Alleged Apple eBay Store Offers Better Deals than Apple Refurb Store

[KDNYC]

I just bought a 13" MBA @ $899 from this eBay seller. It's scheduled to arrive next week I have been sitting on a MBA purchase for a while, and it was a good discount.

Nearly all my Apple products for several years have been refurbs purchased from Apple. With the same (and extended) warranty, it's a no-brainer. Other than the refurb sticker, can't tell from new.

I have no idea if this experience will be the same, but we'll see! If Apple comes out with a Retina MBA in the next couple of weeks, I might send it back, but not if it's a price difference of more than $300, which it probably will be.

 

[MrXiro]

I just bought a 13" MBA @ $899 from this eBay seller. It's scheduled to arrive next week I have been sitting on a MBA purchase for a while, and it was a good discount.

Nearly all my Apple products for several years have been refurbs purchased from Apple. With the same (and extended) warranty, it's a no-brainer. Other than the refurb sticker, can't tell from new.

I have no idea if this experience will be the same, but we'll see! If Apple comes out with a Retina MBA in the next couple of weeks, I might send it back, but not if it's a price difference of more than $300, which it probably will be.

I wanted to get that too. But I guess they limit only 2 sales a month per buyer. So I'm SOL. Hopefully they'll have another one up next month.

 

[cxny]

What's wrong with NY & tax?

umm about 8.875%

 

[Drunken Master]

Anyone feel like buying me an early Christmas present?

Daddy needs a new MacBook Pro.

 

[shoulin333]

Nothing, what is wrong is that they waste what they collect.

NY is technically bankrupt.

Most states run on more federal dollars than state general fund money. States can't hold federal monies from year to year so by definition they have to spend it all in order to get the money again the next year. This is why all the states and Feds are broke and at the end of every fiscal year states use up remaining federal money that is about to "expire" to buy unneeded office furniture.

Broke by design.

 

[Judas1]

Move along. Nothing to see here. Apple sells their products at such a high margin, they can afford a secondary market with lower margin. Think brand name clothing in stores like Marshall's.

 

[nikespex]

I recently purchased a refurbished airport express for this eBay seller. I was a little skeptical of their claims that it was Apple Certified and comes with a 1 yr warranty, but when it arrived I was pleasantly surprised.

It arrived in a perfectly-sized protective outer brown box just as it would from Apple and inside the airport was in a plain white box embossed with the airport logo. It was shrink-wrapped with an actual Apple label and serial number inside. Even if the seller is not Apple, the merchandise is definitely straight from Apple.

Mine shopped from Indianapolis via UPS:

Redmond, WA, United States 03/01/2013 2:04 P.M. Delivered
03/01/2013 5:21 A.M. Out For Delivery
Redmond, WA, United States 02/28/2013 11:58 P.M. Arrival Scan
Spokane, WA, United States 02/28/2013 4:22 P.M. Departure Scan
02/28/2013 10:14 A.M. Arrival Scan
Indianapolis, IN, United States 02/26/2013 4:50 A.M. Departure Scan
Indianapolis, IN, United States 02/25/2013 8:04 P.M. Origin Scan
United States 02/25/2013 3:46 P.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS

 

[photographypro]

Take a look again

Take look at the negative eBay feedback and their replies. This outlet is not run by Apple Inc.

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...=negative&interval=180&_trkparms=negative_180

Over 10,000 positive and 36 negative? I think Apple would be happy with those numbers. However, Apple does ship for free, and faster, so you need to take that into account.

 

[emulator]

Since when does Apple have an eBay store? Oh nevermind. Sucks eBay takes another 10% just to sell there. Surprised they do.

You'd be surprised to see that everybody sells on eBay from Sony to Newegg and toysrus.

I know the people here tend to purchase only at apple retails stores while the smart shoppers get their apple stuff elsewhere.

I mentioned the iPod days ago in the iPod Touch forum. Thanks for noticing.

Yes, and this was mentioned on deal sites many months ago. Don't act like you invented GSM.

 

[malexandria]

ebay sucks

Beware of ebay, i"ve been ripped off a couple of times and eBay provides the bare minimal protection for their customers. It is weighted heavily towards the scammers. That is assuming you get any kind of "customer service" from ebay to begin with. I was scammed 10 years ago and never used them again, tried it again a few weeks ago, scammed again. Never again. And yes, I used the "research tools" before making the bid.

 

[mccldwll]

Ships exclusively to the US. This is definitely Apple, otherwise they'd be bypassing the fact that their products cost 50 times more in the EU.

No. It's an Apple authorized reseller of Apple refurbished or refurbished according to Apple specs to qualify for Apple warranty. It's definitely not Apple since sales tax is only collected in certain states. Apple would have to collect in all states where applicable.

 

[Squilly]

You'd be surprised to see that everybody sells on eBay from Sony to Newegg and toysrus.

I know the people here tend to purchase only at apple retails stores while the smart shoppers get their apple stuff elsewhere.


Yes, and this was mentioned on deal sites many months ago. Don't act like you invented GSM.

http://slickdeals.net

 

[See Flat]

Take look at the negative eBay feedback and their replies. This outlet is not run by Apple Inc.

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...=negative&interval=180&_trkparms=negative_180

your pointing to a feedback rating showing 36 unsatisfied customers and 10671 satisfied customers. That is probably a better satisfaction percentage that Apple has. 99.96% satisfied customers!!!!

