Craigslist Help.

[karatekidk]

Hi all. I am one of those macrumors newbies. Being a long time user of ibook G4, which is showing its age and getting really sluggish, I am planning to update my system. Predictably, my budget it tight, so I have been checking local craigslist and ebay fairly often.

Anyway, there is one ad that drew my attention. A late-2007 macbook, maxed out with 4gb ram, 2.2 ghz (white) core 2 duo and 120gb hdd. That comes with an apple remote, apple wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse. All for $850.

I exchanged e-mails with the owner, who seems to be a really nice person. He is the original owner of the machine. I got machine's serial #, which I verified with appleserialnumberinfo.com and apple website. The macbook seems to be in mint condition.

I have been selling/buying stuff (mostly sporting goods) through ebay, but I am fairly new to craigslist, not to mention buying an used computer from someone I do not know. Therefore, I'm a little nervous, even more so after reading all those stories. I have a good feeling about the communication with the owner so far, but I just would like input from everyone about buying a mac off craigslist. Besides, I want to make sure that is a good deal.

Thanks!

 

[Koodauw]

If it seems like a good deal, and they have provided many details, I would say jump on it. Have him meet you at a coffee shop or some public place. You should be fine. Keep in mind most people on CL just want to sell their items, its just the people who get scammed complain much louder, and that is what you see.

 

[mac.by.jake]

This seems very similar to the computer I writing this message on now (my wife's macbook). We bought it off of craigslist. We met the owner in person once to look at the computer and see what kind of person the owner was. He was a great guy. We played with the computer and saw that it worked, it was clean, and that it had all the original parts and packaging. It was good to meet the seller and get to know him. In fact we traded emails and have stayed in touch on chat and video chat.

The good thing with Craigslist is it allows you to meet and converse with the seller if you choose to.

We got a similar computer for 999.00 but it came loaded with software. We checked ebay and mac mall to make sure the deal was good.

 

[mac.by.jake]

If it seems like a good deal, and they have provided many details, I would say jump on it. Have him meet you at a coffee shop or some public place. You should be fine. Keep in mind most people on CL just want to sell their items, its just the people who get scammed complain much louder, and that is what you see.

This is exactly what we did. I forgot to mention that we first met him at a coffee shop and saw the computer. We came up with purchasing terms (cash, check, deposit, etc..) and then met a few days later at another coffee shop to close the deal.

 

[rumourguy]

Hi all. I am one of those macrumors newbies. Being a long time user of ibook G4, which is showing its age and getting really sluggish, I am planning to update my system. Predictably, my budget it tight, so I have been checking local craigslist and ebay fairly often.

Anyway, there is one ad that drew my attention. A late-2007 macbook, maxed out with 4gb ram, 2.2 ghz (white) core 2 duo and 120gb hdd. That comes with an apple remote, apple wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse. All for $850.

I exchanged e-mails with the owner, who seems to be a really nice person. He is the original owner of the machine. I got machine's serial #, which I verified with appleserialnumberinfo.com and apple website. The macbook seems to be in mint condition.

I have been selling/buying stuff (mostly sporting goods) through ebay, but I am fairly new to craigslist, not to mention buying an used computer from someone I do not know. Therefore, I'm a little nervous, even more so after reading all those stories. I have a good feeling about the communication with the owner so far, but I just would like input from everyone about buying a mac off craigslist. Besides, I want to make sure that is a good deal.

Thanks!

I think you can talk it down to 750-800

 

[Camoischaos]

With craigslist i would only make deals on it if you're meeting the person in person P) but i believe thats what the site was made for. So if you arent meeting the person in person i would be a little bit iffy about it.

Just thought id throw that out there. If you already knew what i said then sorry.

 

[mdgolom]

I've sold many Macs on Craigslist. I found there are many scammers out there trying to get you to ship the computer someplace.

I always meet the buyers and let them play with the computer to ensure it's working to their satisfaction. I will also try to help them if they have questions after the purchase.

I prefer Craigslist over eBay because the fees from both eBay and Craigslist are a killer, plus no hassles with shipping.

 

[karatekidk]

With craigslist i would only make deals on it if you're meeting the person in person P) but i believe thats what the site was made for. So if you arent meeting the person in person i would be a little bit iffy about it.

Just thought id throw that out there. If you already knew what i said then sorry.

Thank you. That was exactly what I was thinking about. The owner is a local person, so there is no reason why I cannot set up a face to face meeting.

This is exactly what we did. I forgot to mention that we first met him at a coffee shop and saw the computer. We came up with purchasing terms (cash, check, deposit, etc..) and then met a few days later at another coffee shop to close the deal.

Thanks for sharing your story. I thought I would have to be spontaneous, so that is a relief. I guess setting up an initial meeting enable me to get to know the machine, and the seller's attitude and personality. I hope the person who I have been corresponding with is patient enough.

Like I said, communication has been very smooth. Quick replies, and the owner even sent me a scanned copy of the invoice from Apple (the owners street address and item price invisible, of course). Pretty much all the original accessories in tact, except the box...

Two more questions. Can anyone tell me what to check once I meet with him in person with his machine?

Also, let's say I buy the machine from him. Assuming I cannot get a receipt of the purchase from the owner (well, I do have the scanned copy of the invoice), can I convince Apple that it is still under warranty and I can add applecare by just giving them the serial#?

Thank you!

 

[mje715]

Buying on Craigslist

I bought an iMac from someone on Craigslist earlier this month. It was a machine manufactured over this past summer and that had its factory warranty until next May. (There's a self-serve lookup tool for warranty coverage on Apple's support website: https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do where you can check this. I also verified it by phone. No receipt was necessary.

Additionally, I was able to purchase AppleCare protection from Apple for the iMac since it was still within its first year.

Hope this helps.

 

[karatekidk]

Thank you, mje715. That's good to know. I, however, decided to save up some money to get an aluminum macbook for now. I stopped by an Apple store today after my last-minute holiday shopping and was blown away by the quality and the beauty of the machine. Looked really nice!

Meanwhile, I will keep on checking craigslist for good deals... Thank you, everyone, for your comments and suggestions.

 

[cult]

Just this week I bought a dual 867 Mhz G4 Quicksilver from a guy on Craigslist. I got it for a song, and just today installed USB 2.0 via a PCI card. It runs Leopard very well and overall I'm quite happy with it.

 

[175170]

Thank you, mje715. That's good to know. I, however, decided to save up some money to get an aluminum macbook for now. I stopped by an Apple store today after my last-minute holiday shopping and was blown away by the quality and the beauty of the machine. Looked really nice!

Meanwhile, I will keep on checking craigslist for good deals... Thank you, everyone, for your comments and suggestions.

Wow. I didn't expect that. Will a black MacBook sastify your desires?
I always wanted a MacBook Aluminum, but I settled for the Black MacBook