Macintosh bargains are everywhere, just not on Apple.com

Whereï¿¼s the obvious place to research and buy a new Macintosh computer? You can find everything you need on Apple.com. But where are the best bargains? Despite Appleï¿¼s tight controls on retail pricing, the ï¿¼company storeï¿¼ rarely has the best deals.For example, this week I needed a new 15ï¿¼ MacBook Pro for one of my employees. Now, Apple ï¿¼refreshedï¿¼ the MacBook and MacBook Pro models this week, making some very minor changes, mostly to the processor. The lowest-priced new 15-inch model sold at Apple.com in the U.S. is the $1,999 MBP with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM and 200GB hard drive. If you are in the U.S., you will have to pay sales tax, but you will not have to pay shipping, if you order this directly from Apple.

As soon as Apple brought out this ï¿¼newestï¿¼ MBP, they stopped selling the older ones directly, either online or in stores. But if you donï¿¼t need the very latest hardware, you can buy slightly order models at a hefty savings. I ended up buying the previous generation entry-level MBP from Amazon.com for $1,686; it has at 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM and a 120GB hard drive. Thatï¿¼s a great bargain, especially since Amazon donï¿¼t charge sales tax to where it was needed (New York). Shipping is free too.

But what if you do want the very latest MacBook Pro, the same one with the 2.4GHz processor and 200GB hard drive? If you order it from other online retailers, youï¿¼ll still save money compared to buying from Apple. In this case, the list price from Amazon.com is essentially the same, at $1,994. However, Amazon.com is offering a $150 rebate, making the final price $1,844 ï¿¼ and no tax and no shipping.

It pays to shop around!