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Don't buy AppleCare on Ebay

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vexious said:
Really? I called in about 4 different times, all of them said there is no way they can do it as they have to issue a 'refund'. I even talked to Corporate Customer Care.. =\

The guy at Corp Care said I could buy an additional applecare and if he cancels it within a month he'd let me still apply it but that was it. It was the first time i've ever been really let down by apple and saddened. As i offered to purchase a copy direct from them, they still refused.
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Wow, that stinks! How long ago was that? Now I see why you posted what you posted.
 
Smacky said:
What happens if you buy a legit copy, but lose the box? Which is probably quite common over 3 years
Then have you wasted the full price when Apple denies that you have a legit copy?
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Also what happens if buy over the phone - I've never once received a box with a serial (only the 'AppleCare Protection Plan Certificate' via email).
 
vexious said:
Really? I called in about 4 different times, all of them said there is no way they can do it as they have to issue a 'refund'. I even talked to Corporate Customer Care.. =\

The guy at Corp Care said I could buy an additional applecare and if he cancels it within a month he'd let me still apply it but that was it. It was the first time I've ever been really let down by apple and saddened. As i offered to purchase a copy direct from them, they still refused.
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If some people are saying they make exceptions for them to remove a bad applecare and buy a new one, then I would suggest just keep calling back until you get someone at Apple who WANTS to help you, not just someone doing their job.
 
live4ever said:
Also what happens if buy over the phone - I've never once received a box with a serial (only the 'AppleCare Protection Plan Certificate' via email).
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When you buy directly from Apple, they should have the transaction on file and probably will never dispute your contract.

I think the whole issue is only relevant in order prevent multiple registrations of the same contract (it is after all just a number) and to sort out claims of ownerships if there is any doubt over your registration status, or if you want to get a refund on your AppleCare.

I am currently waiting for Apple to get back to me. I purchased myself a second protection plan (via Apple this time). The person at Apple told me that I would have to register through him...
 
PDE said:
I've bought applecare on ebay and never had an issue with the registration or with Apple retracting the contract they sent later on. I'm curious though where these applecare codes come from in the first place. Surely, if they were stolen, it would be easy to track that down and block them? Where are these sellers getting them and how they can be sold for so little?

Just very curious what I'm missing here...
thanks!
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there are several theories and obviously anybody who knows for sure isn't going to tell you! :D

so for the fun of it, here are some theories;

1) of course some people say these are legit codes that Apple sold to sellers who aren't authorized resellers....but other people swear apple doesn't sell "code only" applecare to resellers of any sort.

2) it's known that software has been developed to generate fake registration codes that fall within the range of Apple's registration codes. Apparently this has been quite a problem with itunes codes and now it seems to be catching up with the applecare "code only" market. The fake codes are good enough that they fool apple's registration system. How, or even how many of these fakes Apple eventually spots isn't known either. The person(s) who generate these fake codes simply sells a list of them to middlemen who resell a list that ultimately ends up in the hands of somebody selling to the public.

3) just as people steal copies of CC numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers and the like, somebody somewhere with access to a file of legitimate apple produced codes has illegally made a copy of some of the codes and has sold them for a little extra cash....and these lists end up in the marketplace

4) and there's the theory that several cases of legitimate applecare boxes "fell off a truck" .....or maybe they "got lost" in the store room of some reseller.....in this situation one assumes they open the boxes and sell the codes. Apple might (or might not?) be able to ultimately match these codes to the stolen goods but it's going to take a lot of time. In the meantime, a lot of the codes are bought and registered which will only complicate matters

5) and then there's the idea that somebody buys a legit box and then resells the code to a number of people.....seems like a pretty small time operation, but it's a theory

6) and of course you could buy a cheap "code only" number from an ebay reseller and start reselling that number yourself :eek:
 
Hi there...

Just to let you know, today I registered the new AppleCare contract (bought directly from the AppleStore this time) with Apple customer service.

I probably hat the phone ringing for about 5 minutes before it was answered. I guess they are all busy moving boxes.

I again asked, if Apple is doing anything about this scam. The guy sounded not very interested and instead suggested to me that I take Paypal to court (in the interest of all the other Apple users --- go figure).

Beware through, the Ebay seller MemoryMate has changed its business name to app.holdings, retaining all it's seller-ratings. :eek:
I don't know how this is possible, but it seems Ebay goes to great lengths in order to support their power-seller cash-cows.

Before Apple updated my AppleCare contract, I looked at the status website and it still showed the disputed AppleCare contract, however the guy from Apple told me that it was not. :confused:

Now my status reads: Registration in progress...:rolleyes:
 
It has been suggested several times, but it seems to have gotten lost - stolen credit cards. Code generation can only take people so far, and all this "we must issue a refund" sounds like the AppleCare was bought with a card later reported as stolen - you know how it always takes time to get back the money lost this way, if you get it back at all?

Someone even emailed Apple last year asking about cheap iTunes GC and posted their response, where they confirmed that most of these were bought "with someone else's credit card which does constitute fraud". I can see how they wouldn't want it to be associated with their name, but I still don't like that they seem to do nothing about this.
 
Is there any way to find out how Paypal came to a conclusion over a dispute?

It seems my dispute was resolved in memorymate's (now 'app.holdings') favour and I would LOVE to know how he weasled out of it :\
 
I think if this becomes a big problem then someone needs to drag Apple to court over it.

