Hey everyone, has anyone heard about this new store in Hawthorn (Melbourne) on Glenferrie road? It’s called Experimac Hawthorn, anyone been in there? I think they buy, sell and trade Apple products and also do repairs…
Started in the US and they franchise. Locations out. They have three locations here in Australia.
They’re Australian website has some issues, http://www.experimac.com.au with a lot of it appearing to be copied from the US website https://experimac.com.
Franchise video: Experimac Franchise Overview - YouTube
Interview with founder: The Experimac Story: From Auto Sales to Computer Sales via Franchising - YouTube
Ah okay cool thanks, wonder how it’s going to fare in Aust…
I live in Hawthorn and walked by here a couple of weeks back. It was yet to open but the store was in the process of being fitted out. I’m not sure if they’re an official Apple Reseller or not? My guess is they chose this location because of proximity to Swinburne and the big Student Market, and also riding on the coattails of the departed Streetwise which used to operate across the street.
If not authorised… that would limited them to 2nd hand and/or grey imports, yes?
Yeah they only sell second hand A grade stuff apparently
Not sure about the videos… maybe just cause I’m not an American I found it a bit b-grade. Maybe I’m just used to slicker marketing these days.
The stores like like time capsules to Apple Premium Resellers from 10 years ago. I’d be amazed if they can pay the rent on Glenferrie Road for long! I guess they may do a lot of iPhone screen repairs!
I believe they’re owned by United Franchise Group, same owners of chains like Signarama and EmbroiderMe.
They aren’t Apple authorised, so they have more flexibility over repairing with second hand or aftermarket components. Components would most likely be imported from China, but non-official components as Apple doesn’t sell those outside of their own service provider network.
Second Hand repaired machines and Mac / iOS repair seems to be their main business. They also purchase machines as trade-in for a reduced price and sell them for a profit, somewhat like the pawnbroker model but dealing exclusively in Apple products.
Haven’t purchased from them personally, considered looking at some of their older model iMacs and Mac minis but their prices - at least on their website - seem to be a reasonable amount above private resale value. You would receive an Experimac warranty on the machine, making it eligible for in-warranty after-sales service and support through Experimac stores, but to me as someone that does my own servicing and repairs that wasn’t enough to justify the higher price.