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Buying MBP off Ebay

Mr Nice Guy

Mr Nice Guy

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 9, 2008
52
0
Hello

A guy is selling a 17" MBP for about $1300 which I think is a pretty good deal. He lives in the United Kingdom, and he says that I have 3 days to test it and then return it, if I'm not satisfied.

Is there anything I should be worried about?

/Mr Nice Guy
 
Mr Nice Guy said:
Hello

A guy is selling a 17" MBP for about $1300 which I think is a pretty good deal. He lives in the United Kingdom, and he says that I have 3 days to test it and then return it, if I'm not satisfied.

Is there anything I should be worried about?

/Mr Nice Guy
Click to expand...

You sure that's not 1300 pounds instead of dollars? $1300 seems very inexpensive for a 17in MBP. Is it damaged in any way?

Also, if you are in the U.S. there may be customs related issues, fees, etc.

Someone else might have more insight, you are right to be cautious.

Cheers,
 
You should be worried that if you try to return it he won't let you and keep your money.

Still it's a good deal - just make sure they have a good rating and you should be okay - although that is no guarantee.
 
bertpalmer said:
You should be worried that if you try to return it he won't let you and keep your money.

Still it's a good deal - just make sure they have a good rating and you should be okay - although that is no guarantee.
Click to expand...

Yes, but I still have 3 days to test it before I give him the money, isn't that sufficient?
 
that's weird, I wouldn't trust him because no one would send you the computer first and then expect payment after 3 days.
What's the item number?
 
Well I'm a little suspecious too. But what could possibly be wrong with it if I can have it for 3 days without paying him?

And for the Item number, he hasn't put it on eBay yet. I got his email from another site where he wanted to sell it.

This is what he wrote in an email:

First you must know i am located in London,United Kingdom so the laptop will be shipped with DHL
(i will use my DHL account so you do not have to worry about it).
The laptop comes with all accessories in original box
with all papers for international warranty. You have 1 year international
warranty.You will have 3 days to test the laptop and if you don't like it
you can send it back to me and I will pay the shipping.
We will do the deal under the security of eBay. We can make the deal safe
for both of us through eBay .eBay will give us all the details about the deal.

If you accept please give me your full name and address.
Click to expand...
 
Mr Nice Guy said:
Well I'm a little suspecious too. But what could possibly be wrong with it if I can have it for 3 days without paying him?

And for the Item number, he hasn't put it on eBay yet. I got his email from another site where he wanted to sell it.

This is what he wrote in an email:
Click to expand...

This is definitely the same scam that pops up in every Craigs List location all the time. I myself actually almost fell for it a while ago as it was referred to me by a friend, and I was new to Craigs List.

Google his message and you'll see tons of the exact same thing.
 
That's what I had in mind. Oh well I guess I need to buy one from apple store to completely safe! Thanks a lot :)

And for the record I'm NOT gonna buy it, I just wanna know how could it be a scam, when I'm not giving him the money before I have tried it?
 
yes it's a typical scam with preformatted text...
by the way, he's not going to ship it to you before you pay, trust me.
 
You might want to change the thread title.

Although there are some scams on ebay, this one never made into ebay.
 
kd_rome said:
that's weird, I wouldn't trust him because no one would send you the computer first and then expect payment after 3 days.
What's the item number?
Click to expand...

I think he will ship it but in order to get his cash he'll take claim with eBay stating you never paid but he delivered the goods. I bet you get a faulty computer if any computer and he gets paid.

No one in their right mind on or off eBay will ever give someone something to try for 3 days and then take payment. Not unless they're close friends or something similar.
 
based on the email you got and pasted on your post, the scammer did NOT say that you have 3 days to test and then send the payment, he said that you have 3 days to test it and you'll have all the security of bla bla bla, I get this stuff once a week. He will send you a fake eBay page on your email and you'll think it's legit.
Anyway, what's the link so the rest of the people on the forums can see the actual scam?
 
He has not yet put it on ebay (yet). But I'm gonna keep talking with him, and I'll let you all know what he says!
 
Mr Nice Guy said:
Well I would never give him the money if I didn't get the macbook first!
Click to expand...

Well then you wouldn't be able to buy anything on eBay (for the most part), since nobody (even legit users) would send you a laptop without payment... just in case the buyer will scam them.
 
bmwpowere36m3 said:
Well then you wouldn't be able to buy anything on eBay (for the most part), since nobody (even legit users) would send you a laptop without payment... just in case the buyer will scam them.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm just gonna stick with Apple Store, even though the macbook pro is expensive ;)
 
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