Can a MacBook Pro be new if the AppleCare is almost up?

[Donnation]

There was a seller on eBay selling a 2015 MacBook Pro as new, sealed in the box. He had the serial number showing on the box and the box was sealed in its plastic. When I ran the serial number everything checked out, but it says its AppleCare protection plan was up in Oct. 2019. Can it really be listed as brand new never been used if that is the case? Just curious as something didn't add up to me. Thanks!

 

[csurfr]

So it is my understanding that authorized retailers like Best Buy and such scan the serial number on the purchase date, and that starts the warranty. Also with Best Buy and such, if you buy an open box machine, you still get the one year warranty because their system links up with Apple and they can mark a machine “unsold” or whatever, that way the new purchaser of said machine does get a full 1 year.

Being as the eBay seller is most likely not an authorized reseller, they have no way of sending that information to Apple. So the date started immediately upon purchase and has been running ever since.

Can the machine be new? Sure. Could this seller have just used it for 4 months and re-shrinked it? Sure.

You’ll have to decide if the risk is worth the reward on this one. Either way, unless they are an authorized reseller and provide you with a legitimate receipt, you’ve lost out on 4 months of the warranty on what should be a new machine.

I should also note that any time I have checked the serial number on a new (sealed) machine on the Apple site it has always said “valid purchase date” next to a yellow circle, which then would go green once you have booted the machine and signed in. It was never already showing that requirement as being safisfied.

All of this being said, you can call Apple, give them the serial number and they can absolutely tell you when and where a machine was sold. Their system is pretty impressive.

 

[Stephen.R]

It’s likely new in box, but AppleCare purchased from apple is auto enrolled so it would have applied from the original purchase date.

 

[maflynn]

Can it really be listed as brand new never been used if that is the case? Just curious as something didn't add up to me. Thanks!

Yes of course as noted above, if you buy a mac with applecare then its auto registered and starts on day one. If the seller never used the laptop for what ever reason, then the extended warranty would just run out w/o the computer ever being opened. I'll not lie and say its an odd situation, why buy a laptop only to have it sit there for 2 years. It would give me pause, and I would ask for the reasoning on why its still NIB

 

[Donnation]

Yes of course as noted above, if you buy a mac with applecare then its auto registered and starts on day one. If the seller never used the laptop for what ever reason, then the extended warranty would just run out w/o the computer ever being opened. I'll not lie and say its an odd situation, why buy a laptop only to have it sit there for 2 years. It would give me pause, and I would ask for the reasoning on why its still NIB

Yeah that was my thought exactly. The seller stated he just never opened it. For 3 years though? Seemed fishy but thank you for clarifying this for me.

 

[Stephen.R]

Kind of reminds me of this

 

[maflynn]

Seemed fishy but thank you for clarifying this for me.

Yeah it does, personally, I'd probably pass that sale by, but it all depends on your comfort level, the sellers's rating. With eBay/Paypal you're protected, so if you open the box and look it over, it will be fairly easy to see that it is or is not a new laptop. Yet with the said, its a hassle to dispute a sale.

 

[DeltaMac]

I can think of a couple of situations where you might not ever open a new laptop:
Your company buys a number of laptops. One or two never get opened, maybe because of staffing changes, who knows? Now, a couple of years later, hardware inventory time comes (more than two years old), or maybe the company moves away from Macs, and the unopened laptops are considered redundant. So, they get "eBay-d"

But, sitting for more than 2 years, I would be a bit nervous about a battery that has not ever charged during that time.

 

[SDColorado]

My wife and I have a mutual acquaintance who purchased a MacBook Pro 2 years ago with the intent of switching from Windows to Mac and to this day he has yet to open it. Obviously, he has not made much progress toward the switch. But I guess it does happen

But I think a better description probably would have been "Sealed in Box/New Condition, but the warranty was activated at the time of sale and will expire in October 2019"

 

[maflynn]

Your company buys a number of laptops

Enterprise, is the one area where not opening unboxing a laptop can make sense, though even then its still odd.

to this day he has yet to open it.

