All iPads iPad I Purchased Through eBay Came Defected

jbachandouris said:

If Apple is willing to honor the warranty, then keep it. If it indeed is defective, call AppleCare and see if you have better luck with them.

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This is what I was thinking. You already have an iPad for less than you would pay in the store, and if you have to get it replaced under warranty, you're no worse off than the screen issue brigade who have replaced their brand new iPads, except you paid less to get an iPad.

I don't understand how that's not a win-win for the OP?

Finox831 said:

An update: I went and saw the Genius, he did a "test" on my iPad Air in the back room by simply playing music on my iPad Air, he said he didn't hear anything wrong with it (wasn't rattling/producing static at this point) and he said unless he heard it actually static/rattle that he couldn't send it in to get replaced. He also said he couldn't give me a new one since I didn't buy it through them.

Now, the eBayer gave me the option to keep the iPad Air that's under warranty until April of 2015 and he offered me a $110 refund as well, bringing the total cost of the iPad Air to $320. The iPad Air was brand new, everything was plastic wrapped and I also checked over the serials. Being under warranty until April 2015 means if something DOES happen, I could get it replaced for free...hopefully.

This is what he eBayer just wrote to me in regards to the refund: "I'll send you a check or money order, or a cashier's check if you want, but for some reasons of my own - nothing to do with this - I have to get it out to you next week. " Not sure how I feel about receiving the refund outside of eBay? is there a reason he wouldn't want to do it through eBay?

Keep the deal or go for the refund? in a sticky situation.

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I don't buy this, Apple will exchange a device at the Genius Bar regardless of where you got it, as long as it is still in warranty. I've purchased stuff from eBay and had it swapped out several times.

Defender2010 said:

I don't buy this, Apple will exchange a device at the Genius Bar regardless of where you got it, as long as it is still in warranty. I've purchased stuff from eBay and had it swapped out several times.

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I think what the Genius meant was that he couldn't replace the device under warranty because he couldn't document a hardware defect. But if the iPad had been bought from Apple, it could have been returned (since it would still be within the return period), and then a new iPad could be bought.

Night Spring said:

I think what the Genius meant was that he couldn't replace the device under warranty because he couldn't document a hardware defect. But if the iPad had been bought from Apple, it could have been returned (since it would still be within the return period), and then a new iPad could be bought.

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Bad speakers sound like a good enough reason. Guess if they can't reproduce the problem they won't exchange. Shame. Guess a return is the best bet for the OP.

Finox831 said:

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So the volume of the iPad Air seems to static and the speakers, which are located at the bottom of the iPad make the iPad Air vibrate/shake and static when using the volume at a low to normal level, or at any level for that matter. Funny thing is, I plugged in headphones to see what would happen and everything seemed to be fine, there was no static or vibration. After I unplugged the headphones the static and vibrations stopped, and haven't had it happen since.

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Chances are you dislodged a tiny amount of dew that had collected on the inside of the mini jack connector, possibly due to a temperature change between your delivery truck and your home.

I'd forget about it and enjoy your iPad if it's working now and the problem can't be reproduced.
There's nothing "defected" about it (u Russian or something ?

You have the warranty already acknowledged by Apple. So stop worrying.

Defender2010 said:

I don't buy this, Apple will exchange a device at the Genius Bar regardless of where you got it, as long as it is still in warranty. I've purchased stuff from eBay and had it swapped out several times.

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I don't think you read that correctly. He said the Genius couldn't give him a "New" one and that's correct. They could do a swap for him since they have iPads in the back for warranty replacements but they do not come in a factory-sealed box. They are in fact wrapped in the same plastic as if they came out of the box and they are unused.

Now if he said they refused to do a warranty replacement that would only be because they couldn't reproduce the problem and that's what he said. They are not going to swap it out just to make a customer feel better if they don't see anything wrong with it.

MisakixMikasa said:

What is il-legit for buying iPad Air on eBay? It is iPad Air from Apple, it is wrapped in plastic so it is brand new, it covers by warranty. Why not just ask Apple to replace it?

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The issue is the you don't know the source when you do easy etc. Could be modified, could be stolen. Heck the OP was lucky to get one that wasn't activation locked and the seller disappeared. It has happened to folks.

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Finox831 said:

This is what he eBayer just wrote to me in regards to the refund: "I'll send you a check or money order, or a cashier's check if you want, but for some reasons of my own - nothing to do with this - I have to get it out to you next week. "

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Has to wait for pay day or the original payment hasn't totally cleared the bank. Not really that fishy. That he's willing to offer a refund perhaps is, suggests he got the unit at a very low cost (perhaps free) so I might be cautious about keeping it for that reason. At the very least you might want to screenshot the listing and keep all emails to show that you has no confirmed knowledge the item was stolen if it comes to that. It's not a guarantee it was, could have been some kind of work gift and he didn't need it cause he already has one, but the records won't exactly break the bank in storage on your computer so why not cover yourself

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jbachandouris said:

If Apple is willing to honor the warranty, then keep it. If it indeed is defective, call AppleCare and see if you have better luck with them.

