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Best site to buy knockoff Macbook accessories, especially a power supply?

O

oban14

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 4, 2008
554
1
I'd like to get two extra power supplies for my MacBook, but I'd rather not pay the "Apple tax". Can anyone recommend a reputable company, ebay seller or website for ordering from?

I've had great luck buying Dell and IBM knock off power supplies on ebay. I might also want an extra battery or two.

TIA! :)
 
They aren't rocket science. I've bought them for IBM and Dell with no problems. Besides, if there is an issue.... that's what Apple care is for. ;)
 
Since safety isn't a concern, try ebay, but I thought Apple had magsafe patented? If thats so, you won't find an adapter.
 
oban14 said:
They aren't rocket science. I've bought them for IBM and Dell with no problems. Besides, if there is an issue.... that's what Apple care is for. ;)
Click to expand...

I don't think this is the way to go, but hey ... if you don't want to protect your investment then go for it. Ebay.com it is.
 
Eddyisgreat said:
Since safety isn't a concern, try ebay, but I thought Apple had magsafe patented? If thats so, you won't find an adapter.
Click to expand...

Thank you - there are tons on ebay from Hong Kong. I guess I'll just give it a shot.
 
oban14 said:
Thank you - there are tons on ebay from Hong Kong. I guess I'll just give it a shot.
Click to expand...

Since Apple still maintains the patent, you aren't going to get anything good, probably not even safe. I'd make sure you fire extinguishers are charged.
 
I'd buy anything knockoff but the power supply.

And any power bricks other than MagSafe, they're all pretty generic... They're quite interchangeable as well. but MagSafe isn't.

Sounds kind of risky, but it's your choice... so.. just be careful :)

MagSafe shouldn't be too hard to find used... I see a couple of ads on kijiji or craigslist sometimes just selling the "Macbook chargers" Or eBay should have the REAL one but used for cheap. Try to buy one that's actually from Apple, but cheaper.
 
I agree with r.j.s

Don't buy something as important as the power supply that's patented, and thus not accessible to third party companies.

Either way, it's your life, lol.
 
I found this thread through Google and registered to warn anyone else who finds this thread.

Listen to everyone else and DO NOT buy a knock off charger.

I bought one off eBay when my old one kicked the bucket. The knock off lasted a few weeks before nearly catching on fire. It'd get incredibly hot, and the plastic casing around the wires would begin to melt. Every time I plugged it in, a barrage of sparks would fly out of my outlet. After the first week, the wires would spark if they collided with each other in an unfriendly way.

And what's worse is that it completely killed my MacBook Pro's battery life. It now only lasts about an hour unplugged, as opposed to its old 3-4 hour lifespan. I don't mind since my laptop rarely leaves the house, but I'm just thankful the damage isn't worse.

The funny thing is my original charger died the day after the one-year warranty expired, and the Mac store refused to bend the rules :(.
 
Sour said:
I found this thread through Google and registered to warn anyone else who finds this thread.

Listen to everyone else and DO NOT buy a knock off charger.

I bought one off eBay when my old one kicked the bucket. The knock off lasted a few weeks before nearly catching on fire. It'd get incredibly hot, and the plastic casing around the wires would begin to melt. Every time I plugged it in, a barrage of sparks would fly out of my outlet. After the first week, the wires would spark if they collided with each other in an unfriendly way.

And what's worse is that it completely killed my MacBook Pro's battery life. It now only lasts about an hour unplugged, as opposed to its old 3-4 hour lifespan. I don't mind since my laptop rarely leaves the house, but I'm just thankful the damage isn't worse.

The funny thing is my original charger died the day after the one-year warranty expired, and the Mac store refused to bend the rules :(.
Click to expand...

Interesting, I am considering buying one. They are selling a lot of them. Anybody else have opinions on their performance? Surly there must be more people here with generic 85w power adapters, any problems experienced with them?
 
oban14 said:
They aren't rocket science. I've bought them for IBM and Dell with no problems. Besides, if there is an issue.... that's what Apple care is for. ;)
Click to expand...


"That's what Apple care is for"?????

Morality and Ethics 101. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
You actually think that saving yourself $30 to potentially cost a company $1000 is OK?

Tell us now how you didn't mean it like that.
 
Stokes said:
"That's what Apple care is for"?????

Morality and Ethics 101. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
You actually think that saving yourself $30 to potentially cost a company $1000 is OK?

Tell us now how you didn't mean it like that.
Click to expand...

Whoa, hold on there. Since we're speaking of morality and ethics, how ethical is it for Apple to maximize profits by locking out competition and use that legal advantage to overcharge their customers an exorbitant amount for something as simple as a power supply?
Apple may have a patent on MagSafe adapters, but using that as leverage to extract extra money from helpless customers is wrong.
Practices like this, which are commonplace in today's marketplace, were the sort of thing antitrust were intended to prevent.

