Buying a mini on ebay

[hsj2011]

In the UK, the base Mac Mini costs £529 (or £476 in the HE store) but I've noticed a lot of sellers on ebay selling them for around £460. Just wondering how ebay sellers are selling them so much cheaper than Apples RRP.

 

[njsa04playa]

In the UK, the base Mac Mini costs £529 (or £476 in the HE store) but I've noticed a lot of sellers on ebay selling them for around £460. Just wondering how ebay sellers are selling them so much cheaper than Apples RRP.

They have to offer lower prices, otherwise if they are selling them at the same prices apple stores are, why would people buy from them and not from the apple store?

 

[hsj2011]

They have to offer lower prices, otherwise if they are selling them at the same prices apple stores are, why would people buy from them and not from the apple store?

but if they're brand new and sealed yet they are selling them less than Apples HE pricing, is it likely they're dodgy? I noticed one seller was registered in Hong Kong despite the listing saying UK so I'd avoid them but not sure about the others.

The only reason I'm looking at one from eBay is because I have cash in my PayPal account.

 

[njsa04playa]

but if they're brand new and sealed yet they are selling them less than Apples HE pricing, is it likely they're dodgy? I noticed one seller was registered in Hong Kong despite the listing saying UK so I'd avoid them but not sure about the others.

The only reason I'm looking at one from eBay is because I have cash in my PayPal account.

Why dont you try buying from amazon? cant you use paypal there? Also if you buy a kindle with special offers, you will get a whopping 20% of your new machine

 

[hsj2011]

Why dont you try buying from amazon? cant you use paypal there? Also if you buy a kindle with special offers, you will get a whopping 20% of your new machine

Not sure whether you can use PayPal on Amazon UK but I can get the HE price on the Apple Store (which is why I was looking at ebay).

 

[njsa04playa]

Not sure whether you can use PayPal on Amazon UK but I can get the HE price on the Apple Store (which is why I was looking at ebay).

what is the HE price?

 

[weckart]

In the UK, the base Mac Mini costs £529 (or £476 in the HE store) but I've noticed a lot of sellers on ebay selling them for around £460. Just wondering how ebay sellers are selling them so much cheaper than Apples RRP.

Looking at the Apple SKUs, these seem to be grey imports from the US with the cheapest sale even showing a US power cord although promising a UK cord in the box, despite these being "new and sealed".

US model: MC815LL/A
UK model: MC815B/A

Legally, you would have to pay either VAT on import or charge VAT on sale if bringing in from the US. I am assuming that these were purchased in the US via the Edu stores without local sales tax otherwise the seller is selling at cost once you factor in VAT.