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iPad Buy sealed iPad Air on Craigslist

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Flip87

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 6, 2014
5
0
Hey guys,

I'm from germany and I'll travel to ny in february. On my trip I'd like to buy a new iPad air. As a traveler from germany I am only allowed to take products with a price lower than 570$ Taxfree home. My desired product is the ipad air 32gb wifi. If I'd buy it in a store it'll cost more then 570$. Now I hope u understand y i have to buy it on CL.

Do you have any tips for me for what i should be aware of, when i'm buying on cl? Do you think sealed products are save?

thanks for your help!
 
Flip87 said:
Do you have any tips for me for what i should be aware of, when i'm buying on cl? Do you think sealed products are save?
Click to expand...

There is potential for buying a stolen product, while not every sealed iPad was stolen, it definitely raises a red flag for me.

Being sealed will the seller be willing for you to open it up and ensure its what you expect it to be, brand new and functioning? I'd hate to buy something sealed, but the seller not willing to open it before exchanging cash, only to find out he sealed a bunch of rocks (or something like that).
 
Why not just buy a new, sealed one from an Apple Store and pay the tax on the $29 you are over your tax free limit?

Or enjoy a 16GB for $499 and grab a few extras.

Safer and peace of mind. :)
 
I already have an iPad 3 32gb and I have to delete things from time to time becaus it has not enough space..
 
I've dealt with buying iPads through Craigslist for awhile now.

The latest I bought was a sealed iPad Air LTE model, and the best thing you can do with dealing with a sealed model. Is get a good feeling from the seller in question.

Ask plenty of questions? Be upfront with the seller... As long as you have an understanding before hand, build up a sense of mutual understanding... It should go fine.

When I went to go buy the iPad Air, I told him about all the horror stories of opening iPads to find no iPad were found. And I let him see that I had the cash, just to show I wasn't pulling a quick one on him. I opened it myself... Since I wanted to buy it.

But as long as both parties agree to being upfront and honest, I've never paid full price for an iPad... Craigslist has always been my go to choice.
 
808? said:
Why not just buy a new, sealed one from an Apple Store and pay the tax on the $29 you are over your tax free limit?

Or enjoy a 16GB for $499 and grab a few extras.

Safer and peace of mind. :)
Click to expand...

Are you sure that the tax is only for the amount over the limit? Usually taxes work on the entire amount of the purchase.
 
Flip87 said:
Hey guys,

I'm from germany and I'll travel to ny in february. On my trip I'd like to buy a new iPad air. As a traveler from germany I am only allowed to take products with a price lower than 570$ Taxfree home. My desired product is the ipad air 32gb wifi. If I'd buy it in a store it'll cost more then 570$. Now I hope u understand y i have to buy it on CL.

Do you have any tips for me for what i should be aware of, when i'm buying on cl? Do you think sealed products are save?

thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

Why would you consider buying a stolen product? Go to the Apple store and get it at full price.

----------
Ludatyk said:
I've dealt with buying iPads through Craigslist for awhile now.

The latest I bought was a sealed iPad Air LTE model, and the best thing you can do with dealing with a sealed model. Is get a good feeling from the seller in question.

Ask plenty of questions? Be upfront with the seller... As long as you have an understanding before hand, build up a sense of mutual understanding... It should go fine.

When I went to go buy the iPad Air, I told him about all the horror stories of opening iPads to find no iPad were found. And I let him see that I had the cash, just to show I wasn't pulling a quick one on him. I opened it myself... Since I wanted to buy it.

But as long as both parties agree to being upfront and honest, I've never paid full price for an iPad... Craigslist has always been my go to choice.
Click to expand...
The go to place for buying sealed but stolen products.
 
ok guys, so if I'd buy an ipad I would meet the person at starbucks and open it directly.

And I just recognized that I mixed up tax with duty.. so what i really want to avoid is paying duty :D Just becaus I can save the duty its a lot cheaper than in germany.. If I have to pay duty it is nearly the same price.

Perhaps some of u have another idea how I can buy one face to face for less than 470$ because I just stay for 6 days. If I'd stay longer ebay would be a possibility, but I don't know how long the seller needs for shipping. That's why I though CL would be a possibility..

thanks for the help so far
 
Flip87 said:
ok guys, so if I'd buy an ipad I would meet the person at starbucks and open it directly.

And I just recognized that I mixed up tax with duty.. so what i really want to avoid is paying duty :D Just becaus I can save the duty its a lot cheaper than in germany.. If I have to pay duty it is nearly the same price.

