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Buying an iPad from Amazon marketplace...

K

Koofa

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 2, 2011
17
0
US of A
Hi, y'all :) This may be sort of a dumb ? but I don't really know how "registering" your Apple product works..

I've had a couple different iPhones and that's it when it comes to Apple. I just purchased an iPad brand new and sealed from a seller on Amazon marketplace. It was pretty cheap (but now I see a couple companies are selling it for around the same price, so I don't feel that's what's makes this transaction so dodgy). I looked up the serial # when I got it today and it said it has Apple+ or whatever until Dec. of 2014 which is what he told me too, so that's fine.. however, I started reading things online about how if you don't have the original receipt and something happens to it (i.e. they buy insurance or something and then say the iPad was stolen/lost and it's in my possession even though I bought it) that I could be at fault. Is this true? Do you always need the original purchase receipt in order to have full "ownership" of your device?

This is what the lady @ Apple told me when I called. Also, when I gave her the name of the seller (the name he gave me, anyway), he wasn't listed as the purchaser/person registered? either. It was somebody else. How do they get the name of the owner of an Apple product if it's unopened? Through the credit card used? (Then what if a person uses cash? - so that can't be the way.) The seller told me it was a Christmas gift given to him (I asked him why the price was so low) and he just wanted to sell it for a lower price to get rid of it quick. The Apple lady assured me that iCloud hasn't been activated or anything with the device but that if I didn't have the original receipt, something could still eventually go awry down the line and I just don't feel comfortable taking that risk.

What made me wary is when I checked out his storefront earlier today - he had another iPad brand new and sealed listed for sale. Kind of weird to me - obviously he didn't get another one as a gift.. I mean, what are the odds?

I told him I was returning it because I just didn't feel comfortable with the fact that it didn't come with a receipt - I never opened it at all.

Can someone clarify HOW an iPad or Apple product in general gets a name/owner? If it's given as a gift for example, how would the person receiving the gift then be able to prove ownership? How does one prove that the iPad is actually theirs if purchased from a 3rd party seller? If someone decides to purchase from a 3rd party seller, what steps do they need to take to ensure that they have complete ownership and not have to worry about these sorts of things? Thank you for your advice in advance.
 
spyguy10709

spyguy10709

macrumors 65816
Apr 5, 2010
1,007
659
One Infinite Loop, Cupertino CA
Koofa said:
Hi, y'all :) This may be sort of a dumb ? but I don't really know how "registering" your Apple product works..

I've had a couple different iPhones and that's it when it comes to Apple. I just purchased an iPad brand new and sealed from a seller on Amazon marketplace. It was pretty cheap (but now I see a couple companies are selling it for around the same price, so I don't feel that's what's makes this transaction so dodgy). I looked up the serial # when I got it today and it said it has Apple+ or whatever until Dec. of 2014 which is what he told me too, so that's fine.. however, I started reading things online about how if you don't have the original receipt and something happens to it (i.e. they buy insurance or something and then say the iPad was stolen/lost and it's in my possession even though I bought it) that I could be at fault. Is this true? Do you always need the original purchase receipt in order to have full "ownership" of your device?

This is what the lady @ Apple told me when I called. Also, when I gave her the name of the seller (the name he gave me, anyway), he wasn't listed as the purchaser/person registered? either. It was somebody else. How do they get the name of the owner of an Apple product if it's unopened? Through the credit card used? (Then what if a person uses cash? - so that can't be the way.) The seller told me it was a Christmas gift given to him (I asked him why the price was so low) and he just wanted to sell it for a lower price to get rid of it quick. The Apple lady assured me that iCloud hasn't been activated or anything with the device but that if I didn't have the original receipt, something could still eventually go awry down the line and I just don't feel comfortable taking that risk.

What made me wary is when I checked out his storefront earlier today - he had another iPad brand new and sealed listed for sale. Kind of weird to me - obviously he didn't get another one as a gift.. I mean, what are the odds?

