I bought an M1 Air late last year for £909, new and boxed, unopened, via UK eBay. 16GB memory, 512 SSD, 8/7 CPU/GPU. Great machine.
At the time, I wanted the last of the wedge-shaped models, with the sort of spec I ended up with, and ideally space grey (which is what I eventually got). I’d almost written off the likelihood of getting one of these new though. Lots of 8GB models. Yet clearly they do come up occasionally.
Right now, for example, on the UK eBay site there is a similarly spec’d Air for sale (16GB memory etc), new and boxed (unopened) for £729.99 (including voucher discount, which ends today).
I know that M2, 3 and 4 models are available at great prices too but if anyone is keen to get the ‘classic’ Air model with 16GB memory then I think £729.99 is a very good price instead of going for a used model with its attendant risks.
I use my Air for text editing, proofing PDFs, e-mail, internet stuff and watching video content. It should do me proud for the next three to five years hopefully.
I was also impressed by the Air’s speakers when I bought it, and the keyboard and track pad are excellent too, in my opinion.
Good luck with your purchase, whatever way you go OP.