I cannot fathom spending over 2k on a laptop (any laptop) and just let it sit there unopened. At the very least if I wasn't anxious to open it up in almost 2 weeks, then return it. I guess I'm just just wired differently.

 

[SDColorado]

Enterprise, is the one area where not opening unboxing a laptop can make sense, though even then its still odd.


I cannot fathom spending over 2k on a laptop (any laptop) and just let it sit there unopened. At the very least if I wasn't anxious to open it up in almost 2 weeks, then return it. I guess I'm just just wired differently.

Me too. My wife and I met with him one day to go over some business stuff and he mentioned he had bought a MacBook Pro himself with the intent of switching to Mac. I asked if there was anything I could do to help him out and then he admitted that he had purchased it a couple of years ago and hasn't opened it up yet. Our jaws about dropped.

I have a hard time not opening stuff up in the car before I get home hahaha

Probably winning it as a part of a giveaway would be another reason why someone might have it not opened?

 

[jerryk]

Me too. My wife and I met with him one day to go over some business stuff and he mentioned he had bought a MacBook Pro himself with the intent of switching to Mac. I asked if there was anything I could do to help him out and then he admitted that he had purchased it a couple of years ago and hasn't opened it up yet. Our jaws about dropped.

I have a hard time not opening stuff up in the car before I get home hahaha

Probably winning it as a part of a giveaway would be another reason why someone might have it not opened?

I have stuff I have accumulated for projects I was going to do and never happened. They sit new in box in one of the gear closets. Pretty sure I even have a Surface Book back there and know I have some DSLR lenses from Canon since I switched to Sony.

The first step to curing a gear acquisition problem, is admitting you have a problem.

 

[SDColorado]

I have stuff I have accumulated for projects I was going to do and never happened. They sit new in box in one of the gear closets. Pretty sure I even have a Surface Book back there and know I have some DSLR lenses from Canon since I switched to Sony.

The first step to curing a gear acquisition problem, is admitting you have a problem.

That and maybe sending the Canon stuff to KEH or the like

I finally gave away the last of my Canon gear to a niece that wanted to get into 35mm film, so gave her a couple lenses I had and a Canon 35mm body. She is happy and I cleaned out the last of it so I am happy too

Now I have G.A.S when it comes to motorcycle gear, too many jackets, pants, gloves, boots, helmets, etc. I haven’t left any of them unopened/unworn though. I know I still have a few items that have never been worn in various closets.

 

[jerryk]

That and maybe sending the Canon stuff to KEH or the like

I finally gave away the last of my Canon gear to a niece that wanted to get into 35mm film, so gave her a couple lenses I had and a Canon 35mm body. She is happy and I cleaned out the last of it so I am happy too

Now I have G.A.S when it comes to motorcycle gear, too many jackets, pants, gloves, boots, helmets, etc. I haven’t left any of them unopened/unworn though. I know I still have a few items that have never been worn in various closets.

I went through the motorcycle phase in my teens. Had 3 motocross bikes a once, one for each class I raced. Motorcycles are an addiction, but also an Adrenalin rush! Ride safe, my friend!!

 

[SDColorado]

I went through the motorcycle phase in my teens. Had 3 motocross bikes a once, one for each class I raced. Motorcycles are an addiction, but also an Adrenalin rush! Ride safe, my friend!!

Yeah, and the bikes are a whole different addiction. M.A.S (Motorcycle Acquisition Syndrome) where the number of bikes you need is always the number of bikes you currently have +1

I definitely ride safely. Nobody is more interested in my own self preservation than me

 

[mrt.plt]

I'm not sure about this, but here's what I think:
When a seller on eBay buys MacBooks wholesale from Best Buy, Best Buy marks them as sold. Then seller posts it on eBay, and if you check its serial number in that state, it seems like warranty started the day Best Buy sold them.
However, if someone buys it and activates it for the first time, Apple tends to change the purchase date, thus, warranty coverage.

Source: My friend who got a 12" MacBook off eBay a month ago, when we checked the serial number, it seemed like the warranty started in November, however, when he bought AppleCare, it ended up being valid for 3 years from the day he activated it.
In any case, if the price is good, you can buy it and submit the eBay invoice for a proof of purchase, and Apple might honour the warranty.