Best Buy - MacBook Scam

[davideotape]

i buy and return stuff all the time to the point where im like "yeah theyre gonna flag me" but they never do because i wind up keeping one of whatever eventually.

like when i was shopping for a macbook i first bought a macbook pro 13, didn't like it so bought a base macbook 12 for 1100 open box, then it went on sale so i traded it in again (because it was open box i couldnt get a price adjustment) for a $900 open box of a similar macbook, and thats my current machine.

like, they didnt bat an eye. and this is nothing new. i did something similar with a UE Boom/Bose speaker, and probably a few other things. there are different stores/etc but i have to assume flagging rules are generally aligned. based on my experience if youre getting flagged you should probably do a quick self assessment.

 

[KnoaWyls]

• Purchased brand new (not open box) silver Macbook 512 on 03/20/16. Unit did not work properly and would not allow me to log into my Apple ID. I called Apple support, they recommended returning it to Best Buy.
• Returned on 03/22/16
• They exchanged it for another supposed brand new Macbook (box was sealed as far as I could tell)
• When fired it up, I was immediately suspicious as it has Yosemite as the OS, and also still has some Apple ID issues logging in.
• Contacted Apple support
• Apple says the unit was purchased before on 9/13/16.
• Warranty coverage that Apple will not change.....
• Limited warranty
  2016-09-13 (172 Days Left)
  No phone support
  Expired 103 days ago
  Serial Number: C02Q60U3FWW4

I cry foul........I don't care if I got $300 off or not on their "sale".........it's supposed to be a brand new machine! Not an open box or already sold unit.
Needless to say it's going back immediately.

I should of known better than to purchase Apple products other than at an Apple store.
Best Buy is not being at all honest with customers...

I'm done with them.

This smells like a scam to me as well. I'm seeing other similar complaints across the internet and I've just had an experience with a good friend of mine who came to show off her "new" MacBook from Best Buy. The purchase was in 2016. I was immediately concerned that she thought it was the latest model yet I had to break it to her that it was actually a 2012 model. She was extremely upset about this. She initially decided to stick with the machine, but then started having issues with it. After she brought it back to me to investigate another friend and I discovered it had FileVault set on. We both know this setting is defaulted to off and would only be on for someone who intentionally wanted it on. The friend who purchased the MacBook clearly had no idea what we were talking about and did not turn it on themselves.

Continued issues were encountered where I had to perform a recovery reinstall for her and then ultimately it stopped booting up one day no matter what I tried and suggested she take it in to Apple. Once they heard that she had purchased it "new" yet the FileVault was turned on they knew right away that it had to be a refurbished MacBook then and suggested she confront them about this. Of course, they are not owning up to anything and are currently giving her the run around.

Interestingly, the Apple Genius who clarified that the MacBook had to have been a refurb also stated that they themselves have had an issue where Best Buy was trying to sell them an old machine as if it were new.

I'm surprised how often this seems to be happening without any repercussions. I hope awareness reaches the right people and some legal action is taken. There is clearly something not right going on here.

As a side note, they are also trying to claim that in 2016 there was no model out by Apple newer than the 2012 model. This is an outright lie. There were several newer models released after the 2012 models by 2016.

 

[simonmet]

did you ever take into consideration maybe apple messed up and repackaged the refurb as new and shipped out to BB?

Not even remotely possible because Apple never sells refurbs in original boxes and especially not sealed. A new, sealed retail box can only come from the manufacturers in China.
[doublepost=1526194464][/doublepost]

Hyperbole much? Clearly someone screwed up. Take it back and swap it out, validate the warranty coverage against the serial # on the box before you leave.

Claiming an entire company is dishonest based on one instance is a rather ridiculous exaggeration that undermines your point.

So why, as OP claims, was the box sealed to look like new? This can only happen intentionally by Best Buy. Of course they’ll claim it was a mistake and probably do the right thing by the customer if they complain, but I don’t doubt for a second that they’re being dishonest, knowing that most people won’t notice or will be happy enough with the discount to not pursue it further.

 

[oldhifi]

Apple Refurbished works wonders..

 

[newellj]

This smells like a scam to me as well. I'm seeing other similar complaints across the internet and I've just had an experience with a good friend of mine who came to show off her "new" MacBook from Best Buy. The purchase was in 2016. I was immediately concerned that she thought it was the latest model yet I had to break it to her that it was actually a 2012 model. She was extremely upset about this. She initially decided to stick with the machine, but then started having issues with it. After she brought it back to me to investigate another friend and I discovered it had FileVault set on. We both know this setting is defaulted to off and would only be on for someone who intentionally wanted it on. The friend who purchased the MacBook clearly had no idea what we were talking about and did not turn it on themselves.

