site; I am just a
shopper and user like any of you.
Auction
There are a few auctions sites still up like Yahoo! Auctions and uBid, but the big, respected player here is
eBay. They make millions and have spent millions to keeping you
safe. They use a feedback system, good authentication, and have their
very own payment system, PayPal,
in which they will guarantee your money back if something goes wrong in
certain situations.
I high recommend you stick to PayPal and not give out your personal
or credit information to strangers.
The things to look for when buying on eBay:
Verify the seller's feedback
Read everything in the auction
Ask questions before bidding
Use PayPal and only PayPal
Check if PayPal's buyer protection is included (it's only give to
respectable sellers)
Check to see exactly the condition and items included in the
auction
Don't overpay for shipping
If it's too good to be true, it's not real
Classifieds
Yes, we're including your local paper and online classifieds like
Craigslist in this article.
You must be careful and ask a lot of question before going to see the
item. Test the item and make sure everything works before you buy it.
Make sure you have cash on hand, and always try to bargain the seller
to lowering his price.
Name Brand Stores
The big names list includes Amazon.com,
Walmart, Best Buy,
Buy.com, CDW,
Apple, MacMall, and others.
They are really good at keeping a nice site. They will tell you if they
have the item in stock or not. They have good return policies and
pretty good customer service if you encounter problems.
Some offer in-store pickup after you purchase it online, and some
have free shipping. I recommend spending a few bucks more and sticking
to a big brand seller for peace of mind.
No Name Brands
There are hundreds of thousands of stores on the Internet. Make sure
you check out BizRate or similar
sites that have customer reviews of online stores.
Be careful, because many sites will call you and try to sell you
more stuff to add to your order and take a long time to ship your
item.
Also see how their customer service department is, and make sure
they have what you want in stock.
One thing to look for is make sure you read or ask to see what is
included with your purchase and if it has a manufacturer's warranty.
Many item sold online are overseas versions of the product and do not
include a US warranty.
Like I said before, if it looks too good to be true, it might be.
We believe in the long term value of Apple hardware. You should be able to use your Apple gear as long as it helps you remain productive and meets your needs, upgrading only as necessary. We want to help maximize the life of your Apple gear.
We believe in the long term value of Apple hardware. You should be able to use your Apple gear as long as it helps you remain productive and meets your needs, upgrading only as necessary. We want to help maximize the life of your Apple gear.