We should be free to buy our components from more than one manufacturer instead of allowing patents to undermine our "free market."

Regardless, in response to this unethical profit maximizing, I see nothing wrong with some "working the system" utility maximizing on the consumer's part.

Stokes, I appreciate your zeal in defending Apple from wrongdoing, even though they are a firm and not a person, but that financial loss is something they could easily avoid by doing right by their customers in the first place.
 
Bluesdealer said:
Apple may have a patent on MagSafe adapters, but using that as leverage to extract extra money from helpless customers is wrong.
Practices like this, which are commonplace in today's marketplace, were the sort of thing antitrust were intended to prevent.
Click to expand...

I don't necessarily agree with Stokes, and I'm not going to attack your morals. It's not my business if you are willing to "cost a company $1000" in order to save $30. However, I think you should understand that you're incorrect.

Patent law was established to incentivize new technologies, products, and other inventions. It costs a lot in research and development to invent things even as arguably simple as the magsafe adapter. Patent law gives inventors of such innovations a temporary monopoly on their products to provide the inventors an opportunity to recoup the costs of developing them. Without this opportunity product development (not just in technology, but everywhere, including medicine) would move at fraction of what it does today, because no one would put in the money it takes to develop new inventions.

The exclusivity provided by a patent allows inventors to charge whatever they desire for their products and prevent others from using them, but does not force people to buy them. If you don't think it is worth the price Apple charges to buy Apple products, you don't have to. However, it makes no sense for you to claim that they are immoral for charging what they want for technologies they worked hard to develop first, even if it makes you feel better about buying bootleg stuff. If you want to save money and buy bootleg stuff, do it. Tons of very good, moral people do it every day. However, don't be surprised when it doesn't work as well and don't try to convince yourself you're doing it because Apple doesn't deserve the extra $30.

Also, antitrust law was NOT established to prevent companies from charging what they want for their products. Being able to charge what you want is the essence of capitalism. What you're claiming about antitrust law would make it counterproductive with patent law, and thus one of them would be unenforceable. Antitrust law was established in 1890 by the Sherman Act to prevent giant companies from engaging in anticompetitive practices with each other, price fixing with each other, and similar restraints on trade. It's main focus hasn't changed a lot since then.
 
Last edited:
Propagator4 said:
I don't necessarily agree with Stokes, and I'm not going to attack your morals. It's not my business if you are willing to "cost a company $1000" in order to save $30. However, I think you should understand that you're incorrect.

Patent law was established to incentivize new technologies, products, and other inventions. It costs a lot in research and development to invent things even as arguably simple as the magsafe adapter. Patent law gives inventors of such innovations a temporary monopoly on their products to provide the inventors an opportunity to recoup the costs of developing them. Without this opportunity product development (not just in technology, but everywhere, including medicine) would move at fraction of what it does today, because no one would put in the money it takes to develop new inventions.

The exclusivity provided by a patent allows inventors to charge whatever they desire for their products and prevent others from using them, but does not force people to buy them. If you don't think it is worth the price Apple charges to buy Apple products, you don't have to. However, it makes no sense for you to claim that they are immoral for charging what they want for technologies they worked hard to develop first, even if it makes you feel better about buying bootleg stuff. If you want to save money and buy bootleg stuff, do it. Tons of very good, moral people do it every day. However, don't be surprised when it doesn't work as well and don't try to convince yourself you're doing it because Apple doesn't deserve the extra $30.

Also, antitrust law was NOT established to prevent companies from charging what they want for their products. Being able to charge what you want is the essence of capitalism. What you're claiming about antitrust law would make it counterproductive with patent law, and thus one of them would be unenforceable. Antitrust law was established in 1890 by the Sherman Act to prevent giant companies from engaging in anticompetitive practices with each other, price fixing with each other, and similar restraints on trade. It's main focus hasn't changed a lot since then.
Click to expand...

Technically speaking Apple didn't invent the technology behind the mag safe charger. They simply took something that was already being used on fry cookers around the world and adapted it for use with their laptops. They invested very little in the way of research and development. If you want to buy an off-brand charger i say go for it. If you want to be safe and pay the extra money to buy an officially licensed apple mag safe charger then thats fine too. I'm not going to stick up for either company (apple or off-brand), its up to the consumer to decide which is best for them.
 
thread from the dead

for the guy above.

only buy oem chargers for your mac notebook needs.

i made the mistake of getting an knockoff for my powerbook and if is completely dead it takes 5 to 10 mins before it will turn on vs. the stock charger where i could turn it on as soon as i plugged it in
 
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