Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

I got scammed :/

ipodlover77

ipodlover77

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 17, 2009
1,376
406
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Just wanted to get my story out. Just got scammed on craigslist a few minutes ago.

Found a deal to trade my 2010 base air + 315 for a 2011 MacBook 13" with i7 and 8gb ram.

Met at a safe area. We both brought a friend along. I saw his laptop, couple of scratches and one or two dings. He said it was in excellent condition so I was a bit peeved. He saw that and said alright, 250 is fine. He apologized that his grading isn't as harsh as mine. First thing I do when I open the computer is check the info. MacBook 8,2, core i7, 8gb ram check.

I'm driving home. Still kind of mad that the laptop has scratches and little dings when he said there was none. He didnt have the box cause he threw it away so I didn't give him the airs.

So I'm at home cleaning the comp. It's all grimy so I'm cleaning the keyboard and screen. When I get to the side, I notice something. The thunderbolt icon is not there. It's the mini display part icon. So I'm freaking out now. What's going on. I turn on the comp again and yeah, it says core i7. Than I check my finder, 238gb free space. Huh? But there's nothing on the comp. I check the serial number from the info screen, apple support says it's a early 2011. Whew that was close. Than I click register and it says it can't. Now I'm beginning to get real worried. The missing thunderbolt and the low hard drive space are the the beginning. I flip the comp over and the writing on the bottom is Kind of rubbed off. I'm hoping it's from friction from going in and out of his bag. But than I see the real serial number. WQ.

It's a mid 2010 MacBook pro. I just got scammed for my air and 250. I should have been more thorough but the excitement of such a good deal blinded me. I assumed that the system info would always tell the truth. I thought it was impossible to have fake info. When I try to restore with snow leopard, I get an endless boot and the "press hold to turn off comp". The only consolation is that the MacBook has warranty till this august.

Laugh at me or call me stupid. I feel extremely crummy right now.

I'm usually so thorough and the one time.

God I'm dumb. Great. Broken old generation comp. Go me :/

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Btw. Called his phone. Goes straight to voice mail.

His name was "steven smith"

It gave me iffy feelings but again my greed got to me. DAMN MAN. SO BLOWN.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Ouch. I never knew that people could edit the system info.

I'm sure he's laughing with my immaculate air in his hand and 250 in the other. I'm guessing he's using a go phone or a google voice number. He kept saying "I'm running out of minutes"

I feel so effing stupid.

Btw. Thanks for not laughing.
 
Sorry to hear you got scammed. On a bright note the Airs should be getting updated within a month, so he will have an even older model ;)
 
Not to be a jerk, but the guy didn't really lie. It IS an i7, just the last i7 and it sounds like his add didn't say QUAD CORE, did it? Also, I purchased my 2010 MBP i7 in February 2011, so yeah, you can have a 2011 MBP that is an i7 but IS NOT the latest upgraded one and still be telling the truth. Did he say which HDD in his ad was in it? It also could be he left a bunch of crap on his HDD, i'd format and clean install anyway.

If I sold mine I could easily and honestly say it is a 2011 i7 MBP because it is. It was purchased in 2011 and is an i7. Sucks you didn't check everything before you sealed the deal, but I do not think the seller is really scamming you. I mean, he met you, showed you the computer, even let you turn it on and gave you the chance face to face to question or back out and you didn't. What did he do wrong really?

Again I am not trying to sound like a jerk, but I really do not think the seller scammed you. More like he got the better of the deal.

Edited to add, wait, I am not sure you could get an i7 in the 13" in 2010, could you? If not, then I take it all back, he scammed you. Sorry.
 
marc11 said:
Not to be a jerk, but the guy didn't really lie. It IS an i7, just the last i7 and it sounds like his add didn't say QUAD CORE, did it? Also, I purchased my 2010 MBP i7 in February 2011, so yeah, you can have a 2011 MBP that is an i7 but IS NOT the latest upgraded one and still be telling the truth. Did he say which HDD in his ad was in it? It also could be he left a bunch of crap on his HDD, i'd format and clean install anyway.

If I sold mine I could easily and honestly say it is a 2011 i7 MBP because it is. It was purchased in 2011 and is an i7. Sucks you didn't check everything before you sealed the deal, but I do not think the seller is really scamming you. I mean, he met you, showed you the computer, even let you turn it on and gave you the chance face to face to question or back out and you didn't. What did he do wrong really?

Again I am not trying to sound like a jerk, but I really do not think the seller scammed you. More like he got the better of the deal.

Edited to add, wait, I am not sure you could get an i7 in the 13" in 2010, could you? If not, then I take it all back, he scammed you. Sorry.
Click to expand...

