A few months back I needed to replace my aging Mac Desktop system, but before I placed the order (and our accounting dept. went ballistic), I thought I’d better price out the system first, with all the Ram and drive space I would need. When I configured the rig through Apple’s Online Store it came out to $4, 647.00 (see above left).
When I saw the price, I then headed over to the NAPP member Website, because Apple created a special version of the Apple Online Store for NAPP members, with special discount pricing, so I wanted to compare the two and see if it was worth it.
I was blown away to learn that the exact same system, configured the exact same way, was $382 cheaper ($4,265) using the standard NAPP member discount). I thought it was amazing enough that I had to take the screen captures you see above, comparing the two stores (which both have the exact same items, but obviously NAPP members get a better price, which I think it awesome!).
Anyway, after I saw that comparison it hit me. If you were thinking of buying a new Mac, even if you never used Photoshop, didn’t own it, and had no plans of buying Photoshop, you’d be better off to join NAPP for $99, if for nothing other than to save another $293 bucks on your MacPro system (of course, depending on what you buy, the percentage of discount could be more and less, and darned if I can figure out how it’s calculated). If you already belong to NAPP, make sure you buy your Apple Gear from the Apple store within our member discounts page. (If you’re not a NAPP member, you can find out how to join right here).
If you want to buy a PC instead (or any PC hardware or accessories), we have a member discount set up with PC Mall, so you can get your NAPP member discounts online through them (again, you start at the NAPP member discounts page on the member site). They even offer Macs and Mac accessories at a discount, too through their “MacMall” division.
The main reason I wanted to share this is that I know a lot of members take advantage of these discounts pretty religiously, like the free shipping from B&H Photo or discounts on everything from OnOne Photoshop plug-ins to discounts on Office Supplies (they use the money they save to offset their annual $99 membership). But I also know a lot of members never even check to see if we have discounts on the stuff they buy every day. It’s amazing the depth of what we’ve been able to negotiate (it helps when you have more than 70,000 paid members).
Believe me, if it’s related to your work, or your passion, we probably have a discount already in place for you. Just check the NAPP member Website under the discounts link.
