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PowerBook Price Wars
November 13, 2000
by Stephen Hildreth
Editor-in-Chief
With Macworld Expo approaching, and the possibility of a new PowerBook G4, it seems that Apple resellers are in the midst of a price war with the PowerBook G3 - even Apple itself is getting into the act with their PowerBook rebate program. Prices and bundles have been getting better and better over the past few weeks, culminating with MacMall's new $500 off deal on the PowerBook G3/500.
The Apple Store was the first to offer a significant discount on the PowerBook G3, but only to Education customers. Through The Apple Store Education (still valid today), you could get a PowerBook G3/500 and PowerBook G3/400 for $2999 and $1999, respectively.
ClubMac was the first to offer a significant discount on the PowerBook G3 to the general public. Their online instant rebate effectively lowered the prices of the PowerBook G3/500 and PowerBook G3/400 from $3495 and $2495, respectively, to $3324 and $2340.
Apple upped the ante last month with their $200 PowerBook rebate program, valid until December 31st. With this rebate program, you got $200 off on a new Rev. A or Rev. B Pismo PowerBook G3 purchased from any Apple Authorized Reseller. This mail-in rebate dropped ClubMac's prices on the PowerBook G3's to $3124 and $2140. Until recently, these were the lowest prices available on the new PowerBooks from an Apple Authorized Reseller.
Last week, MacZone also began an online instant rebate. With their rebate, you could get a PowerBook G3/500 and PowerBook G3/400 for $3294 and $2344, respectively. Including Apple's rebate program, these prices dropped to $3094 and $2144. That price on the PowerBook G3/500/20GB undercut ClubMac's by $30.
Over the weekend, Apple took a big step by reducing the price of the PowerBook G3/500/20GB $500 to $2999. Including their rebate, that price drops to $2799! Could this be a prelude to the introduction of the PowerBook G4, or just a way to boost PowerBook sales for the holiday season? We'll see.
Now MacMall has entered the scene. Their new $500 off deal lowers the price on a PowerBook G3/500/20GB from $3494 to $2994. Add Apple's rebate, and the price drops to $2794. The same deal applies to the PowerBook G3/500/12GB, which lowers the price to $2594. With both machines, you can get an additional 128MB RAM for a $30 installation fee.
ClubMac answered MacMall today by offering a $146 instant rebate on the PowerBook G3/500/20GB, lowering the price to from $2995 to $2849. Add Apple's rebate to drop that price to a stunning $2649!
ClubMac's $2649 price on the PowerBook G3/500/20GB (including Apple's rebate) is probably as low as it's going to get before the introduction of a new model. The lowest price on a PowerBook G3/400/10GB is still from ClubMac, too, at $2140 (including Apple's rebate). Should you buy now? Check out this recent article, "Buy Now Or Wait? PowerBook G4?" With the high-end PowerBook G4 probably coming in around $3500, you'd still be getting a very capable machine with the current model, but at a significant discount. Bottom line? If price matters, buy now. If price is no object, and you're not desperate for a new machine, stick it out until January 9th. Be aware, however, that most of these discounts disappear after December 31st.
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Stephen Hildreth has been the Editor-in-Chief of PowerBook Central since its inception in 1996. When not working on his Mac, he shares his love of the outdoors with his family and can be found biking, snow skiing, or educating students on the internal & external processes of our planet.
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