Cancel my MB order with Apple for MBP off ebay?

[will0407]

I finally receieved an order confirmation from apple saying my macbook will ship on 27th June (which is 2 days short of being a month after I placed the order-29th May), and will be delivered on or before 6th July so I'm a little p****d off, and have been for a while now.

I was looking on ebay for a case, but came across what looks like a decent offer:

MacBook pro
100GB 7200HD
1GB (2x512) RAM
2.0Ghz
£1099 (I can collect so won't need to pay the postage)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Apple-Macbook...34QQihZ009QQcategoryZ4606QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

My Macbook will have the following specs:

Black (2.0Ghz)
512MB Ram (2x256)
120GB 5400HD
£1004 (NUS order, so get 3 years Applecare/ warranty thing!)

I've already got 2 1GB stick of RAM to put in, whichever option I choose.(I could sell the 2 512MB sticks and get a little bit of money back) So, is it worth me getting the deal on ebay?I've emailed to enquire about warranty etc.

Will I get more problems with the MBP than the MB? As if I would, then it's probably worth me keeping the MB, as I get 3 years of apple support / warranty.

I am attracted to the idea of a bigger screen, as my brothers 12" PB looks a little small, so I'm not sure whetehr I'd be 100% happy with the 13" MB screen, however, there's no way I could afford a brand new MBP from Apple.

 

[andiwm2003]

the macbook pro would be £1,529.00 at the apple store and he sells it for 1099? sounds like a scam. be careful, 50% of all macs on ebay seem to be scams.

ask for photos. whenever they copy/paste the ad into their ebay listing with useless marketing infos i get suspicious.

 

[will0407]

thanks for the reply andiwm2003. I've emailed and asked if I can collect it. If he says that it would be OK for cash on collection, do you think it is worth me getting that instead of the MB?

I'm goind to Uni in Sept, so would onyl be using the basic software app, (word etc), but I like to do photo and video editing now and again, so would the MBP benefit me in any way, as the processors are the same speed, and I'd have 2GB RAM in whichever one I choose. Only real benefit I can see is the 15" screen (which I'd prefer), but then there may be problems with moos/ whines etc with the MBP- I keep asking myself how, if it IS a genuine sale, he can afford to sell it so cheap- maybe he got it even cheaper as it has defects etc.

 

[gammamonk]

I'm always really suspicious of ebay sellers. I've sold tons of stuff on ebay, but I've never bought anything.

I've heard bogus sellers setup tons of accounts and make bogus transactions between them (no money exchanged except for ebay fees) all to get that big haul where someone buys a non-existant $2000 laptop.

 

[xfiftyfour]

it seems like a great deal, but i'd be wary just like the others (brand new apples waaaaay underpriced?.. think of it, would YOU sell your brand new, unopened MBP for a hit, if you'd just bought it legit and for full price?).

perhaps ask for the serial number and check it out with apple themselves?

if after all your research and such you decide it's a legitimate purchase, then i'd go for it.. it IS a great deal, afterall.

 

[w8ing4intelmacs]

seems like a good deal, especially since you're picking up. let us know what happens.

 

[jsw]

Well, be advised that picking up an expensive item means going somewhere with a lot of cash... people have been mugged doing that.

Do whatever you feel like, but I'd also be suspicious of a too-good-to-be-true price from someone you don't know.

 

[medea]

If you do call Apple to cancel your order they may offer you a deduction from the original price. It has happened before to people who called to cancel. They'd rather take a little hit than to lose a whole sell. Just don't tell them you are going to purchase off ebay.

 

[Dunepilot]

If you do call Apple to cancel your order they may offer you a deduction from the original price. It has happened before to people who called to cancel. They'd rather take a little hit than to lose a whole sell. Just don't tell them you are going to purchase off ebay.

This is good advice. See if they'll sweeten the deal for you.

