Help With Purchasing a New iMac

My mother offered to buy me a new computer for christmas because my MacBook Pro was recently stolen.
She does not want to spend any more than $900.
I found a great deal on an aluminum 20" iMac for $870 on eBay (Buy It Now price), but she had trouble with PayPal and she refuses to use it. I've tried talking her into it, but she will not budge. And she needs to use her credit card so she can't simply transfer me the money to use it.
I found some deals at Apple Palace and as considering buying a Intel Core 2 Duo 20" iMac (not aluminum) for under $900, but I'm sort of bent on getting the newer aluminum model after seeing one for a good deal on eBay. Is it just as well that I suck it up and go for the white iMac?

I'm a Graphic Designer, and I want to be sure I have something perfect for me. My older MacBook Pro became too much of a hassle to work on. I'm looking for something more comfortable and faster, like an iMac.

Here's a link to the Apple Palace listing I was considering:
Home

Any help would be great. I'm excited about getting a new computer but I'm so stuck!

Thanks!

brandnewcicada said:

My mother offered to buy me a new computer for christmas because my MacBook Pro was recently stolen.
She does not want to spend any more than $900.
I found a great deal on an aluminum 20" iMac for $870 on eBay (Buy It Now price), but she had trouble with PayPal and she refuses to use it. I've tried talking her into it, but she will not budge. And she needs to use her credit card so she can't simply transfer me the money to use it.

Click to expand...

Sounds like your main problem is with your mom!!!

Get the money from your mom, open a Paypal account, and then buy from e-Bay yourself.

Another option is watch your local Craig's List. iMac's appear every now & then. Get the Aluminum iMac...NOT the previous "white plastic" iMac.

BTW...I purchased 2 weeks ago...a 20" Aluminum iMac for $750 from my local Craig's List!!! It was even a refurbished unit (unopened box), and still had 6 months Apple warranty on it!

Good Luck,

- Nick

Maybe you should try sitting down with her and walking her through Paypal. It's easy to use and you don't even have to create an account.

Mama Luigi said:

Maybe you should try sitting down with her and walking her through Paypal. It's easy to use and you don't even have to create an account.

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My thoughts exactly! I have not had a problem with Paypal (other than their fees)...but it does seem to take a long time to get a refund if you do have a problem with a buyer or seller of an item. But most of the time everything is fine.

- Nick

I would check apples refurbished section from time to time as well....

Is graphic design your full-time occupation? Is there no way of somehow getting scraping together the money to get the system you need rather than the one your mom's willing to buy?

Technically, if she's giving the money, the shot is hers to call. It's a very nice gesture, but could obviously be very limiting.

Good luck.

The thing is, no matter how much I try to convince my mom, she will not buy anything off of ebay. I decided to just buy an Intel iMac off of Apple Palace.

20 iMac 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (MA589LL/A-X) - Apple Parts #(MA589LL/A-X) - ApplePalace.com

I upgraded it to 2 GBs of memory.

Is this somewhat comparable to the new aluminum models?

Click me!

Dude, stop what you're doing and pay attention. Save up the extra $99 and buy this. It's from apple, it comes with a Full One Year Warranty AND you can get applecare for it later on in the year!