If you're not a student or teacher, you can still get discounted Macs. Buying refurbished Macs can save you a lot of money. For example, a refurbished 17" MacBook Pro with 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo costs £1199 whereas the original price was £1799. That's a 34% saving! Another example: you can buy a refurbished MacBook Air with 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo for £999 whereas the original price was £1719. That's a 42% saving!
But are refurbished Macs safe to buy?
Definitely, refurbished Macs undergo an intensive testing phase before they are made available for sale. They come in a new box with everything else that would've came with a new Mac.
Also, they are covered by Apple's one-year warranty, so if anything goes wrong or if you receive something that isn't in acceptable condition, just take it back. You can purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan just like you would with a new Mac.
The only downside I can think of is brand new products, like the MacBooks released yesterday, will not have refurbished versions available. But if you are not in a rush, or if you don't mind an older version, you can get some great deals by going with refurbished Macs. Just keep an eye out!
