Thinking of getting a macbook but not in any rush to buy. Do they have sales in January like normal computer companies or am I aswell just to buy one now?

lol

refurb?

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

As above – refurb is your best bet for picking up stuff cheaper – don't worry about the 'refurb' tag, they're sold as, and are as good as new – just might be the previous model/spec.

Yep, I've had two refurbs (Ipods, not Macs) and I'm quite convinced they were brand new. I think they use the 'refurb' route to shift previous/excess stock rather than discounting it as new.

find a friendly student. they get ~20% off.

Get 3% off via Quidco

Dixons tax free at airports is by far the lowest price i've seen for Apple stuff. No idea about the practicalites, or whether they're current models, but last week the cheapest iMac they had was £860 whereas the cheapest on Apple's site is £999

According to this you can call ahead and they'll get stuff in for you.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=55167