No, MBP 13 i7 came only after this year's model (2011). Call the cops. Hope you get yours back.;)
 
marc11 said:
Edited to add, wait, I am not sure you could get an i7 in the 13" in 2010, could you?...
Click to expand...

That's correct, you couldn't. All 2010 13"s were C2D.

To the OP, I wouldn't quite give up yet eventhough the whole thing does smell fishy. Have you checked all the details in "About this Mac" and "More Info..." are OK?
 
Hello this post is making me paranoid, I won a 2.7Ghz i7 13" MBP on ebay and it's not sealed. So how would I check and know for sure what is in my MBP?
 
ipodlover77 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I check the serial number from the info screen, apple support says it's a early 2011. Whew that was close. Than I click register and it says it can't. Now I'm beginning to get real worried. The missing thunderbolt and the low hard drive space are the the beginning. I flip the comp over and the writing on the bottom is Kind of rubbed off. I'm hoping it's from friction from going in and out of his bag. But than I see the real serial number. WQ.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the whole thing was shady to me, I sure hope for your sake its not stolen.
Information about recieving stolen property click here

Possesion of stolen goods
 
Last edited:
eUnique said:
Hello this post is making me paranoid, I won a 2.7Ghz i7 13" MBP on ebay and it's not sealed. So how would I check and know for sure what is in my MBP?
Click to expand...

If you pay through paypal and with a credit card you are double protected. Ebay is a bit better than Craigslist in that regard. Not a lot but a bit better.
 
Sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately I doubt the cops would be of much help. Craigslist is always a gamble. Whenever I sell/buy from there I always make sure to thoroughly test the items bought or count the money given on site. It takes extra time and if they buyer/seller isn't willing to put in that extra time it's a clear indication that they are scamming you. But best of luck to you in hopefully getting this sorted out.
 
If it sounds too good to be true....

Anyhow, on a related note, I am honestly flabbergasted that anyone would trade one computer for another one, or buy a used one. Even if my best friend had a computer model I liked and he offered some kind of deal, I still wouldn't take it. Computers are too sensitive, and even under the best conditions, there is no telling what is going on inside. It's more hassle than it is worth.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

You should have noticed something was wrong when the system info said "MacBook Pro 8,2". The 8,2 is the 2011 15" MacBook Pro. The 13" is model 8,1.
 
Legion93 said:
I just found a seller selling a MBP 8GB i7 256GB SSD for $500 bucks. He says he's from Nigeria, should I take the deal?

:p
Click to expand...

Ask him to say hello in Nigerian to verify his identity. If he manages to do so, buy it!

;)
 
palpatine said:
If it sounds too good to be true....

Anyhow, on a related note, I am honestly flabbergasted that anyone would trade one computer for another one, or buy a used one. Even if my best friend had a computer model I liked and he offered some kind of deal, I still wouldn't take it. Computers are too sensitive, and even under the best conditions, there is no telling what is going on inside. It's more hassle than it is worth.
Click to expand...

Flabbergasted.... if that's the case, my activities would utterly flabbergast you. So much so, that i would be worried. You see; I buy and sell USED GEAR!

Yes, it's true, it's crazy I know... and reckless, but hey? I'm NuTZ :p
 
Icy1007 said:
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

You should have noticed something was wrong when the system info said "MacBook Pro 8,2". The 8,2 is the 2011 15" MacBook Pro. The 13" is model 8,1.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately its not something I think most people remember - although I would've probably been tempted to walk away as soon as I saw it wasn't exactly as described. OP: Hope you get your air or something back form him. Thats a terrible buying experience - even though I mainly deal with older models I guess Im lucky I've never had anyone try to pull the "edit info" trick on me - I've bought enough Macs thats for sure.
 
after a three hour sleep, im still in a terrible mood. im mad that he was able to pull a fast one on me, a person who browses macrumors daily. i dont know, maybe its cause i wanted to finish the deal quickly, i can't believe i missed and ignored those stupid signs.

Its as if i lost 500. fantastic.
 
Macsavvytech said:
Have you rung the police yet?
Click to expand...

i figured theres no point. he said he lived in PA so we met half way in baltimore at towson mcdonalds. so only towson mcdonalds would maybe have a video of him. he seemed to use his go phone or a fake phone for his number and gave me a fake email. i never emailed him back with the "wtf man" cause of my pride and cause he'll probably take joy in the fact that he suckered me.

i paid 1250 for a 2010 macbook pro with 250 gigs of ram. hahaha. go me. i thought about selling (after maybe getting it checked out at apple) but realized i dont have the money to put more into a computer. i would be lucky to sell this for 800, after that i would have to put in 250 more for the microcenter deal. at the end of the day, i would have spent 650 dollars out of pocket.

i guess this is a lesson. an expensive lesson.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back