It’s quite unbelievable that Other World Computing (OWC) has been around since 1988, back when the Macintosh II was relatively new. But the fact that the company is still selling high quality Apple-certified products to this date via its online store proves that OWC must stay afloat for very good reasons. Whether you want to upgrade or replace parts of your Apple device, get a second-hand one or ask for minor repairs, OWC’s online store MacSales.com will help you out in a jiffy for relatively affordable prices. The store, which encourages users to buy handy DIY kits, is also full of various special offers and provides a courteous and versatile customer support whether you are a regular or a first-time customer. And to top it all off, most orders can be shipped without paying a single dime or for customer-friendly prices, making MacSales.com a definite champion of Apple product retailers.
Up to 80% savings on special offers
Visit the Special Offers page of MacSales.com from time to time to find offers with up to 80% discounts, everyday deals and one-of-a-kind specials.
MacSales.com is the ultimate package when it comes to solutions with which you can boost or maintain your Mac’s performance. You can get virtually anything: SSDs (with or without the tool and external hard drive kit), internal or external hard drives, various types of system memory with lifetime warranties, and even software or complete operating systems. To make things even more appealing, MacSales.com pays attention to hardware compatibility: this is why there are mounts offered for those customers who want to install hard drives that are smaller than the available space in their Macs.
SSDs
Hard drives
RAM
My Upgrades
MacSale.com's offers
Users are further aided by the superb product search system built into the site. For starters, going through every product is not needed, you can simply filter through the list by selecting the Mac product in question (in our case a mid 2011, 13-inch MacBook Air) by using the “My Upgrades” tab or by selecting your Mac’s type from the drop down menu of the products. The former option is better since it enlists only those products that are compatible with your Mac, but even if you pick something from the individual menus (with repeating sub-menus) the site will notify you if the product might have compatibility issues with certain Mac computers.
Used and refurbished Macs
If you don’t fancy manual upgrades that require tampering with the different parts of your Mac, MacSales.com has a wide range of used and refurbished Macs – even if certain products and peripherals might be out of stock from time to time. No matter which type of Mac you prefer, all used computers and peripherals go through thorough testing conducted by certified technicians. To further assure high quality, all second-hand Macs are well documented via photographs, receive thorough descriptions, and get or are made compatible with the latest version of macOS.
If you are still worried about purchasing a used Apple product, MacSales.com hands you several ‘wild cards’, including a 14-day full money back guarantee and a 90-day limited parts and labor warranty. And to fully earn your appreciation, the company offers absolutely free shipping within the U.S. (excluding Hawaii and Alaska) and it also includes the Parallels Desktop for Mac software for free (which is normally $79.95) should the total equal or exceed $299.
Services
Aside from the already mentioned options and some other accessories (including laptop parts, cables, audio and video peripherals and the like) MacSales.com offers its own Repair Center, which is a limited service for various Mac products. ‘Limited’ here means that with the exception of iPods and older iPads and iPhones it is possible to only purchase upgrade packages for your device. However, if you are lucky enough to have a product that MacSales.com accepts for repair, you’ll be able to get almost anything from screens, batteries, special parts and so on, each with a 60-day warranty.
Service
Turnkey upgrades
The other service available, the Turnkey Upgrade Program, is much more interesting. It basically works the same as purchasing Mac parts as explained earlier. However, instead of being forced to install the updates yourself, it’s simply a case of determining which parts of your Mac should be replaced, choosing whether you want data transfer and extra software, and then picking the shipping method. Once done, MacSales.com does the ‘dirty work’ by taking away your Mac and bringing it back to you fully updated and upgraded.
Pricing
MacSales.com’s strongest aspect is its approach to discounts, meaning its range of products – from the cheapest to the most expensive – are often at a reduced price and sometimes include DIY kits. The site’s limited time special offers even mean that you could score a saving of up to 80%. As for those DIY kits, not only do you get extra tools (to be used later if needed), but the price of each individual item is cheaper if purchased as part of a full kit. Furthermore, MacSales.com is probably the best choice when it comes to value for money: for a lower price you’ll receive Apple-certified products with long-lasting warranties, which in the case of system memory, lasts for life.
But there’s even more: new products come with a 30-day money back guarantee, old memory can be rebated within 60 days of purchase should you buy a new one, and even second-hand Macs can be returned within 14 days if you have any problems with them. More than that, even, but not only is shipping free if the total exceeds $49, but items are typically delivered within 24 hours or less as well.
