Affiliate Marketing Secrets

I’m buying a Macbook Pro computer as a gift for someone, and I want to know what the pros and cons are for buying at a Mac Mall store, which I understand is not directly affiliated with Apple, vs. buying the same Macbook Pro at an Apple Store. Which is the better place to buy the computer, bearing in mind that I’m giving it to someone else and they’ll have to deal with any problems the computer develops.
The person I’m getting the computer for is essentially an “applications person,” he’s familiar with using PC’s that run Windows software, he’s a very smart person but he’s not really expert at computers in general and Apple computers in particular. He has an iPad and loves it, and his background is electrical engineering.
So where should I buy the Macbook Pro?