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motrek

macrumors 68030
Sep 14, 2012
2,613
305
That is just fear of the unknown. It's never the big scary boogie man people make it out to be. You want to buy something that someone else wants to sell. You both understand what it is worth and you don't want to deal with mailing, waiting on fees and other nonsense to process, and waiting 30 days for payment. It is instantaneous and 90 percent of the time, Craigslist transactions are as smooth as butter.

Indeed. Usually I meet Craigslist buyers/sellers at a nearby coffee shop that gets a lot of business. There's no way anything bad could happen to me there.

I've actually met a number of interesting people buying and selling stuff via Craigslist at this location and we've ended up chatting over coffee for an hour or so before going our separate ways. I feel bad for anybody who isn't open to this sort of experience.
 

reundo

macrumors member
Mar 12, 2014
33
2
Indeed. Usually I meet Craigslist buyers/sellers at a nearby coffee shop that gets a lot of business. There's no way anything bad could happen to me there.

I've actually met a number of interesting people buying and selling stuff via Craigslist at this location and we've ended up chatting over coffee for an hour or so before going our separate ways. I feel bad for anybody who isn't open to this sort of experience.

I totally agree with this. Plus, you don't have to pay any fees when you use craigslist.
 

capathy21

macrumors 65816
Jun 16, 2014
1,418
617
Houston, Texas
Indeed. Usually I meet Craigslist buyers/sellers at a nearby coffee shop that gets a lot of business. There's no way anything bad could happen to me there.

I've actually met a number of interesting people buying and selling stuff via Craigslist at this location and we've ended up chatting over coffee for an hour or so before going our separate ways. I feel bad for anybody who isn't open to this sort of experience.

This a million times over. Two of my closest friends were met via a craigslist transaction. Turned out we were into the same tech interests and other things like sports teams.
 

SFStateStudent

macrumors 604
Aug 28, 2007
7,496
3
San Francisco California, USA
Never had a problem buying on eBay, but a couple of problems selling. I've sold a Porsche via eBay and bought/sold several iPhones and Mac computers. PayPal is awesome and very helpful when I'm waiting for a large amount of money from a buyer... :cool:
 

madrich

macrumors 6502a
Feb 19, 2012
598
107
World Class City of Chicago
Last edited:

Boyd01

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 21, 2012
7,636
4,528
New Jersey Pine Barrens
Seems like the buyer made out pretty well in that thread. He got a computer to use for a month, is going to get his money back and may not even have to return it. ;)
 

flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
7,221
2,943
^^^^I'd rather just stay away from a Bay
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Lou
 

Rocko99991

macrumors 68000
Jul 25, 2017
1,574
2,191
I got a nice 2012 and had a good experience. Same basic ebay rules apply to buying used macs as with other gear.

1) Make sure they have very high rating 99% or higher. Read through their feedback and see how the buyers responded to them. Quick shipping, good communication, etc? 2) Read their return policy. Most offer refunds for any reason within 30 days. If they don't offer refunds, don't by. 3) What else do they sell? Do they sell junk items? Do they sell nicer, higher end items? 4) Use your credit card when using Paypal, not your checking account. 5) Is the description vague? Stock photos? Move along. Never buy any computer when the seller uses stock images. Most of the time it will arrive worse than described. 6) Ask specific questions-what is the battery health/cycles? Does the screen have dead pixels, bad areas? Does everything work properly? Was it in a smokers home? Etc.

Remember, Ebay and Paypal side with the buyer 99% of the time in all disputes.
 
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madrich

macrumors 6502a
Feb 19, 2012
598
107
World Class City of Chicago
I got a nice 2012 and had a good experience. Same basic ebay rules apply to buying used macs as with other gear.

1) Make sure they have very high rating 99% or higher. Read through their feedback and see how the buyers responded to them. Quick shipping, good communication, etc? 2) Read their return policy. Most offer refunds for any reason within 30 days. If they don't offer refunds, don't by. 3) What else do they sell? Do they sell junk items? Do they sell nicer, higher end items? 4) Use your credit card when using Paypal, not your checking account. 5) Is the description vague? Stock photos? Move along. Never buy any computer when the seller uses stock images. Most of the time it will arrive worse than described. 6) Ask specific questions-what is the battery health/cycles? Does the screen have dead pixels, bad areas? Does everything work properly? Was it in a smokers home? Etc.

Remember, Ebay and Paypal side with the buyer 99% of the time in all disputes.
I would also recommend to buy any used computer under the initial Apple Care warranty that can be extended, if it not already extended. If the warranty is expiring soon, allow enough time to test the computer before it expires, and extend it again with a credit card warranty.
 
Last edited:

Rocko99991

macrumors 68000
Jul 25, 2017
1,574
2,191
I would also recommend to buy the used computer under the initial Apple Care warranty that can be extended, if it not already extended. If the warranty is expiring soon, allow enough time to test the computer before it expires, and extend it again with a credit card warranty.

This won't be possible on a 2012 model.
 
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