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Craigslist

U

universal

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 17, 2009
12
0
Hey.

I'm buying a slightly used macbook pro on craigslist and i'm meeting with the guy tomorrow for the exchange. I was wondering what the normal form of payment is with these types of transactions. I don't want to just go with $2000 in my pocket and get jacked, but I feel like if I was him i would be weary of a check. What is your advise.

Also is $2000 a good deal for a slightly used 15" 2.8ghz unibody with 4gb ram and a 128gb solid state?


thanks
 
I don't think "test everything out" like old-wiz said can be stressed enough. There are a lot of scams, but also a lot of legit deals you can find on CL. If the seller says the battery's dead, find somewhere to plug it in. Always meet up in a nicely populated place. All the stuff they put on there to keep the users safe shouldn't be taken lightly.

Anything you'd use if it was yours, test it. Take a USB device and/or CD/DVD to make sure they work how they should, and again, if there's some excuse why he can't demo it, don't buy it. Don't let them go back to their car with it or anything. Just do a search on these forums and you can see all kinds of scams that are ran.
 
I don't think it's such a great deal.

When is the original purchase date?

Too many variables for that amount of money.

Just buy it from the refurb section in the Apple Store, and add the SSD later on.
 
universal said:
Hey.

I'm buying a slightly used macbook pro on craigslist and i'm meeting with the guy tomorrow for the exchange. I was wondering what the normal form of payment is with these types of transactions. I don't want to just go with $2000 in my pocket and get jacked, but I feel like if I was him i would be weary of a check. What is your advise.

Also is $2000 a good deal for a slightly used 15" 2.8ghz unibody with 4gb ram and a 128gb solid state?


thanks
Click to expand...

You could always go with a cashier's check. That's what I would do. The price seems reasonable. However, I suggest throughly checking the MBP before you complete the transaction.

Good luck,

Habitus :apple:
 
Habitus said:
You could always go with a cashier's check. That's what I would do. The price seems reasonable. However, I suggest throughly checking the MBP before you complete the transaction.

Good luck,

Habitus :apple:
Click to expand...

If I were the seller, I wouldn't accept a cashiers check. It could be a fake and it could be cancelled after the trade is made. Cash is the only way I'd sell something in craigslist.

All The Best,

Surely :apple:
 
Surely said:
If I were the seller, I wouldn't accept a cashiers check. It could be a fake and it could be cancelled after the trade is made. Cash is the only way I'd sell something in craigslist.

All The Best,

Surely :apple:
Click to expand...

So true, but he's talking to the buyer, not the seller:)

How do you know the cash isn't fake too :D
 
I think you should keep looking. People will often list stuff on craigslist at less than market value because they don't like the hassle of listing it on eBay, shipping it out, then transferring the PayPal money into their bank account. You do need to do some legwork (sending emails out, getting pictures, making offers, arranging the meetup) but you can get a much better deal with a little patience.
 
Thank you for all of your feedback. I ended up making the transaction today. I think I got a very good deal. I got him down to $1700 for the 2.8ghz laptop with 128gb ssd + 2yr. applecare and it's only few months old. He also through in a hard case and a form fitting case and the original box with the operating system and stock apps (even came with the apple stickers. I'm happy with the purchase. Lightning fast machine.
 
I realize you already bought the computer, but for anyone else considering a similar transaction I would recommend getting the serial number from the owner before purchase so you can check the specs on Apple's support page to confirm the specs you are being told online, but also to run the serial # through the Powermax.com database of stolen computers. Just to ensure you're getting the right machine and also that the computer isn't hot.
 
universal said:
Thank you for all of your feedback. I ended up making the transaction today. I think I got a very good deal. I got him down to $1700 for the 2.8ghz laptop with 128gb ssd + 2yr. applecare and it's only few months old. He also through in a hard case and a form fitting case and the original box with the operating system and stock apps (even came with the apple stickers. I'm happy with the purchase. Lightning fast machine.
Click to expand...

$1700 with two years applecare and ssd sounds like a good deal to me. its 25% below refurb. congratulations.

in general i would meet at my bank with the guy, check everything out, withdraw the money and pay. that is the safest way to do it.
 
universal said:
Thank you for all of your feedback. I ended up making the transaction today. I think I got a very good deal. I got him down to $1700 for the 2.8ghz laptop with 128gb ssd + 2yr. applecare and it's only few months old. He also through in a hard case and a form fitting case and the original box with the operating system and stock apps (even came with the apple stickers. I'm happy with the purchase. Lightning fast machine.
Click to expand...

Hey, that's a very good deal. Congrats!

For $1,700 I would have done it too, but not for $2,000.

Where did you do the deal? Did you go with a cash transaction? Did you bargain with him over the phone before you met, or once you tried out the machine?
 
Met at a gelsons market. I worked out the price over the phone. Told him 1700 was all i had and didn't budge.
 
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