Deals: Amazon Introduces First Discount on 14-Inch MacBook Pro, Get 8-Core M1 Pro 512GB Model for $1,949.99 ($50 Off) [Updated]

In my experience ordering from Apple is ALWAYS the advised thing to do. Yeh, you can save a bit by buying elsewhere, but Apple really have the power to look after you if you buy direct from them.

Not sure what you are referring to. These alternate sellers still provide full benefits, e.g. MFG warranty and basic AppleCare. These aren't gray market outfits.

I would wait a few months if you are not desperate to get it. I jumped the gun on an impulse buy for my M1 from last year then 5 months later, same 512 GB model that I paid 1,600 for was going for the same price of the entry level model. Moral of the story, wait.

Also, speaking of buying from Amazon, I’ve had a great experience so far, since I was able to amortize the purchase over 12 months removing the scariness of the upfront cost. I have an Apple card but my credit was not high enough to do the installment plan. I wanted to so I could get the 3% back. But apparently I’m just too poor.

Qualified for a 3,400 dollar credit with my Amazon store card and used that instead. There were a couple of hiccups paying it off, but support resolved it (you gotta be persistent though). When the second generation larger screen iMac comes
out in 2023 I’m gonna use Amazon again. Apple store is great for test runs.

In my experience ordering from Apple is ALWAYS the advised thing to do. Yeh, you can save a bit by buying elsewhere, but Apple really have the power to look after you if you buy direct from them.

It doesn't make a difference if you buy from Amazon, Costco, Best Buy, or some other authorized seller. They will all have the 1 year warranty. And they will all offer the option to buy AppleCare.

Costco even sells AppleCare for less than what Apple does if you want to buy it, but why would you when Costco already covers it for an additional year, and if you pay with their Costco Citi Visa card, you get an additional 2 years on top of that for a total of 4 years.

In my experience ordering from Apple is ALWAYS the advised thing to do. Yeh, you can save a bit by buying elsewhere, but Apple really have the power to look after you if you buy direct from them.

Wrong. Apple has the shortest return window of any retailer (two weeks vs. four) no loyalty program like Best Buy and always the highest prices as they never put their products on sale directly, only occasionally offer gift cards or add ons like headphones etc.
Furthermore, whether you purchase through Apple directly or an authorized third party, Apple will still offer the same protection, warranty and inhouse tech support, so given the above there is no incentive whatsoever to buy directly from Apple.
I purchased my M1 MBA through Costco, who automatically extends the OEM warranty by a second year inhouse. I paid for it with my Citibank Costco Visa, which gave me another two years. Yeah those three extra years are through Costco and not Apple, but given it didn't cost me a dime, I can live with that. It was also 150 dollars less than MSRP. Other 3rd party retailers offer similar protections, especially when you use their credit cards to purchase, but Costco's is the best as far as I'm concerned.

FYI, Costco has a number of models (not just the base) available for preorder for what looks like a flat $50 off.

14" M1 Pro 8/14 Core, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, $1949.99: https://www.costco.com/new-macbook-pro-(14-inch)---apple-m1-pro-chip-with-8-core-cpu-and-14-core-gpu,-512gb-ssd.product.100713178.html ('https://www.costco.com/new-macbook-pro-(14-inch)---apple-m1-pro-chip-with-8-core-cpu-and-14-core-gpu%2c-512gb-ssd.product.100713178.html')
14" M1 Pro 10/16 Core, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, $2449.99: https://www.costco.com/new-macbook-pro-(14-inch)---apple-m1-pro-chip-with-10-core-cpu-and-16-core-gpu,-1tb-ssd.product.100713171.html ('https://www.costco.com/new-macbook-pro-(14-inch)---apple-m1-pro-chip-with-10-core-cpu-and-16-core-gpu%2c-1tb-ssd.product.100713171.html')
16" M1 Pro 10/16 core, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, $2449.99: https://www.costco.com/new-macbook-pro-(16-inch)---apple-m1-pro-chip-with-10-core-cpu-and-16-core-gpu,-512gb-ssd.product.100694234.html ('https://www.costco.com/new-macbook-pro-(16-inch)---apple-m1-pro-chip-with-10-core-cpu-and-16-core-gpu%2c-512gb-ssd.product.100694234.html')
16" M1 Pro 10/16 core, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, $2649.99: https://www.costco.com/new-macbook-pro-(16-inch)---apple-m1-pro-chip-with-10-core-cpu-and-16-core-gpu,-1tb-ssd.product.100694281.html ('https://www.costco.com/new-macbook-pro-(16-inch)---apple-m1-pro-chip-with-10-core-cpu-and-16-core-gpu%2c-1tb-ssd.product.100694281.html')
16" M1 Max 10/32 core, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, $3449.99: https://www.costco.com/new-macbook-pro-(16-inch)---apple-m1-max-chip-with-10-core-cpu-and-32-core-gpu,-1tb-ssd.product.100694160.html ('https://www.costco.com/new-macbook-pro-(16-inch)---apple-m1-max-chip-with-10-core-cpu-and-32-core-gpu%2c-1tb-ssd.product.100694160.html')

Not only that, they also give you 2 years of warranty and if you buy it with Citi Costco credit card then you also get additional 2 years of warranty...making it total 4 years of warranty. its really hard to beat, almost makes apple care+ useless IMHO.

simplymac.com has lower prices compared to amazon