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

Don't buy AppleCare on Ebay

Status
Not open for further replies.
Detektiv-Pinky said:
Ok, this guy only sells the registration code. He will deliver this to you and can claim that he delivered on your purchase.
It is, however, strongly against the rules of eBay to sell counterfeit products.

Don't just leave negative feedback.
Go and file for customer protection with PayPal. Voice your doubts over the received merchandise and demand proof that this product is legitimate.

It is now the turn of the seller to prove that this is more than just a silly number-scheme - where somebody figured out how to generate registration numbers by the dozen.

The seller uses the original Apple-Advertisements to sell AppleCare - let him prove it, but not to you - to the people from eBay and PayPal. They should kick him from eBay if he can not prove his claims.

As for discounts on AppleCare, a lot of people have mentioned Amazon as a respectable source.
Click to expand...

Yeah, good idea. I have already asked him if he could provide some kind of proof that the code was legit so it will be interesting to see what happens if/when he gets back to me. If I don't hear back from him in a couple of days I'll contact Paypal and ebay with my concerns. I have my doubts though on how successful this will be...

Although I have the code, I'm way too paranoid to use it. I'm not sure what's worse - no Applecare or fake Applecare!?

Unfortunately Amazon doesn't ship to New Zealand :\
 
yaking said:
Receipt of stolen items is illegal in the United States; even if it was an "accident". If you installed Mac OS X on a Dell Mini 9 and had issues, would you take that computer to the Apple store?
Click to expand...

That's not true. Receipt of stolen or illegal goods is unlawful only if the recipient has the *intent* - in other words, if he/she knows that he/she is receiving stolen property.

Comparing that to installing os x on a dell mini 9 does not hold valid as the person installing the software is very well aware that violates Apple's EULA. In this case, customers don't have an inkling of a doubt that the AppleCare they are buying could be illegal/stolen.

Heck, Guitar Center was selling fake Shure SM57 microphones one time - do you think the customers will be held accountable for buying those counterfeit mics? Nope, not even Guitar Center was liable as even they did not know that their supplier was handing them illegal stuff.
 
I also bought my applecare from ebay. Haven't had a problem yet. Every month or so I log in to apple and verify that it is still active.
 
To those who've purchased AppleCare on Ebay

Well, as someone who have purchased AppleCare on Ebay- It sucks. My Seller is not even active on Ebay anymore... :(
I guess he can ask Apple for a refund and void my warranty, but there is an optimistic side to think about: Since Apple refunds the money according to the time left on the warranty, I would presume the seller would try and do it as soon as the Pay-pal dispute window closes. If he don't do it in the first couple of months, he loses a lot money. I would think that if you've purchased AppleCare a few months back, and the contract is still active, you're probably in the clear.
 
I rang Apple New Zealand yesterday and asked if they could check out if the code was legit. They said it all seems fine, and haven't heard of any fake codes being sold on ebay and I should be fine to use it... so Apple NZ anyway, are obviously not really aware of what's going on yet. Maybe I'll just use the code and hope that it doesn't get canceled by memorymate or picked up by Apple in the next 2 years :\
 
iolo said:
Well, as someone who have purchased AppleCare on Ebay- It sucks. My Seller is not even active on Ebay anymore... :(
I guess he can ask Apple for a refund and void my warranty, but there is an optimistic side to think about: Since Apple refunds the money according to the time left on the warranty, I would presume the seller would try and do it as soon as the Pay-pal dispute window closes. If he don't do it in the first couple of months, he loses a lot money. I would think that if you've purchased AppleCare a few months back, and the contract is still active, you're probably in the clear.
Click to expand...

You've got that right. My ebay seller (fromtheheartllc) waited until it was past the 45 day period and then processed the refund. Now they claim that they were selling on consignment (over 34 sold, lots of unsold too, that's a LOT) and I can deal with the 3rd party they sold for, but they won't give me that information. Of course their listings state that they are the owners of the item.

Paypal can't/won't help. They denied my appeal of the 45 day rule. Apple won't help and I can understand since I did not buy it from them.

I will, however, make a call to Apple Customer Service because I am very upset that Apple NEVER contacted ME at all. They simply cancelled my plan and gave the money back to the holder of the PoP. Even though all my info was associated with the registered plan, I got no email and no call from Apple to inform me. Thank goodness I wasn't right at or past my 1 year warranty or I'd be really screwed.

I was able to get the name, phone number, real business name and address of the seller. I have now filed formal complaints through Paypal (denied), ebay (denied) and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov).

I realize that my money is likely gone. But I will take steps to get registered complaints against this person so it's on record. If enough people do the same, maybe something will be done to stop them. If everyone sits back and says "oh well..." then we'll never have a chance.

I was mildly amused when the claims department at Paypal told me (on the phone) that I should have used a credit card instead of my paypal balance. Gee, what's the point of having money in my account? I can have it taken out for the payment or I can wait for it to transfer to my bank and then have to process a payment to my credit card? And if I carry a balance I can let the new charged amount build high interest while payments are applied to the lowest interest balances?
 