I told him I was returning it because I just didn't feel comfortable with the fact that it didn't come with a receipt - I never opened it at all.

Can someone clarify HOW an iPad or Apple product in general gets a name/owner? If it's given as a gift for example, how would the person receiving the gift then be able to prove ownership? How does one prove that the iPad is actually theirs if purchased from a 3rd party seller? If someone decides to purchase from a 3rd party seller, what steps do they need to take to ensure that they have complete ownership and not have to worry about these sorts of things? Thank you for your advice in advance.
Click to expand...

How do they get the name of the owner of an Apple product if it's unopened? Through the credit card used? (Then what if a person uses cash? - so that can't be the way.) -- when you buy an apple product through a retailer, you have to give them your name, to prevent fraud. That gets tied to the serial number.

Basically, you're thinking in terms of a regular company that puts profit over the customer experience and tries to disallow anything that would cost them money, in any way shape or form.

Apple is not a regular company in that regard. Applecare and Applecare+ are tied to the serial number, not the owner of the device. As long as that device is not reported lost or stolen, the extended warranty will stay with apple in their serial-number-based-system.

BUT - I don't know what to tell you. If you think the guy stole the ipad, ask apple if it was reported stolen... If it was, report him to amazon. I don't know what other advice to share.
 
A

Aspasia

macrumors 65816
Jun 9, 2011
1,345
101
Halfway between the Equator and North Pole
I've purchased several iPod Touch 5s and an iPad mini as gifts. As new devices, they were registered by those who received each gift.

They were never associated with my name, nor was a proof of purchase requested at the time they were connected to iTunes to set up the devices.

It may be that the device you purchased from an Amazon reseller was stolen.

For what it's worth, AppleCare+ extends the original one year warranty by two years and was first introduced by Apple in 2011, I believe. You didn't mention which iPad you purchased, but if the AppleCare+ coverage on the unit you purchased expires December 2014, I question just how "new" that iPad is.
 
K

Koofa

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 2, 2011
17
0
US of A
Aspasia said:
I've purchased several iPod Touch 5s and an iPad mini as gifts. As new devices, they were registered by those who received each gift.

They were never associated with my name, nor was a proof of purchase requested at the time they were connected to iTunes to set up the devices.

It may be that the device you purchased from an Amazon reseller was stolen.

For what it's worth, AppleCare+ extends the original one year warranty by two years and was first introduced by Apple in 2011, I believe. You didn't mention which iPad you purchased, but if the AppleCare+ coverage on the unit you purchased expires December 2014, I question just how "new" that iPad is.
Click to expand...

Oh, ok. Well she told me as of right now it's not reported stolen.. I just don't know what to be concerned about. It very well may have been legit (and in my case, dumb to pass up), but I just want to be safe. And I get what you're saying now about the Applecare+. I wasn't aware it was a 2 year thing (she mentioned something on the phone about it, but I didn't pay attention), thought it was only one year, but if it is 2, then I guess it had to have been purchased last year. Who knows if it was really brand new or not, he could have shrink wrapped it himself :/ Oh well.

----------
spyguy10709 said:
How do they get the name of the owner of an Apple product if it's unopened? Through the credit card used? (Then what if a person uses cash? - so that can't be the way.) -- when you buy an apple product through a retailer, you have to give them your name, to prevent fraud. That gets tied to the serial number.

Basically, you're thinking in terms of a regular company that puts profit over the customer experience and tries to disallow anything that would cost them money, in any way shape or form.

Apple is not a regular company in that regard. Applecare and Applecare+ are tied to the serial number, not the owner of the device. As long as that device is not reported lost or stolen, the extended warranty will stay with apple in their serial-number-based-system.

BUT - I don't know what to tell you. If you think the guy stole the ipad, ask apple if it was reported stolen... If it was, report him to amazon. I don't know what other advice to share.
Click to expand...

I didn't think that was the case - that once it's sold, it's out of their hands. I was just trying to figure out how they tie a device to a person. But thank you for clarifying for me so I understand a bit better now.
 
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