By Matthew Radecke
Staff Reporter
Badger Central Bookstore is now an accredited Apple reseller. At the start of the fall semester, new merchandise became available for students to buy at the Badger Central bookstore, including Macbooks, iPad Airs, Apple Pencils, and more. Edgardo Yebra, the staffing coordinator at the bookstore, said that the newfound variety of electronics has benefited students.
“They know Apple. They know the brand. That’s exactly what they want. And then you have the other people that need that budget friendly PC or laptop.” Yebra said.
Until recently, low supply made it difficult for students to buy or rent electronics from the bookstore. The bookstore was restocked at the beginning of the fall semester, but supplies ran low again within just a week. Because Apple is coming out with yet another update featuring new devices, students who are interested in buying or renting electronics at Badger Central may have a bit of a wait ahead of them. Yebra said that Apple will be sending Badger Central some of its newest devices for resale to Amarillo College students.
But according to Miranda Alvarez, the electronic seller and buyer at the Badger Central Bookstore, it wasn’t just Apple that suffered a drought.
“This semester was kind of crazy because we sold out of a lot of Windows computers. I had probably six models up there- six or seven models of just nothing but Windows- and they sold out.”
Alvarez also said that Badger Central is working on a deal with Samsung. If that deal is finalized, students can expect to see a table in the bookstore dedicated to selling Samsung products, including laptops, tablets, and Samsung watches.
One of the major goals that Yebra and Alvarez had since being employed at Badger Central was to bring new and refurbished Apple products to the bookstore. Yebra said students stand to benefit from the advanced features of the new Apple products.
“It’s just a different world that we live in, and we’re just trying to connect everybody.” Yebra said.
Shauntaysha Jefferson, a nursing major at Amarillo College, said that the Macbook she bought from Badger Central was around $600 cheaper than a Macbook of the same model at a conventional store. She also said that transitioning from an old Chromebook at Caprock High School, to the new Macbook from Badger Central has yielded a dramatic increase in quality.
“It’s affected me really nicely. Screen quality wise, I can actually see my work a lot clearer than I used to.” Jefferson said.
Yebra clarified that, after the coming update, Badger Central will no longer be selling the older Apple products to students.
“We have an agreement with Apple to only sell the latest and greatest products from Apple.” Yebra said.
Badger Central also offers device repair services, which includes free diagnosis. According to Yebra, Badger Central is looking into the possibility of becoming an authorized Apple repair center.
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