Sell using ebay or?

[KingJosh]

Is it recommended to sell a Mac Pro using ebay or should I use something different?

This will be my first time selling something through postage and also of this size. Should I advertise locally instead(for pickup) or branch out to the whole country?

[Gav2k]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4s: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Yeah eBay is fine. Just take plenty of photos of the device including serial numbers etc, the device powered up showing the about this mac screen with the serial number showing. Also the boxing up process so if there is any issues your covered. I also squiggle over the packing tape so if it's tampered with it shows. Had one claim when I sold an iPad that eBay sided with me as I fired lots of photos at them and the shipping weights.

Also if the buyer picks it up never take PayPal always take cash on collection to avoid the oldest scam in the book!!

[LostSoul80]

I wouldn't say it's recommended, but as long as you can find a buyer with at least some positive feedback and you document properly both the item and (for example recording with a camera) your trip when sending it off, it should be fine.

I'd suggest however trying to search for local opportunities before selling it online.

[mike457]

To some extent, it depends on where you live. I'm in a small town, and the nearest areas served by Kijiji and Craigslist are either 50 or 100 kms away. The 50 km one is a small city, so there tends not to be a lot of interest there.

Nonetheless, I would try Kijiji and Craigslist first, just for a couple of days, before going to eBay. In my experience, if it doesn't sell in the first couple of days on those local means, it probably won't sell at your current price. I find people buying on those lists usually are quite price sensitive, looking for real bargains and not really knowing the worth of the item, while sellers tend to overestimate their prices by a lot. Last week, I saw someone on Kijiji offering a Mac Pro for $2700 when the same model could be bought refurbished from Apple for $2200. Be prepared to do some negotiating. You will need to be ready for the fact that a buyer will probably want to see the computer working, so you may need to be willing to meet with them in your home or office.

eBay, on the other hand, gives you a way to figure out what you would probably get by looking at completed auctions, so you have an idea in advance what things will sell for, and you get a wider audience. The starting price can be tricky. Both eBay and Paypal take fairly substantial cuts of your profits, and you do have the headache of packing and shipping, a real problem if you don't have the original box. BTW, the advice about photos and saving shipping receipts is excellent.

You might want to look for interest groups that offer buying and selling, like ehmac in Canada.

Good luck!

[ericrwalker]

I cut back on Ebay too many scams, I prefer Amazon and Craigslist now.

[AppleMatt]

I'd try Gumtree first; no fees (you'd be surprised how much eBay charge), less scams, frequently buyers collect so don't have to package it up and worry about courier dropping etc.

AppleMatt

[Mike Valmike]

Originally Posted by ericrwalker

I cut back on Ebay too many scams, I prefer Amazon and Craigslist now.

You'd prefer Craigslist because eBay has too many scams? Are you sure you didn't get that reversed?

In reply to the original post, yes, eBay is a fine way to sell it, but protect yourself as Gav2k explained. If you are able to pack it safely and document everything about the shipping, you're quite safe from scams -- PayPal will not reverse a confirmed delivery if you show evidence that you packed up the real item and not a box of gravel.

[ericrwalker]

Originally Posted by Mike Valmike

You'd prefer Craigslist because eBay has too many scams? Are you sure you didn't get that reversed?

If you've gotten scammed on craigslist you're the fool. How can you get scammed meeting a local person at a neutral public place and exchanging cash? Unless you were robbed by force.

If you mail an item on ebay and they say you sent them an empty box, ebay/paypal is going to side with the buyer. Not the seller.

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Originally Posted by Gav2k

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4s: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Yeah eBay is fine. Just take plenty of photos of the device including serial numbers etc, the device powered up showing the about this mac screen with the serial number showing. Also the boxing up process so if there is any issues your covered. I also squiggle over the packing tape so if it's tampered with it shows. Had one claim when I sold an iPad that eBay sided with me as I fired lots of photos at them and the shipping weights.

Also if the buyer picks it up never take PayPal always take cash on collection to avoid the oldest scam in the book!!

There are people that don't have the same outcome as you, even with your "documented proof". They could say you mailed them a brick.

[7thMac]

Amazon marketplace is bad from a buyer's point of view. There are no pictures and very little description of condition.

[bigdaddyc188]

Originally Posted by ericrwalker

I cut back on Ebay too many scams, I prefer Amazon and Craigslist now.

Are you selling on Amazon as an auction?

[Spink10]

Originally Posted by ericrwalker

If you've gotten scammed on craigslist you're the fool. How can you get scammed meeting a local person at a neutral public place and exchanging cash? Unless you were robbed by force.

If you mail an item on ebay and they say you sent them an empty box, ebay/paypal is going to side with the buyer. Not the seller.

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There are people that don't have the same outcome as you, even with your "documented proof". They could say you mailed them a brick.

Well said - If you do everything right Craigslist is scam free.

[ericrwalker]

Originally Posted by bigdaddyc188

Are you selling on Amazon as an auction?

No, I just list in the market place. It pretty much sits there until it sells.