Customer service
Seeing how much attention MacSales.com (or to be more precise, Other World Computing) pays to documenting, describing and sorting its products, it wasn’t surprising at all that the company is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Although live support options like a phone service, email inquiries and live chat are only available during business hours and early Saturday, everything else is at your disposal 24/7. MacSales.com has a huge list of secondary support options, including a regularly updated blog, continuous presence on the most important social media pages (Facebook and Twitter), shipping info, a dedicated page for checking and tracking your order, how-to videos and articles, an FAQ, manuals, and so on. And let’s not forget the most important aspect: the support page is the best place to find valuable information regarding warranties and when and with which product you can apply for a rebate.
Support page
Contact form
Blog
How-tos
Bottom line
MacSales.com is definitely the right choice if you want to upgrade, update or replace parts of your Mac computer at affordable prices. Although the categorization of the company’s products is not perfect, customers are ‘persuaded’ to purchase kits instead of individual items, and the service can’t upgrade the most recent Apple products, MacSales.com still satisfies all expectations and even overachieves in certain some areas.
Finding the right product is easy as pie and they all come with a money back guarantee or a warranty to ensure the high-quality Mac standard that customers are used to. And, better still, not only are there plenty of discounts but orders are often delivered within a day without paying any extra.
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OWC just scammed me! I’ve been an OWC customer of OWC’s for well over 20 years, buying mostly hard drives from them. Recently I made a huge mistake buying a refurbished 2019 16” Macbook Pro from them. Knowing they are intent on selling this defective computer again to some other unsuspecting customer I decided to post this review.
After only four days of use, the computer began making a “pinging” sound, over and over again, even when sitting idle. I spent hours trouble-shooting this, determining that it only happened when it was running on AC with something plugged into a port. I spent hours on the phone with Apple Care, but they were unable to get it to stop. I made a recording of the pinging and took the computer to my local Apple Genius Bar. The Apple technician immediately knew what it was: He said the computer was drawing too much power, causing it to repeatedly cycle on and off. He said the motherboard needed to be replaced. But he warned me in no uncertain terms to return the computer to OWC for a refund because this computer was a lemon. Apple’s records showed its motherboard had already been replaced twice in 4 years, one of those times by a non-certified repairman! Of course OWC was or should have been fully aware of this.
I sent a lengthy email to OWC explaining the problem, attaching the audio file. A few days later I was stunned to hear they were charging me a 15% restocking fee of $240. I spoke to a “manager” named Liz who claimed their technicians couldn’t get it to malfunction and so they were going to charge me. I reminded her it took four days for the problem to surface for me, and asked her how long the OWC techs tested it. She didn’t know how long, and didn’t really seem to care. She repeated that their online return policy makes clear that in order to receive a full refund their techs have to be able to reproduce the problem and that OWC was entitled to charge me $240.
Coincidentally, the very next day I took a different Apple computer of mine in to be repaired at Mac Hollywood, a highly-regarded Apple repair store in Los Angeles. When I mentioned to the head technician the problems I had with the OWC computer and played him the recording of the pinging sound, he immediately diagnosed it exactly the same way as the Apple Genius Bar tech, assuring me the motherboard needed replacing.
So I called OWC and was directed to Liz again. I told her that a second highly-qualified Apple technician had diagnosed the motherboard as the problem. She said she would let the OWC technicians know that. I asked her if their technicians tested it for four days and were able to reproduce the problem themselves, would OWC give me a refund? She replied that my case was closed. I told her I was concerned that OWC would be re-selling this computer to some other unsuspecting customer. She didn’t express any particular concern about that.
What kind of company puts a person like that in a customer relations position? Never once did she ever say something like “I’m sorry you have been so inconvenienced.” From the very beginning I could tell Liz wasn’t the least bit interested in genuinely solving my problem.
Now that I am actually posting this review, I see that OWC has predominantly very negative reviews, which comes as no surprise. OWC knows full well the history of this computer’s motherboards, so you would imagine they might even feel a bit of shame for selling this to me. But they know what they’re doing.
Hi Bill, and thank you for reaching out to us! We're sorry to hear about your experience with OWC, especially when it comes to its customer service. While we can't help directly, we recommend going through with what the two technicians suggested. Have a nice day!
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