Effective Living > Technology > Apple
Summary. This page offers instructions for purchasing computers, software, and other technology from Apple for Higher Education Academic Institutions.
Online Purchasing. According to Apple, online purchasing using a Procurement Card (PCard) is now possible. Here are the steps.
- Go to Apple’s portal for educational purchases at apple.com/education/store
- Click the Higher Education link under the heading Purchasing for your institution?
- The resulting page will offer buttons for Create Quote or Authorized Purchaser Login. Click on Create Quote. You’ll actually be purchasing online, even though the button says you are only creating a quote.
- The resulting page will let you select your school with the School Locator by selecting the state and city where your school is located. Once you have identified your school, click the button to Continue. Your school may have a personalized Apple Education Store portal. If so, continue to the store, or whatever store you are directed to. This will initialize a specialized purchasing process to ensure that your purchase isn’t taxed. Some pricing and options may be customized for departmental and institutional purchasing.
- Find the items to purchase. Configure if necessary and then add them to the cart. Click the continue button when your cart has the desired items. This will take you to the Review Your Proposal page where you can change quantities or remove items as needed. You may now use the Purchase with PCard button a the bottom of the page. You’ll need an Apple ID – preferably one created using the email address that is affiliated with your institution. Assuming you have an Apple ID setup, click the Purchase with PCard button to complete the order and provide the login email address and password for the Apple ID you’ll be using.
- If you wish to use the traditional over-the-phone method of completing your order, click on the Create Proposal button.
- You will arrive at the Proposal Information page. Fill out the form, then click Continue.
- You will arrive at the Thank You, Your Proposal Has Been Sent page. Save this page. You should also receive an email confirmation of your web proposal.
- Call 800-800-2775 and choose option 4, then option 3. The person who answers the phone will need your name, billing information, and the web proposal number. They will complete your order over the phone.
Authorized Purchasing Agent. If you wish, you can register with Apple as a purchasing agent for your academic institution. You can place orders online with your Procurement Card (PCard) using the ID you create as described in step #4 above, and presumably have greater purchasing power. The discovery of this process is found by clicking the Learn More link under the Authorized Purchaser Login button on the page in step #3 above. To apply, from the Learn More page, click on College or university purchaser link under the heading What is an Apple Authorized Purchaser? Then fill out the form. Please note that the system does not currently allow you to use an existing Apple ID. If you’ve already setup an Apple ID using your institutional email address, this may pose a problem. You should probably just try using that Apple ID and purchasing using a PCard as described above in step #4.
Apple Policies and Procedures. On 28 October 2009, a representative of the Apple Enrollment Team provided the following clarification regarding online purchasing for academic departments and institutions.
You do not need any special access to use the “Purchase with PCard” button. All you need is an Apple ID, and any Apple ID will do. You also do not need to submit your cart as a proposal first. Simply add the items you want to purchase to your cart and click on “Purchase with PCard” instead of “Create Proposal”.
This information makes it unclear why there would be an application process for becoming an authorized purchasing agent, if anyone can simply use a PCard to purchase.