The Sale of Intel Mac Pro Pt. 2: Regional Support
I thought to expand on the whole regional support issue I had mentioned in the prior post. If you are here for the “regional support” only, the only relevant info from the previous op-ed is that it was one of the reasons why I ended up selling my machine. Warranty and importation in South Korea are tad bit weird in my opinion.
To start from the get-go, the only real importer for related accessories was Apple. No other popular Mac Pro accessories were released in Korea. As far as I am aware, even if we were to discount it as a niche product, the line up for the workstation was non-existent. I had to ship a case to hang more gadgets and cables around the machine for the Mac Pro from San Francisco. With that in mind, it simply dissolves one of the big advantages in using an Apple product — its ecosystem. Apple announced the possibility of different accessories in the Keynote. Last time I checked, even the official Apple store in South Korea didn’t have accessories in stock. It was never imported in big enough volume.
What’s worse, the sheer size of the workstation, even though it would be considered a mid-tower in the PC world, made shipping quite untenable. In South Korea, it’s common to either buy a pre-built, be that as it may an all-in-one, or building it oneself with the components that are imported. The importers have no interest in the whole PC for the right reason, and that means the couriers often don’t deal with the parcels of that size. Even the same-day shippers, ones that literally deliver an item straight to the recipient, don’t deal with a workstation of that size. My new build, using the Fractal Design North case, is significantly smaller even with the packaging; even though the internals are roughly the same.
Though the parts inside the Mac Pro aren’t all proprietary soldered-in SoC, majority of the parts were meaningless to remove from the case. For example, Mac Pro uses proprietary PSU no other manufacturer uses. Considering the premise of the Mac Pro as a platform, I understand this was a deliberate choice Apple has made with MPX and the platform to support MPX. However, let’s assume we would want to ship only a PSU. With Apple, the company would ask the entire unit to be shipped anyway. It is customary, in Korea, to send technicians from the importer or manufacturer if the product in question is too big for the courier. Mac Pro would fall in exactly that category. With Mac Pro, it became all or nothing. The market for buying and selling PC components was barred away.
Granted, if I were to go above and beyond to ship the parts of the whole machine to the buyer abroad myself, I might have been able to sell it off at the higher price than what was offered from the local computer recycling shop. For that to happen, I’d have to fashion a cardboard box for already reasonably big components or a big machine, then I would have to somehow take it to a courier that handles international shipping from Korea, or make an appointment for a pickup; that is, if the buyer is willing to pay for the shipping fee and the insurance incurred. Not to mention, had this been sold on eBay or any other international platforms, there are other financial paperworks to consider to get the money converted over to KRW. (note: it’s always easier to spend in USD than to earn in USD)
To be frank though, I am not happy with the ways importers and local manufacturers handle repairs and replacements in Korea at all. There is a reason why I chose Apple, because at least I would know the world of trouble I would get into should something break. With my newly built PC, I’ve already sent my PSU over to Corsair importer to have it replaced — Corsair has already announced a replacement program back in June, and the unit I purchased in July just happened to be not a revised one. I do not know for sure if it is caused by the issue covered in the replacement problem yet. But I do know this for sure: I don’t know how long my computer will be out of commission.
Having said all that, will I purchase another Mac Pro? I doubt it. I don’t think current form factor works in the region. I was surprised to find out the “trash can” Macs were actually more popular here due to its ease of handling. Not to mention, MacBook Pros now do pack a real punch. Like how Apple Silicon laptops have gained popularity, many are using laptops as desktop machines, connected with an external monitor, mouse, and keyboard. Apple Silicon Macs are really different when it comes to the form factors and performances; laptops and mini-PC equivalent machines are now powerful enough to stick a nose into otherwise unchallenged towers.