If you do decide to buy the eBay MBP, get the guy's details in advance and pay £10 to have your bank make out a banker's draft to the guy who you're buying the MBP from. This way you're not carrying cash, but you're able to make the sale with a guaranteed cheque that your bank can trace through clearing, should anything go badly wrong.

Oh yes, and you MUST inspect the MBP if you do the transaction person-to-person. There is a common scam where people sell an apple laptop box full of crap to make it weighty when in fact there's no mac in there.

 

[yellowmunky]

forget ebay will0407

go direct with refurb apple uk

Refurb MacBook Pro 15.4" 1.83GHz /512MB /80GB /SD /AE /BT @ £928.85

Refurb MacBook Pro 15.4" 2GHz /1GB /100GB /SD /AE /BT @ £1,156.35

Get the mbp over the mb as the above deals are too great to pass!

Both machines are Apple Certified and backed by warranty

 

[Acehigh]

BUY IT!...How is this auction a scam, he will let him pick up the computer and check his feedback. Did you even look at his feedback?! Find out if you have to pay before you pick up. If you can bring him cash, seems alright.

He sells Black Macbook for 849. He must be buying them with some sorta of discount. This isnt Dollars its in Pounds... Maybe he is buying them without VAT on the grey market.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4606&item=8827465668


Also find out if you can buy direct from him at a discount since he wont have to pay ebay fees. If you want the black one he been selling them for 849 maybe he has more.


The auction seems real, the question is to buy direct from apple to get the Applecare free or buy paying cash. No sure if you need the receipts for taxes or something else.

 

[onthat]

I wouldn't trust anyone on ebay, feedback is not always a guarantee...a lot of it is BS. My friend Cory is a ****ing scam artist and he found a way to get 100% positive feedback with about 98 bogus sales just by talking to some guys on a forum. Feedback is meaningless, ebay is dangerous.

 

[will0407]

Thanks for the reply guys....keep them comin!I feel like i've got a devil on one shoulder telling me to go with it, and an angel on the other saying, stay with the MB! (couldn't really think of a better way of describing!)

Anyway, I got a reply, he said "cash on collection is no problem. The warranty is full as never registered and the box is unopened and only a month old.", but I thought a warranty period begins the day you buy it.??!!(correct me if I'm wrong). If it's a month old, why has it been sitting there for a month and not been opened?Sorry if I sound pesimistic, just trying to make sure I look at it from every argument, as £1100 is a hell of a lot of money for someone who will be scrounging for coppers as a student next year.

With regards to the refurb MBPs, I can't really afford to spend over 1100 all in one go- I've emailed the guy to see if he can drop his price if I pay privately as it'll save him the ebay fees etc.

If he takes over £50 off it, I may have a little word with the parents and try and get it!

 

[will0407]

cancelling the order

Each of the five times I;ve phoned apple up, i;ve said I may cancel the order, but they haven't done anything, or said, well, if you hold on we'll give you so and so refund. I';ve only heard people in the US getting money off, I;ve haven't yet heard of someone in the UK that has managed to

 

[will0407]

cancelling the order

Just got another response: "Hi, I'm selling this for a friend at work and he got it about 3 weeks ago and the label of shipment from Apple is around the end of May. We have no receipt of purchase as he bought this along with a couple of the little ones from his sisters husband who works for an apple reseller. He got them cheap through his work. We have sold the small ones on ebay and just have this big one left. We are willing to take £1050 for cash if we avoid ebay and paypal fees."

any opinions on that?£1050 seems like a bloody good deal to me

 

[Macky-Mac]

Just got another response: "Hi, I'm selling this for a friend at work and he got it about 3 weeks ago and the label of shipment from Apple is around the end of May. We have no receipt of purchase as he bought this along with a couple of the little ones from his sisters husband who works for an apple reseller. He got them cheap through his work. We have sold the small ones on ebay and just have this big one left. We are willing to take £1050 for cash if we avoid ebay and paypal fees."

any opinions on that?£1050 seems like a bloody good deal to me

of course it seems like a bloody good deal!!! that's the bait!!!

