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

Apple Geniuses Please Chime In: Lost in Transit Laptop

T

theturtle

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 3, 2009
579
35
This is for the people that worked at the Genius bar.
I recently came across this ebay listing for a fairly priced 2018 MacBook Pro. The price wasn't SO CHEAP that it made your head turn. It was probably 2-3 hundred cheaper than a refurb from the Apple Store. Coupled with the eBay bucks, I went with eBay.

When I checked the warranty, oddly enough it said that it was expired. The 2018 MacBook's came out July 2018 so even the very first shipments should all be in warranty for at least the next month.

I called Apple online and after some digging the rep. on the phone got back to me and stated that the laptop was deemed lost in transit and due to that the warranty was removed. He didn't say it was stolen but that it just said lost in transit in his system. I asked him what would happen if I needed to get it serviced and he mentioned that Apple would still service the laptop no problem but everything would be out of pocket due to it being out of warranty. My concern was that if I brought it in, they would confiscate it as again, it was deemed lost in transit. I didn't think I would ever need to bring it in as I never had any warranty issues before but I was just curious.

Lo and behold, I received the laptop today. The laptop won't turn on. I thought it might be a charging issue so I went home and got two spare chargers. Still nothing. I have an appointment set up tomorrow but my concern is coming to the surface again, will the genius bar confiscate the laptop?
 
Even though the chances are incredibly small, I can't help but wonder if you were sold the laptop I ordered in December that was "lost" in transit. Lol. It was a refurb space grey 13 inch with a 2.7ghz quad core i7 and a 256 GB SSD.

I doubt the rep would blatantly lie to you, but I wouldn't bring it to the genius bar. PayPal makes you return the item in order to receive a refund, so you'd be out of luck if they did confiscate it.
 
currahee2100 said:
Why can't you get your money refunded through eBay/PP?
Click to expand...
Exactly, clearly stolen, unless there’s more to the story, would be a slam dunk refund with documentation. If there is an open police case on the serial number, You are taking a chance, it is Apple’s property until signed for by buyer. Consider that Apple told you something is wrong with ownership of the laptop, they told you minimum info, but clearly know exactly what happened, so you become an accomplice if you keep it, and they know how to reach out since you called them.
 
Last edited:
burgman said:
Exactly, clearly stolen, unless there’s more to the story, would be a slam dunk refund with documentation.
Click to expand...
Yes it does sound incredibly fishy. It should be a clear cut case of just filing a claim and then returning it. There is no reason to keep a non functioning Macbook that is clearly having issues like this.
 
I'm quite confused. Did you call Apple prior to purchasing this laptop and they told you it was Lost In Transit and you still purchased it anyway??? Why would you purchase a stolen laptop?

A few hundred bucks savings isn't worth that hassle...
 
LogicalApex said:
I'm quite confused. Did you call Apple prior to purchasing this laptop and they told you it was Lost In Transit and you still purchased it anyway??? Why would you purchase a stolen laptop?

A few hundred bucks savings isn't worth that hassle...
Click to expand...

Oh I called them while the laptop was in transit to me (one day shipping)
That being said, I'm leaning towards just getting a refund. Even if Apple fixes it, there is obviously something defective inside and not sure I want to risk it for the savings but still. It was a pretty good deal. Kinda bummed tbh.
 
theturtle said:
Oh I called them while the laptop was in transit to me (one day shipping)
That being said, I'm leaning towards just getting a refund. Even if Apple fixes it, there is obviously something defective inside and not sure I want to risk it for the savings but still. It was a pretty good deal. Kinda bummed tbh.
Click to expand...

It was a good deal because it doesn't work. Which makes it be a horrible deal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: keysofanxiety, twanj, McScooby and 1 other person
I wouldn't have touched that deal with a ten foot pole. Sad how the allure of saving a few bucks sucks people into a fraud deal every time. I'm sorry that happened to you. Hopefully you'll get your money refunded and another chance to shop smarter the next time you fork out your hard-earned cash for a supposed good deal. Seriously, do your due diligence before you click the Buy It Now button. Get the computer's serial number and find out the history of the computer. Check the guy's feedback. Does he even have any? Did he just open his account yesterday? And if someone else buys it out from under you while you're researching the computer, then it wasn't meant to be. Move on. Sure hope you get your money back.
 
lambertjohn said:
I wouldn't have touched that deal with a ten foot pole. Sad how the allure of saving a few bucks sucks people into a fraud deal every time.
Click to expand...

2-3 hundred off refurb price seems like reasonable depreciation for what could be a year-old machine.

Unfortunately buying electronics off of Ebay is a Russian Roulette these days. Why would you sell it on eBay if the transaction would be a lot more secure on Swappa?

Apple probably won't "confiscate" the laptop since it isn't exactly clear-cut that it belongs to them, but do note that they are instructed to inform the authorities when they see evidence of a crime (e.g. when they see evidently content on Macs they are servicing).

If you show up in good faith and explain what happened, they will probably be nice to you.
 
AppleHaterLover said:
2-3 hundred off refurb price seems like reasonable depreciation for what could be a year-old machine.

Unfortunately buying electronics off of Ebay is a Russian Roulette these days. Why would you sell it on eBay if the transaction would be a lot more secure on Swappa?

Apple probably won't "confiscate" the laptop since it isn't exactly clear-cut that it belongs to them, but do note that they are instructed to inform the authorities when they see evidence of a crime (e.g. when they see evidently content on Macs they are servicing).

If you show up in good faith and explain what happened, they will probably be nice to you.
Click to expand...
Probably is fine when you aren’t on the one walking in the store. It is clear cut lost in transit means stolen before delivery since it showed up on eBay. Possible with all the flooding it is full of water from delivery truck or depot caught in flood. If stolen The retail value makes it a felony in many states and shipped across state lines makes it federal. For three hundred bucks, not even an hour of a good lawyers billing. Return it, Swappa isn’t more secure where did you get that idea? Both use PayPal, for now, with same protections. All Swappa does is refund buyer fee and tells you to deal with PayPal.
 
I second Burgman. If police happen to get involved, it will be a huge headache of going back and forth with ebay and the law enforcement since it is stolen goods. Not worth the $300 in savings to be honest which will most likely need to be returned in the end. Imagine having to hire a lawyer as well? No thanks. RETURN!
 
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