That was exactly my pain point back in 2007 when I wanted to get a specific configuration for the retina Macbook Pro. That's why I built RefurbMe as a comparison and monitoring service :)

Weren't the Retina displays for Macbooks released in 2012?

Indeed, my bad – I meant the first generation of the Macbook Pro (2006 Aluminum model). The retina came later in 2012.

They were. I still have one that I bought when they were released. Well, just a bit after they were released. At WWDC that year, the SF Apple Store sold out of them before I could get there after the announcement.

That first retina MBP ended up lasting me from 2012 until last year when I finally had to replace it. What a great computer.

Mine is still cranking, though it's recently relegated to couch duty as I use the 2019 iMac for WFH heavy lifting these days. I put a $29 upgraded WiFi module in it so that my watch will unlock it (and enables a bunch of other Bonjour functionality), but it otherwise just keeps humming along. I'm wondering if it isn't the computer I've kept and regularly used more than any other in the forty years since my first one.

You may wish to prefix "Show HN: " to your title.

Just updated that. Thanks!

I know it shouldn't matter on a practical level, but I love apple product boxes.

For smaller devices I'll even use them as drawer organizers. They're so rugged!

Apple's own refurbs usually come with a box identical to the retail one except they don't have the graphics and they are just white and just have a wordmark, e.g. "MacBook Pro", in the center, so you can still use them for storage.

I've only ever brought one Apple product and it was a refurbished "blackbook" - really was a no brainer, I got the top of the line model for the price of a base model MacBook with no discernible difference in quality. That laptop lasted close to 10 years with a few battery replacements along the way

That’s more a function of supply. 16gb M1 Air is almost special order. Mine from Apple had a couple month wait time.

A lot of walk-in places only seem to sell 8gb models with salespeople (falsely) claiming that 8gb is as good as 16 or 32gb on an x86 machine.

I bought a white macbook in 2006 from the apple refurbished store, no packaging differences from brand new.

I bought a 13" rMBP in 2016 from the apple refurbished store, no packaging differences from brand new.