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You likely won't. Apple care doesn't have the power to override the stores so if they did as they should have and out in notes about the visit they will see the issue couldn't be reproduced and thus they have zero cause to replace it.

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Defender2010 said:

I don't buy this, Apple will exchange a device at the Genius Bar regardless of where you got it, as long as it is still in warranty. I've purchased stuff from eBay and had it swapped out several times.

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If it's confirmed defective via a hardware issue.

But a retail swap (which is what the genius was talking about) can only be on products bought at an Apple store or apple online

Take the credit and apple will cover the replacement for free under warranty.

Your seller has rarely sold anything on Ebay. Only 19 feedbacks received from buyers since 2007. All of those sales until about last fall have been for cheap items... then the sales mysteriously turn into one new iPad per month selling for way under market.

Take this as you will... but possible employee theft or shuffling the inventory numbers around comes to mind.

Also... refunding via mail may be a sign they don't want to bring unnecessary attention to what's going on. Anyone who has been on Ebay as long as 2001 well knows that all transactions... both payments and refunds... must run through Paypal.

Just speculation... but if it were mine I'd be insisting on a Paypal refund immediately and filing an official Ebay claim if need be.

ipad4fan said:

Your seller has rarely sold anything on Ebay. Only 19 feedbacks received from buyers since 2007. All of those sales until about last fall have been for cheap items... then the sales mysteriously turn into one new iPad per month selling for way under market.

Take this as you will... but possible employee theft or shuffling the inventory numbers around comes to mind.

Also... refunding via mail may be a sign they don't want to bring unnecessary attention to what's going on.

Just speculation... but if it were mine I'd be insisting on a Paypal refund immediately and filing an official Ebay claim if need be.

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Given the above info, I have to agree. I likely wouldn't have purchased an iPad from a seller with such a small and odd track record. I would buy on eBay from a proven seller, however.

Why do people keep buying Apple products from un-authorized sellers?

It sounds like this was basically what you deserved and taught you a lesson.

Señor said:

Why do people keep buying Apple products from un-authorized sellers?

It sounds like this was basically what you deserved and taught you a lesson.

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Sounds like the OP will be just fine.

HenryDJP said:

Now if he said they refused to do a warranty replacement that would only be because they couldn't reproduce the problem and that's what he said. They are not going to swap it out just to make a customer feel better if they don't see anything wrong with it.

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Why not? I thought Apple was supposed to be a very consumer-focused retailer. Instead, they are being described in this thread as a "Worst" Buy clone.

ipad4fan said:

Take this as you will... but possible employee theft or shuffling the inventory numbers around comes to mind.

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With Apple's tight inventory controls? I'd be surprised. They know the serial numbers of every iPad in their stores. It gets recorded when an iPad first enters the store and also when it exits via sale/replacement. If one were to come up missing, the serial would be immediately blacklisted and that means no warranty.

mrsean said:

Why not? I thought Apple was supposed to be a very consumer-focused retailer. Instead, they are being described in this thread as a "Worst" Buy clone.

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I don't see anyone saying any of the such or suggesting that. There is absolutely no reason for a store to exchange a product that has nothing wrong with it when it wasn't even purchased there. The OP purchased his iPad on Ebay.

HenryDJP said:

I don't see anyone saying any of the such or suggesting that. There is absolutely no reason for a store to exchange a product that has nothing wrong with it when it wasn't even purchased there. The OP purchased his iPad on Ebay.

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You're right. I think went too far with that comparison.

What I meant is that Apple seems to be the "go the extra mile for the customer" retailer. I know that OP is not a customer since he did not buy his iPad from Apple, but Apple replacing his brand new defective product as a one time courtesy could make a future customer out of him. I would think that they would be willing to take a loss of the cost to repair the defective iPad in order to gain a customer down the line. At least that what I be thinking if I were Apple. Of course they are under no obligation to do this.

mrsean said:

You're right. I think went too far with that comparison.

What I meant is that Apple seems to be the "go the extra mile for the customer" retailer. I know that OP is not a customer since he did not buy his iPad from Apple, but Apple replacing his brand new defective product as a one time courtesy could make a future customer out of him. I would think that they would be willing to take a loss of the cost to repair the defective iPad in order to gain a customer down the line. At least that what I be thinking if I were Apple. Of course they are under no obligation to do this.

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I think Apple do often go the extra mile for the customer, but it's a judgement call. When is something going an extra mile, and when does it become too much? As you admit, they have no obligation to replace a device that is functioning normally at the moment. I think just because they declined to replace it in this instance, it doesn't mean that the level of their customer service is going down.