Anyone buy a laptop from Costco? Can you share your experience?

[Anonymous]

The basic MacBook at Costco is great - I recently transitioned to it after finding that PC laptops seemed ever more flimsy. Plus in these cloud-based days, I store less on my machine than ever in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need a new laptop quickly. I am sick and have no desire to research. I don't want a MacBook; they're too expensive for me. The budget is around 1k, but less would be good, too.

Many thanks for suggestions, and if you got a great laptop not from Costco, please let me know the make and model.

The irony is that a 1k budget is about what a Macbook costs at Costco.

Okay, yes, I did see that. But what is storage on those? I have never used a MacBook, so I'm not sure if I can just transition to it.

Www.costco.com is your friend if you want to know specific hardware configurations - RAM, storage, screen size, or whatever - this is true both for Mac and for Windows. Costco offers a wide range of different laptop hardware configurations — both for Windows and for Mac.

Microsoft Office is available natively for the Mac, including Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook, Word, and that is the key for most people. However, Microsoft Visio and Microsoft Project are NOT available for the Mac. All the usual web browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, & Opera) are available at no cost both for Mac and for Windows.

I switched to Mac about 20 years ago mainly because it was easier to use. YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I need a new laptop quickly. I am sick and have no desire to research. I don't want a MacBook; they're too expensive for me. The budget is around 1k, but less would be good, too.

Many thanks for suggestions, and if you got a great laptop not from Costco, please let me know the make and model.

The irony is that a 1k budget is about what a Macbook costs at Costco.

Okay, yes, I did see that. But what is storage on those? I have never used a MacBook, so I'm not sure if I can just transition to it.

128+ GB. More than you will ever need.

That is a lot.

[Anonymous]

That is a lot.

No it isn't. Not in 2024.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That is a lot.

No it isn't. Not in 2024.

DP. DS has a macbook for web browsing, email, and other random things - not for work. Has 256 GB storage, which is fine for now.

Next time we will choose 512 GB or 1 TB storage because tv/movies/videos, many family pictures, and huge music library all consume lots of storage, but also because we refuse to use iCloud so everything is stored on the laptop. We would need the same storage if we were on a Windows laptop, fwiw.

[Anonymous]

My Costco laptop was not good.
I went back to Mac’s
You can get a used Mac for $1000
My Mac’s last 5+ years

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for posting. I have not gotten the laptop yet; I was even sicker yesterday. Hopefully, Tuesday is the day.

[Anonymous]

Can you get repairs at the Apple Store for a Mac purchased at Costco or a different retailer?

[Anonymous]

We’ve gotten several Costco laptops. For work and for college bound kids. You can buy a solid well equipped laptop for under $1k. We’ve gone with HP lately. Very happy with purchases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve gotten several Costco laptops. For work and for college bound kids. You can buy a solid well equipped laptop for under $1k. We’ve gone with HP lately. Very happy with purchases. [/quote
OP here. My current laptop is HP. I got it in 2018and it works ok, but the battery hardware is busted. I replaced it several times, but it was a no-go and only works when plugged in.
The only thing that was really horrible about it was the microphone; as soon as I got it, the drivers were on and off, and as soon as it would update, I could not use the microphone, or I could hear nothing when playing a video. As you can imagine, when it was no fun when having to attend meetings online.

Did you have any such issues with your HPs?

[Anonymous]

If you've never used a Mac stick with a PC from Costco or wherever. There's definitely somewhat of a learning curve with Macs and it sounds like you're not up for that right now.

The last laptop we bought for our business we prioritized size (wanted 10-key pad and not a tiny screen) and RAM. I would get whatever extended warranty they offer.

Sound is not going to be great on any laptop speakers but will be fine with headphones.

[Anonymous]

Pick it up at the warehouse and open it right there. Make sure they are sending some used or repackaged laptop. If so, immediately return. Don't do any transactions with them through the mail. There is so much fraud and they and they will blame you and treat you like criminal

[Anonymous]

I buy most electronics at costco. Their return windows are more generous than Apple's

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you get repairs at the Apple Store for a Mac purchased at Costco or a different retailer?

As long as it's not black or grey market, yes. Costco is an authorized retailer, so you'll be fine. They'll even sell you apple care

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP here. My current laptop is HP. I got it in 2018and it works ok, but the battery hardware is busted. I replaced it several times, but it was a no-go and only works when plugged in.
The only thing that was really horrible about it was the microphone; as soon as I got it, the drivers were on and off, and as soon as it would update, I could not use the microphone, or I could hear nothing when playing a video. As you can imagine, when it was no fun when having to attend meetings online.

Did you have any such issues with your HPs?

Oddly enough, yes! We had battery issues that got worse over time. For the longest time it wouldn’t even charge when plugged in. Solution was to download the HP tool (I think it originally came installed but we removed early on) and then let tool check laptop. We also power cycled a few times after and actually switched plugs on surge protector. Now laptop charges!

Not sure about your mic issues.