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Nobody likes to do anything at the last minute, but sometimes you can’t help it. If you’re looking to get a Mac before Christmas or before the year ends, you should do it during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales.
This will give you the sale prices and plenty of time to prepare that gift for a loved one or cross the item off your annual shopping list. Now that it’s over, Mac prices have mostly stabilized back to the standard MSRP—however, you may still be able to get a good deal on a Mac that fits your needs.
Where can I find a good deal? How do I know if a Mac is right for me? Can I really get a Mac before Christmas? Don’t worry; we’ll answer all the tough questions so you know exactly what you’re doing.
What kind of Mac should you buy?
In this scenario, you will get a Mac for mainly two reasons: gift or work. With Christmas approaching and the urgency of this type of purchase, most of those reading are probably in the former category.
Gifts should ideally be thoughtful decisions based on your special understanding of the needs of the giftee. In Mac terms, this means you should buy a Mac based on what the person does for work or hobbies. Someone who does a lot of video editing, for example, would need a Mac with a good processor and plenty of storage, so a Apple silicon MacBook Pro with a minimum of 512GB of SSD storage would probably be a good gift.
However, if you’re buying a Mac and looking for something cost-effective with broad appeal, you should get a MacBook Air or an iMac. They can be relatively cheap (sub $1,000 new) and are almost always in stock at most retailers. We strongly recommend the MacBook Air (M1, 2020) as a standard gift for someone who needs an entry-level Mac.
Note: While it might be tempting to buy one Intel Mac, we don’t recommend it since Apple will probably stop supporting Intel products in the near future.
Where can you buy a Mac quickly?
Almost all retailers and online stores that sell Macs can get a Mac to you in less than 48 hours. Of course, your results will vary depending on your location, logistical variables, access to stores, and what time of day you place your order. After a quick search, we found delivery times for some popular retailers:
Apple Store: You can get a brand new Mac from here in less than 24 hours.
Apple Store renovated: A refurbished Mac from Apple usually takes up to 48 hours to arrive.
Amazon: Delivery times vary Amazonbut most are under 48 hours.
Walmart: : Many options here take more than 72 hours with free shipping. You don’t have to go to Walmart if your Mac purchase is urgent.
Best Buy: You can get a Mac from here in 48 hours – with some offers, like the 13-inch M2 Air, arrive in about 24 hours.
That said, the fastest way to get a Mac is to pick it up yourself from a store. If you are near any authorized Apple retailer or a brick-and-mortar Apple Store, you can also take the unit and go to pick up the item to avoid any delay. Although it’s worth noting that the new M4-powered Macs have very long delivery windows. If you need any M4 products, you need to get them from a physical store yourself.
How to find the best last minute Mac deals?
You’ll find deals on Macs almost anywhere except the Apple Store. Of course, some places offer better deals than others, but it largely depends on what you’re looking for. The best thing to do is to enter the Mac you want in your favorite retailer and see what the business has to offer. But we’ve found some interesting last-minute deals that are still going on at some retailers:
B&H Photo Video is on sale at the last minute on Mac mini and MacBook Pro.
Walmart has its aforementioned 13-inch M1 MacBook Air deal and it’s about some refurbished MacBooks.
Amazon currently has several Mac offers, including MacBook Air M2 13.6-inch and M2 Mac mini.
Best Buy has a plethora of MacBook and iMac deals that can help you undercut the Apple MSRP and still get the products on time.
Yes, we know if you’re reading this, you’re already in a hurry, but we added this line to tell you to double your urgency. These offers will not last.
Some things you should know before rushing to buy a Mac
Scams. They are everywhere. Try to stick to tried and tested retailers, and don’t fall into otherwise obvious traps in your run. Likewise, try to avoid restored or refurbished items unless they come from reputable sources. Note that other sellers outside of Apple may be selling refurbished Macs on Amazon – always check to confirm who the seller is before taking out that credit/debit card.
Of course, time is of the essence. Triple check the delivery dates before placing your order, and if you don’t have a membership (like Amazon Prime, for example), you should get it to speed up your shipping.
