Buy now or wait for school?

[pilot1129]

So I plan on buying another iBook soon, probably a 12 inch. just as a second laptop. bought my first ever powerbook about a month and a half ago and now i'm buying another mac :)

I know retail stores have big back to school sales in end of july/august. would it be worth waiting till then to buy an ibook or is now fine also? i'm not concerned with the performance upgrade that may or may not come out soon, so thats not an issue, just will there be a big, if any, price drop for the back to school season?

[Stevuh]

there will probably be a price drop for the iBooks when the next revision is introduced. You could also look into getting a previous generation machine which will probably go on clearance after the upgrade.

[torifile]

Why would you want the iBook now? To answer your question, though, Apple computers rarely go on sale. Some times there are rebates - the past 2 years there has been a "cram-n-jam" promotion where you get $200 back if you buy a computer and an iPod. It's an easy way to cut some money off the price of the computer or get an iPod for really cheap.

[iThink therefore iMac]

Or that $100 EDU rebate (http://education.apple.com/students/go/save/) ...

[longwood]

Why would you want the iBook now? To answer your question, though, Apple computers rarely go on sale. Some times there are rebates - the past 2 years there has been a "cram-n-jam" promotion where you get $200 back if you buy a computer and an iPod. It's an easy way to cut some money off the price of the computer or get an iPod for really cheap.

do you know if you can get the $200 back plus the education discount?

[MCQ]

do you know if you can get the $200 back plus the education discount?

Yes - that's how it worked the last two years. I don't know if that rebate will pop up this year though, given the current $100 edu*rebate.

[torifile]

MCQ answered above. If your state has a tax-free weekend for back-to-school, you can even get it at ed cost + rebate, without tax! It's a fantastic deal if it's offered.

[longwood]

Yes - that's how it worked the last two years. I don't know if that rebate will pop up this year though, given the current $100 edu*rebate.

one more question. when does this usually take place? when does it start (when did it in the past)?

[MCQ]

one more question. when does this usually take place? when does it start (when did it in the past)?

2004: Approximately July 7 - Sept. 25
http://macminute.com/2004/07/07/cramandjam/

2003: Started May 30, forget when it ended.
http://macminute.com/2003/05/30/applepromo/

Again, I don't know if it'll be done this year.