Buy Locally or Online Shop?

[richel]

Dear All,


I am considering an exodus from Windows to Mac. Only that, i find Mac prices here in dubai to be so expensive. Can anyone help me decide on whether to buy it locally or just buy it online? Pros and Cons pls.


Thank you so much.

[Magnus]

Same question was already discussed recently, but okay let's do it again...

Locally
+ You support localization/marketing efforts of local distributor
+ Potentially more friendly people in stores if you have problems
+ If they have it in stock you get what you want right away (don't have to wait for shipping)
- You pay a bit more
- You have to wait for new products to come in stock

Online
+ Cheaper
+ Can get latest products sooner
+ Can get some products not available locally
- Shipping cost money (sometimes you don't save much)
- Risk of shipping damage
- Problems with returns and exchanges

What did I miss?

[theshadow]

It's all about warranties first and foremost.

I know you get 1 free year of Applecare with any new Mac but I think if you buy locally you'll have a lot better chance at getting your Mac serviced.

I've never really had a Mac go wrong on me except once, when I dropped my TiBook. PACC (where I bought it) fixed it good and cheap locally and it went on to do 5 years' hard labour no problems.

Lifesaver!

[fangpyre]

I am all for buying locally.
But I have to clear up that warranty is warranty.
I have taken items I have bought from abroad to service here, and they were done with great service.

[kaz911]

Why support the local distributor? Better to let them feel the pain of loosing orders until the price the products competitively? With MBPs they still have to do the service since Apple now has International Warranty on "movable items" like MacBook and iPads.

I buy everything in the US now. Shipping with DHL is 2-3 days - usually faster than I can get the products here anyway. And most high-end products are never imported to the UAE anyway - try finding an i7 17" MacBook Pro here. ... Impossible...

[rushi]

Has anyone had problems ordering from the Apple store from Dubai ? I try using a Credit Card with a billing address in Dubai, and ofcourse run into problems. Any tips/tricks ?

[michl]

Why support the local distributor? Better to let them feel the pain of loosing orders until the price the products competitively?

I fully agree with that. Local distributors are taking advantage of the fact that there isn't any Apple Store here in the UAE, but still there are other ways... I'll never buy from them until they lower their prices to something more in line with the worldwide market. I even told as much to those pushy sales people a couple times :>

The matter is that I lived in several countries before the UAE, all with an online Apple Store where the prices are either similar to the US Apple Store or with a slight, reasonable premium, and likewise for local distributors (who have no choice but price themselves to be competitive - precisely). For me it's a matter of principle.

[SJADUAE]

Michl

I don't think it would make much difference if there was an official store or not

Shop margins have been dented so much now by these expensive malls, limited Market and single source importers UAE lost it's edge some 5 years back IMO

At one time there was always at least the VAT difference here the only reason to buy locally is warranty and you can have it now else don't bother

UAE is generally now way behind releases and choices it,s almost a joke now and forget about any accessory for your new gadget. There use to be a buzz here as things came out first, but not now

Many shops I,m sure survive on the wealthy who just can't be bothered to wait or muck around and the premium markup on new releases is unbelievable Unjustified

[michl]

Reviving the thread after 6 months, are we? :> Now I do agree with you, and my previous posts pretty much said so -- a big NO to these ridiculous premiums(!)

Having said that, I recently needed to purchase a basic Macbook Pro 13" model (to replace a dead 5-year old white Macbook) and guess what? I ended up buying it at iStyle (Mirdif SC).

The thing is, I did I check carefully the prices for all MBP models (also iMac's) here and then in Singapore (next buying opportunity overseas) and for a basic Macbook or iMac I found the premium not so bad. And, we really didn't want to wait 2-3 months, and also it would have been quite annoying to lug that new Mac case everywhere during the trip, and we get local service and warranty, etc. It's a trade-off alright.

On the other hand, for high end models the premiums are a lot more significant. And like you said there is the issue of not getting the latest models fast enough! Speaking of which, I believe new Macbook's will appear some time in Feb-March (alongside the iPad 2, probably) but we didn't want to wait for that either...

[SJADUAE]

Well it's official according to dubiaone tonight the cheapest place to buy electronic goods like apple, tvs etc is Paris followed by Bangkok