Buying a new Macbook Air on Craigslist

[nick42983]

I'm considering buying a Haswell Macbook Air and I came across the ad below on Craigslist. I doubt they have a receipt. Any thoughts on how to avoid being scammed? Opening the MacBook Air on the spot, asking for photos of the box and serial number in advance? This is $300 cheaper than the price I'd pay for this model with my education discount. Thanks.

Mid 2013 13" Haswell Macbook Air i7/8gb/256 Brand New Sealed - $1300 (fremont / union city / newark)
Got rewarded from work , already had same one . Brand New Sealed in Plastic Wrap .
Mid 2013 13" MacBook Air i7 1.7GHz / 8gb / 256ssd Flash Storage .
Not in hurry to sell , FIRM FIRM please .
Not looking for trade , Paypal or shipping .
CASH only any @ local Starbuck .

Please reply with your number if interested . Don't care Paypal ship to your Nigeria or India.
Scammer go away , do not waste my time.
No number , no serious , no reply .
I will bonus softwares programs with it .

 

[NewbieCanada]

$300 off on a brand new, unwrapped MacBook Air is too much. I'd be suspicious

 

[Jefe's MacAir]

Got rewarded from work , already had same one .

Translation: I stole two Airs from work and kept one and want to sell one. Quickly.

 

[saud0488]

Yeah don't believe the whole "I got it from work" crap. Ask if he can meet at your local apple store, if you have one nearby. If not, be suspicious.

 

[AXs]

Maybe true, Maybe false.

You should definitely get pictures of the boxed device with his user name on a piece of paper next to it. Name next to the serial number would be most advisable, so you know it is the actual serial number.

Does sound strange saying "got rewarded from work", because where I'm from if the company gives you a machine, it still belongs to them. You're going to have to return it eventually.

Could be the case where he is an apple employee and got employee discount?

End of the day, if the serial checks out and warranty is in place (and not reported stolen), then it's a good buy.

Just please do test the device and check RAM, SSD, Processor info before giving him the M0ney

 

[joshi3joshi]

I had good luck with a craigslist buy recently. Regardless of how he get got it, as long as not stolen (check serial number on google or craigslist, and check serial number on apple website to see if warranty is still valid and purchase date is valid), then I think you're fine. just meet in a public place like a bank or whatever and you're good.

Just last month, I got a sealed, brand-new 2013 Haswell Macbook Air 256GB for $1000, which is $300 off retail. If anything is fishy, just call it off. i'm just letting you know that some craigslist deals are genuinely great.

 

[flynz4]

This guy got a great Craigslist deal.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1614984/

/Jim

 

[nick42983]

Thanks a lot for the feedback guys. I tend to agree that this sounds too good to be true. $300 off sounds like he's looking to quickly offload a hot item. The part he adds that "I will bonus softwares programs with it ", sounds like pirated software too, so it's probably not legit. The last thing I need is to buy a computer like this, find out it's stolen and have it confiscated.

I did see another posting for someone selling a new 512GB model for ~$300 off and he had a receipt and pictures. Looks like its gone now though.

Maybe I should just be content with my education discount and the $100 App Store gift card.

Thanks again.