There is no need to pay Apple’s full suggested retail price for the shiny sweet MacBook Air you have been lusting for. Whether you are in the mood for refurbished — a great value point that I recommend and take advantage of — or want a new unit, serious MacBook Air discounts are available.

A good starting point is the wide selection — just the sub-$1,000 units are included here — Apple Certified Factory Refurbished MacBook Air models, both current and previous generation.

• [p] 11-inch MacBook Air 1.4GHz, $799 (1099)
— 2GB, 128GB SSD, GeForce 320M

• [c] 11-inch MacBook Air 1.6GHz i5, $829 (999)
— 2GB, 64GB SSD, Thunderbolt, HD Graphics 3000

• [p] 13-inch MacBook Air 1.86GHz, $899 (1199)
— 2GB, 128GB SSD, GeForce 320M

• [p] 11-inch MacBook Air 1.6GHz $929
— 4GB, 128GB SSD, GeForce 320M graphics

• [c] 11-inch MacBook Air 1.6GHz i5, $999 (1199)
— 4GB, 128GB SSD, Thunderbolt, HD Graphics 3000

There are Authorized Apple Resellers that offer good discounts on new, never used MacBook Air models with markdowns ranging from $50 to hundreds. Two of the most competitive offerings can be found at Amazon and MacConnection:

• Full Apple MacBook Air line @ Amazon, from $939.99
— New not used

• Full Apple MacBook Air line @ MacConnection, from $949.99
— New not used