Perhaps some of u have another idea how I can buy one face to face for less than 470$ because I just stay for 6 days. If I'd stay longer ebay would be a possibility, but I don't know how long the seller needs for shipping. That's why I though CL would be a possibility..

thanks for the help so far
Click to expand...

Do you have to declare it? Cant you just buy the ipad at an apple store and pretend you came with it surely people travel with MacBooks etc? Sorry if I'm being dumb and missing something here!
 
I bought an iPad Mini 64gb 1st gen in Jan. '13 and had a good experience. I'd be very up front with the seller that you want to see the iPad BEFORE you pay.

In my experience, I met at a Starbucks, told the person I had the money and would buy if I could 1) Open the product, 2) Set up the device and connect to Starbuck's WiFi, 3) Verify in the settings the reported GBs match and the serial numbers on the device match the box, 4) If possible, see if the owner can bring a retail receipt in an effort to thwart a possible stolen good from being sold.

I was lucky to go 4/4 on my request and the seller was very nice about the whole process. Enjoyed the iPad for many months before upgrading to a Retina Gen 2 recently!
 
I've sold a few brand new iPads on my local classifieds (receiving them from business promotions). The best tips I could give is basically what others said:

- Open the box to ensure everything is there
- If the seller is acting sketchy, don't from them
- Ask questions before planning to meet up with them (where did they get it, etc)
- If the deal seems to good to be true, stay away.
 
You can return with product valued at 430 euro
I just checked and that is $586usd

If you exceed that amount, duty is charged on entire amount.


To be safe I would go for a 32g rMini.

CL in the NY area on short notice...no way would I get involved with that
 
Last edited:
skillwill said:
Do you have to declare it? Cant you just buy the ipad at an apple store and pretend you came with it surely people travel with MacBooks etc? Sorry if I'm being dumb and missing something here!
Click to expand...

This^^. I don't understand how buying a used iPad off CL is any different than buying a new one. Are you expecting the CL seller to provide a receipt of the value? Why can't you buy one and just pretend you had it all along?
 
martinm0 said:
This^^. I don't understand how buying a used iPad off CL is any different than buying a new one. Are you expecting the CL seller to provide a receipt of the value? Why can't you buy one and just pretend you had it all along?
Click to expand...

All they have to do is open it and look at diagnostic data and when they see no data over a couple of days old they will want the duty. When you travel with a new piece of expensive equipment it is your responsibility to take it to customs prior to leaving. They put a sticker on it and there is no problem coming back in.
.
 
ugcop said:
All they have to do is open it and look at diagnostic data and when they see no data over a couple of days old they will want the duty. When you travel with a new piece of expensive equipment it is your responsibility to take it to customs prior to leaving. They put a sticker on it and there is no problem coming back in.
.
Click to expand...

Wowsers.. I've never had to do that leaving and entering the United States. I don't even remember seeing a customs officer on the way out - only saw them on the way in.
 
I got my Air on craigslist a week after Black Friday. The seller bought several at Target on Black Friday and resold them at a slight profit. The air was sealed and I got it registered with Apple and bought AppleCare too. No problems at all.
 
Black market almost for sure!

You could bring along a laptop and type in the serial number and see if Apple Care has been activated for it already. If so, someone's iPad has been stolen.

Buy new, no legal or ethical issues, and have full confidence in the product and Apple warranty.

Often in life it's better to pay extra and be comfortable rather than look for the deal that, in the scheme of things, is a pretty marginal savings or too good to be true! (I'm speaking to myself as much as others-- I, too often, look for the deal and spend more time on bargain hunting when I could just be enjoying the brand new device sooner!)
 
As I and others posted, the risk of problems is too high. Dealing with a problem if one does occur is complicated since the OP is only here for a short time.

Bite the bullet, buy new and you don't have to worry about such issues.
 
AdonisSMU said:
The go to place for buying sealed but stolen products.
Click to expand...

Granted, there are shady deals that go on through Craigslist... But it's no different than dealing with EBay.

I prefer Craigslist because it's a local exchange, and to assume that "all" products are sealed yet stolen is a not necessarily true.

Of course, the safe way is to go through Apple or any official authorized reseller... But I've sold plenty of items through Craigslist. Be cautious, be smart and be safe... Never had any issues with Craigslist.
 
617aircav said:
Only a complete idiot would buy a sealed iPad and assume the iPad is ok.
Click to expand...

There must be thousands of idiots then. I've purchased sealed Apple products on eBay and locally, and each time the item was perfectly fine, I've never had an issue with one.
 
Question for the OP:

If you buy it "new" from Craigslist how does customs determine the sales price? Are you required to provide a receipt even it is from a private seller?
 
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