At the Mall

Image via Wikipedia We went to the mall today. I have to say, I wasn't tempted to buy anything. I just kept looking at everything and seeing it in dusty piles in my home. No more carp for me!

We were there to visit the Apple Store. As a long-time frugalist, a few years ago we bought my husband's iMac reconditioned from the Apple web site, and saved hundreds of dollars.

Well, it died last week. Not before he took a good backup. He ran some diagnostics, and checked with some tech colleagues (he runs a computer repair shop), but, ultimately, it was dead.

There were a couple of bad moments there. I mean we are not in a position to buy a new computer.

But, the genius who is Mr. Poorhouse had the brilliant idea to check with the Apple web site for ideas about the problem. Lo and behold, his iMac serial number indicates it was part of a recall for a faulty video card that causes just the problems we had been experiencing.

So we were at the mall for an appointment at the Genius Bar at the Apple Store. And guess what? Even though the computer is long out of warranty, this particular recall EXTENDED the warranty, and they are going to replace the logic board AND the power supply. FOR, get this, FREE! (I like free.)

Yay!

While we were at the Apple Store, I was once again amazed at how crowded the place is. I don't get the attraction. Once you have a computer and and iPod, why do you need to hang out there? But people do. Anyway, I, for one, was not tempted to buy anything.

Polly's Pointer:

1. Check with the manufacturer when anything breaks. You never know if there's a hidden warranty, or if the company just wants to extend you good will. Believe me, if the same thing is breaking on lots of people's widgets, the company knows about it.

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