I dont believe it! LOL....maybe it's stolen goods. Nobody sells a brand-new-still-in-the-box apple computer for a third less than its list price....if it was legit, they could have "returned" it to Apple for more than they're selling it for. And the thing about no receipt???? very shady....anyway, if there's any conflict with apple over the warranty you'll need a copy of the original sales receipt to verify your claim so be careful!!!

and the clock would have started running on the warranty when they bought it, not when you buy it from him....so yeah, it's already lost a month of warranty


shady shady shady

 

[will0407]

Macky-Mac, we're on the same wavelength! The thing about there being no purchase receipt is what has finally persuaded me NOT to go with it. If it was all done in a legit fashion, then surely there would be a receipt.

Maybe it is a geniune good deal- someone else will get a bargain, but I'm gonna leave it and stik with my MB. Thanks for all the input- really helped alot.

 

[gnasher729]

I finally receieved an order confirmation from apple saying my macbook will ship on 27th June (which is 2 days short of being a month after I placed the order-29th May), and will be delivered on or before 6th July so I'm a little p****d off, and have been for a while now.

I checked out his feedback a bit more carefully. If you check the people who bought from him, they have sold stuff themselves to people who bought from him, or bought from others who bought from him, and so on and so on and so on. Maybe my impression is wrong, but there seems to be an awful lot of selling between the same people to improve feedback.

It's your money, of course, but I'd keep my fingers off it. (And of course, he can reply that you can pay cash and pick it up yourself, if he knows that you live an awful distance away, or if he hopes that someone else will win the auction to make them feel safer. He can always have one of his chums outbid you at the last second. )

 

[Jamesw]

...

I recently cancelled my order of my MacBook 2.0Ghz and was asked if they could sweeten it by giving me $100 off. I of course said ... no . I want a MBP 2.16. I just got a job so the cash flow is coming in. This was in Canada btw.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Here's what may have happened - based on another report I read much the same.

You show up with the cash, you say "let's open the box and have a looksee" He says : "Oh no, man, cause if you decide not to buy it I don't have a sealed box anymore an I lose money on it." You hand him the cash, then open the box. The machine is refurb, used, wrong model or it's a sack of rocks. His 3 large friends enter the room and suggest they could help you carry your purchase to your car. Now. No arguing.

Or; you bring the cash, decide not to buy, leave the residence and the three large friends are waiting at your car to lighten your pockets before you go home.

Or you leave with the machine, and the three large friends retrieve it from you to sell to the next ebay buyer.

Its obviously organized, what with the positive feedback shill ring and the bogus story about the girlfriend's sister's husband or whatever. Apple or Apple dealer employees cannot buy machines in bulk at such a discount.

 

[will0407]

gnasher729, very kind of you to check out his feedback properly. I have decided to be patient and wait for my Macbook.
I'm tempted to phone up and say I'll cancel to try and get some money off, but I don't think they'll give me ay seen as I'm paying on the 6 month 0% interest scheme

 

[JackSYi]

I wouldn't trust eBay if you are going to buy a new MacBook. I use eBay frequently and although it is very safe (if you use common sense) there is some risk.

 

[Mord]

the standard practice for buying stuff in person is to get someone to wait around the corner with the cash go in and inspect it, if all is good get the guy to come out with it pay him from your friends car and hop in with the macbook.

1099 is not that cheap, only a bit more for a refurb

 

[Dunepilot]

You show up with the cash, you say "let's open the box and have a looksee" He says : "Oh no, man, cause if you decide not to buy it I don't have a sealed box anymore an I lose money on it." You hand him the cash, then open the box. The machine is refurb, used, wrong model or it's a sack of rocks. His 3 large friends enter the room and suggest they could help you carry your purchase to your car. Now. No arguing.

That's what I was referring to, as well. This is the favourite scam.

 

[Roba]

It looks like somebody else bought it now anyway or he may have decided not to sell but i expect that he probably made a private deal with somebody else.

I had a look at his feedback and i think that this seller was probably ok.