 

[MrXiro]

Yes, and this was mentioned on deal sites many months ago. Don't act like you invented GSM.

No, I mentioned the significantly lower prices about the iPod Touch days ago. Why don't you go back to your mother's basement to troll some more?

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No. It's an Apple authorized reseller of Apple refurbished or refurbished according to Apple specs to qualify for Apple warranty. It's definitely not Apple since sales tax is only collected in certain states. Apple would have to collect in all states where applicable.

Very good point!

 

[KDNYC]

I wanted to get that too. But I guess they limit only 2 sales a month per buyer. So I'm SOL. Hopefully they'll have another one up next month.

Yeah, I had an email alert set up through Dealmac for a few months. Most of the reductions have been on the 11", but I was holding out for a 13" as I'm thinking the MBA will replace my 2010 21" iMac as a primary computer. If you wait a few weeks, you can expect either the same price or more likely a slight dip in price since Apple is rapidly moving stock before the next update.

 

[jimglidewell]

Best Buy

Am I the only one who noticed they are offering optional Geek Squad extended warranties? While Apple has allowed 3rd party sales of refurbs for years (I bought my refurb G5 through Small Dog), I do not know of any resellers of Geek Squad services.

Best Buy is the actual seller.

 

[jnpy!$4g3cwk]

I took a look at it. Incomplete technical details on what you are buying. Makes me think it is all pretty much standard configs, no returned BTO systems such as you can get through Apple online store.

 

[Tech198]

Of course, eBay is gonna be cheaper........ We all knew that already.

But reading the article made my laugh too much ...

Seriously, Apple running the Store associated to eBay ? lol... What knuckle head would believe that.... Its a dude..... dude

After all this time my eyes have been believing the fact "Buy from an Apple only, as another other site can be shabby with cheaper."

This article really opened my eyes.... lol

 

[joefu]

The responses to the negative commentary definitely point to it being a large corporation. Most real eBay sellers will fiercely defend themselves and complain. This just says "we sincerely apologize and will contact you" every time.

 

[Cubytus]

This store is completely empty now.

umm about 8.875%

And how about 14.975% ?

Most states run on more federal dollars than state general fund money. States can't hold federal monies from year to year so by definition they have to spend it all in order to get the money again the next year. This is why all the states and Feds are broke and at the end of every fiscal year states use up remaining federal money that is about to "expire" to buy unneeded office furniture.

Broke by design.

Definitely. Even when you make a budget if you save money unexpectedly in a given part of it, are you going to put it in a savings account or try to find something to buy to spend it all, even if you don't need it? Turns out.. It may be a silly question to ask a North American.

Mine shopped from Indianapolis via UPS:

Redmond, WA, United States 03/01/2013 2:04 P.M. Delivered
03/01/2013 5:21 A.M. Out For Delivery
Redmond, WA, United States 02/28/2013 11:58 P.M. Arrival Scan
Spokane, WA, United States 02/28/2013 4:22 P.M. Departure Scan
02/28/2013 10:14 A.M. Arrival Scan
Indianapolis, IN, United States 02/26/2013 4:50 A.M. Departure Scan
Indianapolis, IN, United States 02/25/2013 8:04 P.M. Origin Scan
United States 02/25/2013 3:46 P.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS

If only Apple offered something else than the crappiest carrier there is (hence their truck's color), I wouldn't be so wary of custom-ordering anything from them. Or, alternatively, if they allowed shipping directly in-store so they would have to deal with their chosen carrier, not me.

I know the people here tend to purchase only at apple retails stores while the smart shoppers get their apple stuff elsewhere.

Smart shoppers that don't need what is unavailable in refurb. Because there are a LOT of stuff unavailable in refurb. First among them would be ISO keyboards.

Beware of ebay, i"ve been ripped off a couple of times and eBay provides the bare minimal protection for their customers. It is weighted heavily towards the scammers. That is assuming you get any kind of "customer service" from ebay to begin with. I was scammed 10 years ago and never used them again, tried it again a few weeks ago, scammed again. Never again. And yes, I used the "research tools" before making the bid.

Problem is, eBay has no competition. So even if you hate their sh¡tty service, outrageous fees and scammers all around, you keep on coming back there.

 

[Spink10]

Never bought any Mac off Apple - saved hundreds maybe thousands by now - zero problems.

 

[charlituna]

My guess is that it is a 3rd party certified apple retailer/repair senter. (I used to work for one.)

Apple offers up huge pallets of refurb things at amazing prices but it is all "as-is".

But if Apple sold it to them as is then there's no one year warranty from Apple as the listings claim. That's the point of As Is.

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One possibility is it gives Apple a way to dispose of excess inventory w/o having refurbs always available in their online store. If they did that, they risk converting new sales to refurbs; by keeping availability tight they avoid getting people used to refurbs always being available.

Apple has a refurb section on their site. As if you look at the warranty options on this eBay store it will show you all you need to know about how fake this store is in regards to being official. Your options are Geek Squad and Square Trade, not Apple Care.

 

[MrXiro]

This store is completely empty now.

No it's not. They're out of MBAs but they still have ton of iPads and iPods.

 

[Cubytus]

No it's not. They're out of MBAs but they still have ton of iPads and iPods.

Yes it is.

 

[MrXiro]

View attachment 401616
Yes it is.

What country are you in? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you're not in the US and they don't sell to your country.

Here's a screen grab from 30 seconds ago: