Can a MacBook Pro really have these specs?

[tmst]

Okay so the other day I was on the phone with somebody for quite a while ( and hour and a half) talking about me buying a MacBook Pro soon. He said that he owns and runs a "wireless" shop that carries PC, MAC, and other wireless products, and that he is also a repair shop.

Now he has a post up on amazon . com for a MacBook Pro that is either a late 2008 model or an 09 model " i forgot what he said, but i will confirm this soon". He told me this big story on how apple charges up the *** for their refurbished pro models and that his shop doesn't charge the same things that apple charges you for.

He told me for the laptop alone it would cost me $750.00 Dollars + $10.00 for shipping from Texas to Chicago. Now we talked more about the in depth specs and he told me right now it has 2 gigs of DDR3 RAM and a 120 Gig hard drive. I told him I have a lot of music and pictures and would need a bigger hard drive. He told me no problem.

I also asked if the model could be upgraded further from 2 Gig DDR3 to 4 Gig DDR3 and that I would do it after I obtained the computer from him. He went on to tell me he would charge me nothing for the RAM upgrade from a 2 Gig DDR3 to a 4 Gig DDR3 and a 120 Gig HD to a 640 Gig HD for only a mere 30 dollars making the total purchase of this notebook at $790.00 Now after looking back at it, he seemed legit and he also knew his stuff when talking about the specs and that. Could this be a lucky break for me? Or am I going to get stiffed.

He seems pretty solid. He has his own website that actually has his services and products on there. He also told me he has some type of deal or contract with apple to get Apples refurbished notebooks for less then the normal consumer. Now this is all going to go down on amazons site. What would be the best "safest" way to order this (he told me whatever works for me, check sent over to him, credit card, or whatever).

Please give me your input soon because i want to get the laptop before the weekend comes and I can get it by Saturday morning if I order before 5 CST.

Thanks :]

 

[spinnerlys]

Post a link to that site and we can see for ourselves.

750USD might be okay for a 2008 machine, it might be the MacBook though, as the MacBook Pro has more storage capacity than 120GB, even in their lowest model from late 2008.

Btw, refurbished Macs cost less than the new Macs. Look here: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac?mco=OTY2ODY2NQ


Btw, a little formatting to you original post would add a great amount of readability, as of now, the post is hard to read. Use the ENTER key more often to make paragraphs.
To edit your post, use the

button.

 

[Hellhammer]

If it has 120GB HD, then it's mid 2007 model or early 2009 MacBook (or older). Neither of them has DDR3 so either he has swapped the original HD and it's at least late 2008 MBP or he's not talking the truth.

MacBook is as low as 699$ off refurb store

Sounds fishy to me....

P.S. Use paragraphs next time, makes it easier to read

 

[robotmonkey]

It is true that apple charges wayyy to much for their refurb products. The specs sound reasonable. If it isn't metal, it isn't a macbook pro. But there was a while when the macbook was unibody aluminum, I think that was 2009 coulda been 2008 though. What size screen is it? If it is 15 or 17 it definitely is a macbook pro; mbp comes in 13, 15, and 17 whereas the macbook only comes in 13. But don't worry about the "pro" suffix; that computer sounds like it's a good deal for the price and macs can be used for years after they are "obsolete" and the low end macbook pro and the macbook have been very similar for a few years. But even the low end macs are very fast computers. That's a great deal for the HD and RAM upgrades, that part sounds a little odd to me but i am guessing he just wants to sell it and no matter what he'll make profit. I would suggest you look at it first. Any pictures?

 

[robotmonkey]

Pics will definitely help us. If you can, get the guy to take a screen shot of >about this mac>more info.

 

[vant]

Apple Refurbs have a one year warranty.

What warranty does he give and from whom?

Apple replaces EVERYTHING external with a refurbished laptop. Does he just sell used MBPs?

 

[robotmonkey]

Apple Refurbs have a one year warranty.

What warranty does he give and from whom?

Apple replaces EVERYTHING external with a refurbished laptop. Does he just sell used MBPs?

Good point. Still to expensive though, might as well buy a new one.

 

[tmst]

Wow such a fast response from all of you. Thanks so much. He told me he would be taking a few pictures for me of the MacBook Pro.

I told him just to verify, write my name on a sheet of paper and stick it somewhere in the picture. Haha.

Rest assured, it IS a MacBook Pro with a 15.4 in screen.

HERE is the page i stumbled upon at first. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

^^ after looking at that page, i called the guy up and we talked. He said that Amazon would not let him update the specs on the page, and to NOT listen to the web page.

 

[Hellhammer]

Good point. Still to expensive though, might as well buy a new one.

699$ for 2.13GHz MacBook ain't bad.... At least Apple is trusted while this guy seems more or less fishy with his 120GB HDs and DDR3.

 

[robotmonkey]

699$ for 2.13GHz MacBook ain't bad.... At least Apple is trusted while this guy seems more or less fishy with his 120GB HDs and DDR3.

That link was for an official apple site??? If it is then go for that, not this some what fishy mbp (not committed to saying it isn't legit though)

 

[robotmonkey]

Wow such a fast response from all of you. Thanks so much. He told me he would be taking a few pictures for me of the MacBook Pro.

I told him just to verify, write my name on a sheet of paper and stick it somewhere in the picture. Haha.

Rest assured, it IS a MacBook Pro with a 15.4 in screen.

HERE is the page i stumbled upon at first. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

^^ after looking at that page, i called the guy up and we talked. He said that Amazon would not let him update the specs on the page, and to NOT listen to the web page.

Don't believe the specs till he sends a pic or screen shot of the window detailing the macs specs
>about this mac>more info

It is a good price if those are the specs.... just worried about warranty.

 

[Hellhammer]

That link was for an official apple site??? If it is then go for that, not this some what fishy mbp (not committed to saying it isn't legit though)

Currently, the 2.13GHz is out of stock so my link is for refurb.me but once it becomes available (was 4 hours ago), you can simply click the link in refurb.me and it will open refurb store. There are a lot other refurbs too, great site to look for availability and options

 

[elpmas]

no seller in their right mind would do a free upgrade of memory (2gb to 4gb)...and wouldn't charge $30 for a hard drive that is worth $80...red flags are going up my friend...

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

 

[tmst]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000R7X80U/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

^^ this is the correct link. there will only be one item down to the left of the page with the 750 price tag. Seller cjegan2032.

Sorry for not being so full in details at the moment. I will give him a call very soon to send the pictures on over + pictures that you guys are requesting the >about this mac>more info.

He is selling it in the Amazon Marketplace. I read and the A-Z guarantee that the site gives you seems pretty solid to keep scammers out.

Once again the link above was the listing that I then followed through to calling the guy and thats how we got into further discussion on how amazon has set specs for the MacBook Pros that get put on there and how they could not change it.

 

[kny3twalker]

According to Amazon, that is a pre-unibody macbook pro with the notorious 8600GT (fails often).

And $750 is too much for that.

 

[Hellhammer]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000R7X80U/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

^^ this is the correct link. there will only be one item down to the left of the page with the 750 price tag. Seller cjegan2032.

Sorry for not being so full in details at the moment. I will give him a call very soon to send the pictures on over + pictures that you guys are requesting the >about this mac>more info.

He is selling it in the Amazon Marketplace. I read and the A-Z guarantee that the site gives you seems pretty solid to keep scammers out.

Once again the link above was the listing that I then followed through to calling the guy and thats how we got into further discussion on how amazon has set specs for the MacBook Pros that get put on there and how they could not change it.

That's mid 2007 MacBook Pro thus it's 3 years old! It's unlikely to have ANY warranty left and it has 8600M GT which has been proven to be a bad card (lots of failures). Would avoid that like plague...

See my link above for Apple's refurbs with full, 1-year warranty and other services from Apple

 

[robotmonkey]

no seller in their right mind would do a free upgrade of memory (2gb to 4gb)...and wouldn't charge $30 for a hard drive that is worth $80...red flags are going up my friend...

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

I too am concerned about that. Maybe he's using crap memory? If I were you, I'd either make sure the components are trustworthy (ask what he is using and tell us) or ask for a lower price without the upgrades and do it yourself. Those mods usually would cost anywhere from $200-$300. However, I assuming he got the computer for a very very low price, so he is going to make profit on it even with the nearly free upgrades. It's a good marketing strategy, albeit a fishy one.

 

[MikhailT]

Do not get any MBP with 8600gt. Period, no exceptions. You can pay 600$ for it, it'll die on you within a year and you'll have to pay 900$ to fix it. It's not worth it.

At least 9xxx, no 8xxx cards.

 

[striker9]

I find it strange he doesnt have any feedback on Amazon even though he runs a "shop".

 

[robotmonkey]

Do not get any MBP with 8600gt. Period, no exceptions. You can pay 600$ for it, it'll die on you within a year and you'll have to pay 900$ to fix it. It's not worth it.

At least 9xxx, no 8xxx cards.

Right I remember something about that chip

 

[tmst]

Don't believe the specs till he sends a pic or screen shot of the window detailing the macs specs
>about this mac>more info

It is a good price if those are the specs.... just worried about warranty.

About the warranty, he told me that I had 90 days through them to return it if it was not to my liking, or if there was any problems with the unit. He did tell me the MacBook Pro was Apple refurbished that apple had replaced the battery, charger, casing, and whatever else they do and that it was guaranteed to work amazing. He kept telling me how " he hates how apple is making a huge chunk of change on their refurbs, so they sell them at a lower price and still make good money.

 

[Hellhammer]

About the warranty, he told me that I had 90 days through them to return it if it was not to my liking, or if there was any problems with the unit. He did tell me the MacBook Pro was Apple refurbished that apple had replaced the battery, charger, casing, and whatever else they do and that it was guaranteed to work amazing. He kept telling me how " he hates how apple is making a huge chunk of change on their refurbs, so they sell them at a lower price and still make good money.

Those are normal seller's speeches. Don't buy it. For 699$, you can get a MacBook which is about as fast, with 1 year warranty from Apple. He has no feedback and messed with some specs too. It cannot be new either, it's used. Those models go for less in eBay due 8600M GT.

It's bad price, fishy seller and awful computer

 

[tmst]

I find it strange he doesnt have any feedback on Amazon even though he runs a "shop".

He told me he has been running this locally for years, and now just started selling online. Before was his father, now runned by him. He hates capitalism and how apple runs things.

 

[jbrenn]

If the link is the computer he is selling do not buy it.
It does not use ddr3 it uses ddr2.
The video card is crap. See the trend are all 8600gt owners screwed.
Mine is in the shop for its second rev 2 logic board. It is not worth it.

 

[robotmonkey]

About the warranty, he told me that I had 90 days through them to return it if it was not to my liking, or if there was any problems with the unit. He did tell me the MacBook Pro was Apple refurbished that apple had replaced the battery, charger, casing, and whatever else they do and that it was guaranteed to work amazing. He kept telling me how " he hates how apple is making a huge chunk of change on their refurbs, so they sell them at a lower price and still make good money.

Trying to work his way into your heart. That chip is bbbbaaaaddd if it really has it. (the nvidia everyone is talking about)