So a friend of mine is about to lease a macbook pro from easy home here in canada, i was wondering isn't it businesses are not allowed to over price mac products? their leasing out macbook pro late 2011 models and the buy out price is $2900 for a 13 inch.

Yes, grossly overpriced. If you price out any item in those type of rent/lease-to-own services, you will typically pay twice the retail price by the end of the contract. Definitely no a wise purchase in my mind.

Sure they can. I'm sure they purchased the computer from Apple at the going retail price (or possibly lower if buying in bulk). After that it is no longer an issue for Apple. They are free to charge whatever their customer is willing to pay.

You are quite welcome. It always amazes me that these type of rent-to-own places actually exist when it is so easy for a customer to determine the true price of an item.

There are two groups of folks who gravitate to leasing over buying:

1) Business Users. Computers are considered Capital Equipment. Since it has a useful life of several years, a Business may not write off the entire cost in the current year. It must instead recapture the expense of acquiring the equipment over the useful life of the equipment.

Since you must pay out the purchase price in the current year, but you only get to write off that cost as a Business expense over several years, it sometimes makes sense to lease, even if the cost is exorbitant compared to buying outright.

2) Consumers with poor credit. It sounds like that furniture rental company is aiming at them.

Apple has a financing plan, most recently administered by Barclays. If you have good enough credit to qualify, and are not late in making your payments, and have the discipline to pay off the whole balance within the typical 12 month term, there is no interest.

But if you fail to make the monthly minimum payment, or fail to pay off the full amount in the stated time, the Interest rate is ferocious, something like 28 percent.

"Families who save for what they want are better off. Families who buy now and pay later are poorer for it."

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