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AppleCare / Warranty when buying from non-Apple

T

TanyiaChaos

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 13, 2012
7
0
Hi,

I would like to know if there are some specific conditions applying when buying 'new' Apple hardware from non-Apple sellers (the list of authorized resellers is ridiculously small). For example, buying a sealed-box MPB from Ebay?
Could I go to Apple to use the 1-yr warranty? Or do I need to turn to the seller? What if I buy AppleCare?
Cheers,

Tan
 
A

aristobrat

macrumors G5
Oct 14, 2005
12,292
1,403
You should have no problems with Apple servicing your Mac, regardless of where you bought it from. Even if you bought it from an authorized reseller, they're likely to refer you directly to Apple for service.

Like Spink mentioned, the date that the included 1-year warranty may have already started, depending on how the eBay seller acquired the Mac.

As for buying the AppleCare Protection Plan, you can do to that anytime before the included 1-year warranty expires. I'd recommend that you only buy the AppleCare from an authorized Apple reseller, because if you have any problems with it (and purchased it from a non-authorized reseller), Apple will invalidate it and you don't have any recourse through them.
 
T

TanyiaChaos

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 13, 2012
7
0
Those were some quick responses (from a UK 11pm point of view :p)!

If the only issue is about when the Apple warranty runs, I'm not too worried then (a Retina warranty can't have started very long ago). I was thinking about buying the AppleCare from B&H since I understood this is the least expensive option, that can be trusted.

Would I need anything like 'when did the unauthorized reseller buy the MPB' date to register the AppleCare?

Cheers,
Tan
 
Spink10

Spink10

Suspended
Nov 3, 2011
4,261
1,020
Oklahoma
TanyiaChaos said:
Those were some quick responses (from a UK 11pm point of view :p)!

If the only issue is about when the Apple warranty runs, I'm not too worried then (a Retina warranty can't have started very long ago). I was thinking about buying the AppleCare from B&H since I understood this is the least expensive option, that can be trusted.

Would I need anything like 'when did the unauthorized reseller buy the MPB' date to register the AppleCare?

Cheers,
Tan
Click to expand...

Nope - as fas as the AppleCare warranty goes - there is no problems buying from an un-authorized seller.
 
gnasher729

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
TanyiaChaos said:
Hi,

I would like to know if there are some specific conditions applying when buying 'new' Apple hardware from non-Apple sellers (the list of authorized resellers is ridiculously small). For example, buying a sealed-box MPB from Ebay?
Could I go to Apple to use the 1-yr warranty? Or do I need to turn to the seller? What if I buy AppleCare?
Cheers,

Tan
Click to expand...

What country are you in?

Apple gives you one year manufacturer's warranty. However, if the source of the Mac is sufficiently dodgy you might have problems. For example, the one year clock starts ticking when the Mac is "officially" sold. In the EU, you have additional rights against the seller, who is responsible for more than a year that your Mac should work. Again, if the seller is dodgy, good luck.

If the Mac is cheaper than from Apple then there is a reason. Some people buy refurbished products and sell them on eBay for a profit, so you get the same item cheaper from Apple. If someone buys a Mac, changes their mind, and instead of returning it to Apple sells it to you two months later, that's two months warranty gone.
 
T

TanyiaChaos

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 13, 2012
7
0
Hi,
Thanks for the additional info.

I took special care of ordering a sealed-box from a 30k-feedback seller on Ebay, paying with Paypal. The discount is not huge, but on a Retina, 15% is already a lot (comparable to what I would get from amazon.co.uk, but they didn't have the 16GB RAM version).

I think the seller is able to sell them cheaper because if you take the US (untaxed) price and add the UK VAT, you're still 15-20% cheaper that the UK price (seriously Apple...). I'm from UK, and I actually prefer US keyboards. In any case, I will double check everything using the serial number (original buying date, stolen or not, etc...) before even opening the box.

I don't really hope to use the 'reseller' warranty anyway, I plan on buying the AppleCare and using only that, since there is a huge Apple Store in London :) I just wanted to make sure than Apple wouldn't be like 'we will take care of your laptop only after your reseller's warranty is finished'.

I'll keep you informed :)
Cheers,

Tan
 
gnasher729

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
TanyiaChaos said:
Hi,
Thanks for the additional info.

I took special care of ordering a sealed-box from a 30k-feedback seller on Ebay, paying with Paypal. The discount is not huge, but on a Retina, 15% is already a lot (comparable to what I would get from amazon.co.uk, but they didn't have the 16GB RAM version).

I think the seller is able to sell them cheaper because if you take the US (untaxed) price and add the UK VAT, you're still 15-20% cheaper that the UK price (seriously Apple...). I'm from UK, and I actually prefer US keyboards. In any case, I will double check everything using the serial number (original buying date, stolen or not, etc...) before even opening the box.

I don't really hope to use the 'reseller' warranty anyway, I plan on buying the AppleCare and using only that, since there is a huge Apple Store in London :) I just wanted to make sure than Apple wouldn't be like 'we will take care of your laptop only after your reseller's warranty is finished'.

I'll keep you informed :)
Cheers,

Tan
Click to expand...

Just saying: You will have no statutory rights whatsoever buying from a seller in the USA. So once the 12 months are over, that's it. Buying from a UK store, the seller will often have to fix problems for 24 months. And the resale value for a Mac with the "wrong" keyboard will be lower as well.

