Buy now or Wait a bit .. ?.

[rolex]

As this is my first post I wanted to just say Hi to every one
Here, a bit of history English Guy now retired and living
In Central Thailand currently a PC guy , but having just
Seen the new iMac 24 inch its time to cross over from the
Dark side and its demons . This switch over is a Two
Fold problem first I am a later starter PC guy and its taken
Me some time to try and understand Windows XP so having
Taken gentle steps down that winding path , its now
Again time to start learning the Apple Mac way , which Iam
looking forward to doing hence my joining this forum to
learn from you guy’s along the way .

Well this forums now been joined the Apple shop visited,
the bank balance checked , finger nails bitten and
the tranquilizer pills bought so the only thing left to do
is part with some Thai Baht and here’s where the new
Apple road gets a bit bumpy , having now read
The current outcrop of articles on the past and current
Possible problems with the new iMac’s I am now wondering
If its better to say wait until after the January 08 Mac World
Is over just in case there’s an up date of some sort on the
iMac range , so may be you could give me your thoughts
on Buy now or Wait a bit .. ?.

thanks . Rolex

[Miles]

Well I think there is not much chance of an iMac upgrade in January, but I've been wrong before. I am in Thailand too and I can say buying a Mac here is not a great experience if you're into finding a good deal (there are none). The prices here are up about 25% over US prices.

Example: New Macbook just arrived for 64,000 baht. 64,000.00 THB
= 2,074.65 USD. The same machine is $1499 in the US Apple Store.

So if I was to give you some meaningful advice on saving a buck I would suggest checking out some deals from across the pond, ebay, craigslist, or better yet, wait until you go back for a visit. Even with the import duty I usually save a lot of money this way. Singapore also has better deals than they do here but not by very much.

If you truly can't wait I guess I would go to the Apple store on the ground floor of Panthip plaza and assume the position ;)

[rolex]

Hi Miles,

I know what you mean about the buying experience here all too well
as for the Thai price of the iMac 24 inch as I'm not planning to
go back for a visit any time soon , Ive come to expect to have to
pay the inflated Apple prices here. One of my other Thai Apple related
concerns is what may happen in the future if there should be a problem
with the iMac and it requires repairing Etc.

With my current Pc any problems I can take it to the local
IT Mall and its sorted out.
If I lived in Bangkok I don't think this would be a possible
problem with the amount of Apple dealers around but .
out here where I live Theres is as far as I know only one
small Apple reseller shop This dealer has only just opened , so the sorting
out any problems should be fine for the present time, but as with all
new business ventures what if this new Apple dealer should end up
closing down which does and could happen in this area .
In the past here in my area theres been 4 Apple resellers who have closed
down or stopped selling Apple Macs due to I think the lack of sales


May be Iam just under estimating the Reliability of Apple Products and
over reacting , I am looking at buying one of the new iMac's 24 inch version
which would be my first Apple Mac ever , should I need the services of an
Apple Service center , and if the small local Apple reseller close down
that would mean a Two day journey to another Approved Apple Service center.

I was also wondering about the benefits of the apple care plan,
which I believe can be taken out within One year of buying the Mac

Just to put you in the picture when I last went into my new local
Apple shop I asked the young sales guy how much is for an Apple
dial up modem , he said Oh you don't need one as all Apple
Macs come with a built in dial up Modem !!.

May be Iam really over reacting too much and theres no reason
to worry , only time will tell and I am really looking forward to getting
the new iMac .


Thanks rolex