Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

craigslist - should i buy this?

R

rust.puppet

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 18, 2008
233
0
Ashtabula, OH
http://cleveland.craigslist.org/sys/1294703845.html


ive been looking foreward to buying the 13" mb alu since this time last year and now that they have the mbp out and whatnot and i dont have the money still i figured id check out craigslist for the first time. do you guys think this is for real? also is that model going to meet my needs still? (video editing, photoshop, light gaming, youtube, ect.)

it just seems too good to be true so i wanted opinions while i wait for a response from them.
 
stick with buying straight from apple or an authorized reseller.
also...where do i make a new post?
 
I would e-mail the guy first, you would never know unless you try right??

some people are actually in need of money these days, my sister bought a macbook not too long ago, and it's $475-500 i believe, I was with her, when we did all the transaction and stuff.

So if you email it, and if a real person e-mailed back. then you might be good to go


One more tip, bring 2 or a person with you, when you're doing craigslist stuff.
 
seems way too good to be true. The warranty information being off puts up a red flag too.
 
I'm always wary of ads without pics. If you e-mail this guy and get a reply that says "Thanks for your interest. I am willing to ship this item..." or anything like that, then run!

Only buy things from craigslist in person and make sure you check out the item before you fork over the money.
 
I seen the same add on the Kansas City Craigslist. Hmmmm...To good to be true, I think its a scam of some kind.
 
Chances are you are going to get a reply from someone whose name starts with A (like Amy, Amanda, or Andrew; it's always an 'a' name, don't ask me why) who will claim to be from your city, but just happens to be in Manchester, UK (again, don't ask me why). They'll offer to ship it to you with a fool proof way to receive the money, etc....THIS IS A SCAM.

If you buy such a machine from an ad, you may as well fly to the nearest large city and give your money to the first Nigerian you see; it will save you a lot of time and aggravation.
 
MarkCooz said:
I would e-mail the guy first, you would never know unless you try right??

some people are actually in need of money these days, my sister bought a macbook not too long ago, and it's $475-500 i believe, I was with her, when we did all the transaction and stuff.

So if you email it, and if a real person e-mailed back. then you might be good to go


One more tip, bring 2 or a person with you, when you're doing craigslist stuff.
Click to expand...

If it's an aluminum MacBook, then your sister's machine was likely stolen as well. If it's an older whiteBook, then $500 for her machine isn't unrealistic.

However, the ad in question is for an aluminum MacBook Pro, and there is NO WAY that any legitimate seller would liquidate it to strangers for $450! Even if the seller were desperately in need of cash, he/she could still list for much more and sell it within a day or two.

This is either a foreign scam or stolen merchandise. You would have to be pretty naive to think otherwise.
 
applebook said:
If it's an aluminum MacBook, then your sister's machine was likely stolen as well. If it's an older whiteBook, then $500 for her machine isn't unrealistic.

However, the ad in question is for an aluminum MacBook Pro, and there is NO WAY that any legitimate seller would liquidate it to strangers for $450! Even if the seller were desperately in need of cash, he/she could still list for much more and sell it within a day or two.

This is either a foreign scam or stolen merchandise. You would have to be pretty naive to think otherwise.
Click to expand...

My sister's macbook was the whiteBook and we bought it for $500, I have a friend over at apple's tech support, we matched the owner who was named under the macbook, and both the seller and the guy who owned this macbook is truly him, same guy, so it can't be a steal. There was no one else who used the whiteBook except for my sister.

I guess what you are saying IS true a UB MacBook that's selling for $450 yeah i guess i'd call it a scam... too good to be true, anyways has anyone actually e-mailed the person/bot?/scammer?


EDIT: what a real scammer
found a link to DC's MACBOOK PRO which is identical to the one for Ohio
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/sys/1298310573.html
 
I am selling my macbook white early 2008 on craiglist and had no offers probz because of ppl like this selling products they dont have. :mad:
 
Yeah, you've probably already figured this out, but that's a scam, hah.

What also is ticking me off about craigslist is people stealing text for fraudulent listings. I visited craigslist to see what other apple listings were going for, and noticed that not long after mine, someone copied and pasted the text from my listing, adding in a few words here and there and changing the contact e-mail and listing with no pictures at an insanely low price... but that kind of frustrated me... it made me think "well what if someone reads mine and thinks it's a scam?" even though mine had pictures... still ticked me off.
 
clyde2801 said:
Chances are you are going to get a reply from someone whose name starts with A (like Amy, Amanda, or Andrew; it's always an 'a' name, don't ask me why) who will claim to be from your city, but just happens to be in Manchester, UK (again, don't ask me why). They'll offer to ship it to you with a fool proof way to receive the money, etc....THIS IS A SCAM.

If you buy such a machine from an ad, you may as well fly to the nearest large city and give your money to the first Nigerian you see; it will save you a lot of time and aggravation.
Click to expand...

you hit it right on the head, amanda from manchester with a full proof plan. sucks though because now i have to wait another atleast 2 months. :( and pay full price.
 
rust.puppet said:
you hit it right on the head, amanda from manchester with a full proof plan. sucks though because now i have to wait another atleast 2 months. :( and pay full price.
Click to expand...

So you paid?

How Western Union?

I guess you never saw the p-p-p powerbook thread? About a scam artist in London that was a buyer, trying to scam the seller. And the scammer got screwed. And there was a Macrumors forum member there to photographic the event.

Anything that sounds too good to be true usually is.

Update please :)
 
Where did you get the impression that the OP paid? My guess is that they contacted the seller to get details and realised at that point that the seller is trying the typical scam.

OP, good on you for staying away, and for heeding the advice offered here.
 
JustLikeYou said:
... it made me think "well what if someone reads mine and thinks it's a scam?" even though mine had pictures... still ticked me off.
Click to expand...

A few thing I do to show others that my ad is not a scam -
- take photos of your item with your email or phone number written on a piece on paper
- list the main intersection of where you are located (not just the city)
- specify "local, in person deal and cash only"

Scammers can never match that.
 
now now, though in general, the idea holds true, just because its too good to be true doesn't ALWAYS mean that it is. I got a first generation iphone with AppleCare for $160 off of craigslist!

As long as you deal locally and are able to see the item upfront before payment, I'd say its worth a shot.
 
not to mention, he says that COSMETICALLY the computer is in good shape, what does that mean as far as the internal???

Scam scam scam.. ive seen a few adds like that before in the Birmingham area.:eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back