If a customer unknowingly purchases a product that is in some way not legit, then Apple needs to let that customer know when the code is registered. If I buy Applecare and it registers fine then as far as I'm concerned it's a done deal.

If Apple wants to let the issue sit idle for 2 years until something breaks and THEN point out to me that my extended warranty is not valid then that's just not right.

They have a chance at registration to point out the issue. They have the remainder of the Apple warranty to identify the issue as well. Beyond that I'd say you would have a pretty good shot in court.
 
brentsg said:
I think if this becomes a big problem then someone needs to drag Apple to court over it.

If a customer unknowingly purchases a product that is in some way not legit, then Apple needs to let that customer know when the code is registered. If I buy Applecare and it registers fine then as far as I'm concerned it's a done deal.

If Apple wants to let the issue sit idle for 2 years until something breaks and THEN point out to me that my extended warranty is not valid then that's just not right.

They have a chance at registration to point out the issue. They have the remainder of the Apple warranty to identify the issue as well. Beyond that I'd say you would have a pretty good shot in court.
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May want to study up on your law there buddy. Taking Apple to court because you bought a product from someone who is not a registered Apple Reseller? That's not going to really go far in any state I know of.
 
brentsg said:
If a customer unknowingly purchases a product that is in some way not legit, then Apple needs to let that customer know when the code is registered. If I buy Applecare and it registers fine then as far as I'm concerned it's a done deal.

If Apple wants to let the issue sit idle for 2 years until something breaks and THEN point out to me that my extended warranty is not valid then that's just not right.
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I would say that this is reasonable.

If you receive an Applecare confirmation from Apple, then it would make sense that your Applecare is good for the 3 year period.
 
jessica. said:
May want to study up on your law there buddy.
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And your law credentials are what exactly?

So you're saying that if I buy a new Macbook from Ebay, or second hand.... that Apple won't honor the 1 year warranty? I seriously doubt that.
 
Guys,

I read this loooong thread and noticed just 'Detektiv-Pinky' had problems receiving an email from Apple saying his code number was not valid (45 days after it registered).

Do you know anyone else had this kind of problems?
 
just to confirm you get 90 days free applecare phone support after that you can only email them?
 
Just had the PayPal claim that I filed against MemoryMate rule in his favour.

Even though he never responded to any emails from PayPal about the claim. I called PayPal to find out why the claim ruled against me and it turns out that because the item is an 'intangible item' PayPal cannot continue with the claim!

The dude on the phone at PayPal didn't seem surprised at all when I told him of all of the reports about this sellers practices. He did tell me that MemoryMates PayPal account is under review, and if he receives enough complaints of the same nature his account will be frozen and he will be asked to pay back ALL claims filed in his favour.

It basically looks like this guy has got it sewn up - he seems free from the rules of PayPal due to this 'intangible item' rule that PayPal have.
 
Mustard Chops said:
Just had the PayPal claim that I filed against MemoryMate rule in his favour.

Even though he never responded to any emails from PayPal about the claim. I called PayPal to find out why the claim ruled against me and it turns out that because the item is an 'intangible item' PayPal cannot continue with the claim!

The dude on the phone at PayPal didn't seem surprised at all when I told him of all of the reports about this sellers practices. He did tell me that MemoryMates PayPal account is under review, and if he receives enough complaints of the same nature his account will be frozen and he will be asked to pay back ALL claims filed in his favour.

It basically looks like this guy has got it sewn up - he seems free from the rules of PayPal due to this 'intangible item' rule that PayPal have.
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What was your problem with him? He did not send the AppleCare or it did not work?
 
On this note, it says on the apple online store that if you buy applecare at the same time - it will be automatically enrolled. Doesn't this mean you don't get the physical box also? What's the difference?
 
trevorplease said:
On this note, it says on the apple online store that if you buy applecare at the same time - it will be automatically enrolled. Doesn't this mean you don't get the physical box also? What's the difference?
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if you buy it from apple, then you'll have a receipt from apple instead of from somebody who isn't an authorized reseller....if you read back thru the thread you'll see that apple has asked people for either the serial number from the box OR a receipt from an authorized reseller
 
catparade said:
Is there any way to find out how Paypal came to a conclusion over a dispute?

It seems my dispute was resolved in memorymate's (now 'app.holdings') favour and I would LOVE to know how he weasled out of it :\
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Same thing with me. I called PayPal and because the item was 'intangible' ie a code, they will not proceed with a claim and find in the sellers favour.

This guy is on to a winner here! He is basically untouchable by eBay & PayPal...
 
I think it would also be wise to create a list

There's so many sellers on ebay that are selling the applecare warranties, with high feedback. How do we know if they're legit? I've read through the entire thread, and I'm still not sure which sellers can be trusted and which can't. Is it really worth it to buy through ebay? They all have over 1k feedback.

What's up with some of these sellers doing buy 5 get one free? All I can see from the sellers that are selling for so cheap is a whole lot of BS. It makes me sick. Some even have this BS go green auction and that's why they're not giving the boxes.

It doesn't make sense to buy from Apple if you know you're getting a helluva deal and nothing to worry about because the seller is solid.

Maybe we can finally start a legit list? Is that even possible? What are the average prices anyways? Or, what are the prices I should look for?

Thanks,
 
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