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Sturgeon boy

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 28, 2013
42
0
dundee
I've just ordered my new iMac and was wanting to get AppleCare but I've seen them unopened on eBay for less than half of what apple are wanting are these ok to buy and use or are there things to look for/avoid ?
 
according to what I read on german forums they seem legit.

Maybe it's also worth to check the laws of your country (if outside the US).
In Germany every manufacturer is bound by law to give a minimum of 2 years warranty, regardless of what's written in the contract. So no Apple care for me :)
 
Anyone who thinks "AppleCare on ebay" (where the seller sends you only a code, without a box) is a deal, should read this thread, ALL of it:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/690859/

Most of it is fear-mongering. Many of us have had no issue with AppleCare bought on ebay. And common sense states get a sealed box. I've always thought that thread was mostly nonsense, and I still do now, 4 years after the last post there!
 
I found an Applecare for the iMac on ebay for £79. Can that really be the real price? That's £30-40 cheaper than Amazon, sounds too good to be true.
 
Virtually all offers that seem too good to be true are in fact scams.

Indeed, that is why I am so hesitant about it. However, you still have the security of PayPal if you purchase things on E-bay so should it be a real scam then I suppose you will still get your money back one way or another.
 
Indeed, that is why I am so hesitant about it. However, you still have the security of PayPal if you purchase things on E-bay so should it be a real scam then I suppose you will still get your money back one way or another.

exactly. I would personally stay away from the ones offering to email you a code. If they have an unopened box they are willing to ship then I think it is legit enough to take the risk.

You can always pay with a CC that will offer buyer protection as well as use paypal to double cover your ass.
 
exactly. I would personally stay away from the ones offering to email you a code. If they have an unopened box they are willing to ship then I think it is legit enough to take the risk.

You can always pay with a CC that will offer buyer protection as well as use paypal to double cover your ass.

I bought mine on ebay.
If it was 'fake', I would have been refunded from ebay/paypal, and I would have reported them.
I made registrations with no problem.
So, it was real. And I saved a lot of money too.
 
[[ I made registrations with no problem.
So, it was real. ]]

The "trick" in the ebay/applecare scam is to sell you a "number code", which you then enter with Apple -- and it LOOKS OK. It "looks real", but it's not.

The problem comes later on, because the code is a fake that was created with a code generator.

At some point in the future when you need to -use- the Applecare coverage, you may then take the computer to an Apple store and suddenly you discover that Apple now "kicks back" the code you had entered months ago as invalid.

I posted a thread to read about how this works (with complete details in some posts) above. Here it is again:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/690859/

Ignore what it says if you wish.
But you ought to take the time to read it.
 
I bought my AppleCare from the Argos outlet on eBay and it was cheaper than Apple and legit (came in a box). The only pain was getting it registered as Apple insisted on a fax of the bill and receipt. Once that was done, it appears to be fine.
 
I agree..it's not worth the risk. I paid $5,000 for a nMP (for example), why on earth would I risk saving 70 bucks by buying apple care from flea-bay? Apple products are expensive, I wouldn't risk my warranty to save a VERY SMALL percentage of money!
 
A family in suburban Chicago was recently arrested for being behind a big-dollar shoplifting ring: they'd go to stores and pull stuff off the shelves and slip out before anyone would catch them, and then sell the stuff on eBay. The name in the article sounded familiar, and when I searched through my eBay purchases, sure enough, I had bought a boxed AppleCare product from them several years ago at a huge discount. Now I know why it was so cheap.

Just for fun, here's the article describing their tactics.

I've since gone to Apple or an Authorized reseller for the product.
 
Last edited:
[[ I made registrations with no problem.
So, it was real. ]]

The "trick" in the ebay/applecare scam is to sell you a "number code", which you then enter with Apple -- and it LOOKS OK. It "looks real", but it's not.

The problem comes later on, because the code is a fake that was created with a code generator.

At some point in the future when you need to -use- the Applecare coverage, you may then take the computer to an Apple store and suddenly you discover that Apple now "kicks back" the code you had entered months ago as invalid.

I posted a thread to read about how this works (with complete details in some posts) above. Here it is again:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/690859/

Ignore what it says if you wish.
But you ought to take the time to read it.


I gave the code to Apple itself(I phoned them-they checked it, they registered it), and they registered it for me.
I did not registered it by myself in apple website.
Because I am worried about what you said above (I will remember your sayings for the future though), can you please tell me that everything is ok in my case, because the registration was made by Apple?
 
I highly recommend not buying AppleCare from eBay. It can cause issues when trying to use the warranty. As noted above, B&H has a great deal on AppleCare. Also using the military/student store on the Apple site will yield some great deals.
 
Apple itself made the registration for me. The code was emailed from seller to me. Apple checked it and they said it is ok, and the made the registration.

After this, should I be worried that if I ever need it, they maybe discover that my apple care is not valid?
I did not registered myself, they did it for me. Will they prove themselves wrong? If it was a fake code, wouldn't they find out before they made my registration?
 
Apple itself made the registration for me. The code was emailed from seller to me. Apple checked it and they said it is ok, and the made the registration.

After this, should I be worried that if I ever need it, they maybe discover that my apple care is not valid?
I did not registered myself, they did it for me. Will they prove themselves wrong? If it was a fake code, wouldn't they find out before they made my registration?

I guess you could call Apple and quit asking us. Anyone on here would just be guessing :rolleyes:
 
I bought AppleCare for my iPhone from eBay.

From apple its £79. A guy was selling a few of them on eBay in a box sealed for £49 or best offer. Put in a best offer of £30 which was accepted.

Box come sealed as described two days later, all legit activated fine. Saved myself quite a lot of money for it.
 
I got Applecare for my iMac from Argos on ebay for £49, which I thought was too good to miss when it's £138 from Apple. No problems with it whatsoever.
 
I guess you could call Apple and quit asking us. Anyone on here would just be guessing :rolleyes:

Apple told me it is ok.
But some members here tell that maybe in the future Apple could not recognize it.
They tell it for the cases that a customer make the registration all alone in the site?
 
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