Continued issues were encountered where I had to perform a recovery reinstall for her and then ultimately it stopped booting up one day no matter what I tried and suggested she take it in to Apple. Once they heard that she had purchased it "new" yet the FileVault was turned on they knew right away that it had to be a refurbished MacBook then and suggested she confront them about this. Of course, they are not owning up to anything and are currently giving her the run around.

Interestingly, the Apple Genius who clarified that the MacBook had to have been a refurb also stated that they themselves have had an issue where Best Buy was trying to sell them an old machine as if it were new.

I'm surprised how often this seems to be happening without any repercussions. I hope awareness reaches the right people and some legal action is taken. There is clearly something not right going on here.

As a side note, they are also trying to claim that in 2016 there was no model out by Apple newer than the 2012 model. This is an outright lie. There were several newer models released after the 2012 models by 2016.

The post you're replying two is more than two years old.

As a side note, they are also trying to claim that in 2016 there was no model out by Apple newer than the 2012 model. This is an outright lie. There were several newer models released after the 2012 models by 2016.

What are you referring to in the quoted text?

 

[TiggrToo]

The post you're replying two is more than two years old.



What are you referring to in the quoted text?

Since the thread did come back from the dead...is it me or are the dates mentioned in the OPs initial thread all screwy?

 

[T4R06]

i'm wondering which store and what state? i dont have any issue's with them. the fact that im the one who posted in slickdeals that was featured when they did a flash sale. $957 including tax is damn amazing deal

 

[Buerkletucson]

• Purchased brand new (not open box) silver Macbook 512 on 03/20/16. Unit did not work properly and would not allow me to log into my Apple ID. I called Apple support, they recommended returning it to Best Buy.
• Returned on 03/22/16
• They exchanged it for another supposed brand new Macbook (box was sealed as far as I could tell)
• When fired it up, I was immediately suspicious as it has Yosemite as the OS, and also still has some Apple ID issues logging in.
• Contacted Apple support
• Apple says the unit was purchased before on 9/13/15.
• Warranty coverage that Apple will not change.....
• Limited warranty
  2016-09-13 (172 Days Left)
  No phone support
  Expired 103 days ago
  Serial Number: C02Q60U3FWW4

I cry foul........I don't care if I got $300 off or not on their "sale".........it's supposed to be a brand new machine! Not an open box or already sold unit.
Needless to say it's going back immediately.

I should of known better than to purchase Apple products other than at an Apple store.
Best Buy is not being at all honest with customers...

I'm done with them.

i'm wondering which store and what state? i dont have any issue's with them. the fact that im the one who posted in slickdeals that was featured when they did a flash sale. $957 including tax is damn amazing deal

Best Buy
1795 County Road D
Maplewood Minnesota. 55109

Two different Apple machines from Best Buy...
At the time my conversation with Apple had their support staff very concerned.....they mentioned they have had various reports of issues with Best Buy concerning selling Apple products (not location specific) and are taking this incident very seriously and looking into it.
No idea what, if anything, happened as a result.

No way you'd get me to purchase an Apple product from Best Buy ever again.....obvious BS happening when a machine is sold as new when it's obviously been used and previously registered with Apple.
In fact, I stay clear of them altogether.

 

[deeddawg]

So why, as OP claims, was the box sealed to look like new?

Do you commonly reply to two year old posts?

Maybe a BB employee did the re-seal on the sly. Maybe the customer had access to a shrink-wrap device and returned it as new. Those things aren't uncommon, particularly if the person who returned the computer also works retail somewhere else.

In neither event is that necessarily a Best Buy corporate action, and thus the OP's post is hyperbolic in decrying BestBuy as an entity for what was likely an individual's action. Particularly since it's entirely feasible the individual doing the re-sealing may have been the customer.

You certainly are welcome to have a different opinion.

 

[newellj]

There have been a few occasions over the years when I've returned a sealed, unopened box. I always wonder: do they open it up? I hope so, because otherwise they have no idea whether the computer or phone or whatever is actually unused - or whether I perhaps put some dummy weight in the box.

I think the acid test is what happens when you power the item up and log in with your Apple ID. If it shows up as having been previously activated, like one (or more? - too lazy to go back to page 1 and read the original post) of the OP's purchases, that's totally dead giveaway that the item isn't new.