And if the Mac doesn't arrive, or arrives and is broken, Paypal will likely do - nothing. Life is complicated already, adding complications in case anything goes wrong to save a few pounds isn't worth it.
 
T

TanyiaChaos

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 13, 2012
7
0
Hi gashner,

Do you mean that even if I buy the AppleCare, that wouldn't work after the first year? Or are you just talking about getting warranty from the reseller itself (which I was not taking into account anyway)?
Let's be honest, it's actually a pain to make Apple respect the European two-years warranty anyway (see Italy news), and I'm not even sure UK is supposed to have it (being part of European Union but with specifics...).

I understood Paypal is actually quite ok for the buyers (many sellers complaining Paypal was always siding with the buyers). I'm not too concerned since no ebay feedback ever complained about not receiving the item in a sealed box. And in any case, Paypal would require the buyer to provide a signature for the proof of reception, so if the item never arrived, I can't understand why Paypal wouldn't help me.

I do understand your point though!

Cheers,
Tan
 
gnasher729

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
TanyiaChaos said:
Hi gashner,

Do you mean that even if I buy the AppleCare, that wouldn't work after the first year? Or are you just talking about getting warranty from the reseller itself (which I was not taking into account anyway)?
Let's be honest, it's actually a pain to make Apple respect the European two-years warranty anyway (see Italy news), and I'm not even sure UK is supposed to have it (being part of European Union but with specifics...)
Click to expand...

It's really the danger of dealing with someone in a foreign country, who you have to trust. If that person is honest, competent, and no accidents happen, you are fine. If something goes wrong, it's really hard to impossible to get what is yours from a foreign country.

The "Italy news" is not about Apple refusing people their statutory rights - it is about the Italians having a bee in the bonnet about Apple not making clear enough that you have statutory rights _against the store, not the manufacturer_ when you buy AppleCare, which means you might buy AppleCare because you think you have less legal protection than you actually have. (Using "warranty" instead of "statutory rights" really confuses things, because they are not the same thing, and one relates to the manufacturer (Apple), the other relates to the seller (whatever store you buy from)).
 
T

TanyiaChaos

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 13, 2012
7
0
You're right about the Italy, I wasn't clear. I wanted to say that I definitely heard many people complain about the fact they had to insist to get the (statutory) 2-yr coverage when they bought the computer from Apple (but they have mistaken their rights too, of course).

As you said, it can be hard using your statutory rights (against the seller) when buying from a non-established seller. I'm just not sure how these two things (statutory rights vs. warranty) interact. When the manufacturer is the seller, it is probably not important, but when it's not the case, it's blurrier (even when buying from an established seller like Amazon).

Can the manufacturer refuse to honour the warranty, and argue I need to talk with the seller first? Or, in my case, can I rely on the fact that for any hardware issue, I will be able to use Apple's manufacturer warranty (the base 1-yr, or the extended Apple Care 3-yr)? It would seem logical I can choose who I want to ask, but sadly there is a world between 'logical' and 'legal' :(

To be honest, this sort of complications arise only because the seller/manufacturer will always try to reject responsibility for things, even if they *are* responsible :p

Cheers,
Tan
 
T

TanyiaChaos

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 13, 2012
7
0
Hi,

I just received my package, brand new sealed box, not dodgy-looking at all, as expected :) Before tearing through the package, I'm currently checking the serial number (not stolen, etc...).

Apple website is not able to give me the purchase date, so I'm trying to get a receipt from the original vendor, to get a date so that I know when to buy the ACPP. Apple let me enter a date, but I suppose in any case I will have to back this date with a real receipt.

So far so good, I'll keep you informed, in case someone in the future find this whole thing useful.

Cheers!
Tan
 
L

LaunchpadBS

macrumors 6502a
Nov 11, 2008
653
5
iLondon/iDurban
B&H are authorized resellers, they offer Applecare for my 13" MBP at equiv £120($190) vs £199 in the Apple Store UK.

Would this Applecare be valid in the UK if I bought from B&H in the US?

Cause that's a massive saving.
 
gnasher729

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
LaunchpadBS said:
B&H are authorized resellers, they offer Applecare for my 13" MBP at equiv £120($190) vs £199 in the Apple Store UK.

Would this Applecare be valid in the UK if I bought from B&H in the US?

Cause that's a massive saving.
Click to expand...

I think you will need to check this on Apple's US website (not the UK website, because you are buying "US AppleCare"). As always with buying AppleCare, make sure that everything is correct as soon as possible - waiting until something is broken and then figuring out that something is wrong with your AppleCare is a bad idea.

To TanyiaChaos: Yes, Apple has to fix all problems for 1 year because they gave a manufacturer's warranty. In the UK, Apple Stores will act on behalf of "Apple the manufacturer", or you can contact Apple directly. What's in the manufacturer's warranty is entirely up to the manufacturer; in Apple's case I don't think there is anything that requires you to go to the seller first.

The other way round, the statutory rights against the seller are quite clear that you have rights against the seller, and they can't ask you to use the manufacturer's warranty first. After six months, statutory rights get somewhat weaker, so there may be cases where they refuse to fix the problem, and Apple manufacturer's warranty will fix it.
 
T

TanyiaChaos

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 13, 2012
7
0
Ah, that's something I though I have heard indeed, the statutory obligation from the seller prevents him to send you directly to the manufacturer, at least for a certain time. It seems the logical way of doing things, for once! Thanks for your help :)
 
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