Music_Producer said:
That's not true. Receipt of stolen or illegal goods is unlawful only if the recipient has the *intent* - in other words, if he/she knows that he/she is receiving stolen property.
Click to expand...

Yes, but even if the recipient is "innocent" of handling stolen goods, they have no title to them - the goods remain the property of the victim.

Caveat Emptor.
 
catparade said:
I rang Apple New Zealand yesterday and asked if they could check out if the code was legit. They said it all seems fine, and haven't heard of any fake codes being sold on ebay and I should be fine to use it... so Apple NZ anyway, are obviously not really aware of what's going on yet. Maybe I'll just use the code and hope that it doesn't get canceled by memorymate or picked up by Apple in the next 2 years :\
Click to expand...

Just so you know, Apple "NZ" is based in Singapore.
 
hey.. bought applecare from the same seller.. after reading all these scary posts i decided to file a dispute via paypal.. either the seller sends me the serial number or i will try to get my money refunded.. lets see how itll turn out..
 
So I guess the answer to all of this is to purchase the boxed version of Apple Care. I do see the boxed versions come out on ebay for about the same price as the email code versions, but they tend to go quickly.
 
catparade said:
Ugh I'm a total idiot.
I bought applecare for my macbook pro off ebay from 'Memorymate' on friday - I was at work, in a hurry, my 1 year warranty runs out soon and I saw he was a 'powerseller' etc and bought it, without really looking into it.
I've had friends buy applecare off ebay and had no problem.

Of course I find this thread two days later and I'm absolutely ******** myself...

I am yet to recieve the code via email from him (I'm guessing because it's the weekend, he said it will be sent within 48hrs working days)..
but not holding up much hope of it working anyway.

Do you think ringing Visa or anything will help? Can I stop the transfer? Doesn't it take a couple of days for the money to actually go out of your account? (I paid via paypal, using my Visa debit card)
I'm totally new to ebay/paypal etc. have no idea how it works :\

Gutted. Total idiot.
Click to expand...


MemoryMate is a trusted seller even on MacRumors. Relax.
 
If your Apple care has been cancelled does it still show on the Apple support site or will it be removed?

I purchased Apple care for my ACD in December from this seller [fromtheheartllc] who was terrible to deal with. Very rude and didn't bother to leave feedback either after I had left a positive feedback for her. So I am not surprised to hear she is in on this scam as well.
 
rbcb said:
hey.. bought applecare from the same seller.. after reading all these scary posts i decided to file a dispute via paypal.. either the seller sends me the serial number or i will try to get my money refunded.. lets see how itll turn out..
Click to expand...

yup I have just done the same. Heard anything back yet?
I have emailed memorymate twice about sending me a serial number, and no reply. Pretty suspect to me..
 
I'm disputing with memorymate through paypal. The seller remains silent. I've only today escalated the dispute to a claim, so we'll see how it goes.
 
I am just back from a 35min (4 Euro, 90 Cent) phone call with Apple...

Short summary:

1. My AppleCare is fake
2. Apple is aware that people sell fake AppleCare on Ebay
3. This unbelievable low price found on Ebay is in fact this: unbelievable
4. You need a paper-receipt from an Authorized Reseller to show, if doubt over your contract arises at a later time

I emailed off all my details and they will look more closely into the issue.
Keep you informed...
 
So i've been thinking.. I don't think these scams work buy the ebayer's buying then returning..

I think they have somehow come up with a way to generate the serials.

It makes sense, thats why they don't have the box or any of the stuff.

Think about it, do you think apple would constantly issue refund checks to the same person? No. What I think happened to the OP is apple realized the key was not legitimate, not that the product was returned.

Explains why some people had an issue with 'batch of bad keys'.. Umm yea.
 
vexious said:
So i've been thinking.. I don't think these scams work buy the ebayer's buying then returning..

I think they have somehow come up with a way to generate the serials.

It makes sense, thats why they don't have the box or any of the stuff.

Think about it, do you think apple would constantly issue refund checks to the same person? No. What I think happened to the OP is apple realized the key was not legitimate, not that the product was returned.

Explains why some people had an issue with 'batch of bad keys'.. Umm yea.
Click to expand...

In my case Apple told me a specific date that the holder of the proof of purchase processed the return.

My guess is that either:
A - the ebay seller (fromtheheartllc) was holding the box and waited 45+ days to process the return
B - the ebay seller (fromtheheartllc) had a key generator and eventually the holder of the real PoP did a return.

My bet is on A. I have several printouts of this seller's auctions where she specifically states that she owns all the agreements herself, then she has the nerve to tell me that she never did and she only sold on consignment for a 3rd party who now has all the money.

I'm compiling all my evidence in case any action actually takes place in the case I opened on the IC3 site.
 
Im on the phone with apple right now, and they told me it can't be returned without the serial number of the attached Macbook. That's funny, the person I'm in touch with right now said she does it for a 3rd party, a guy who's to busy to do it himself also ha.

Ha

ZachsMacDaddy said:
In my case Apple told me a specific date that the holder of the proof of purchase processed the return.

My guess is that either:
A - the ebay seller (fromtheheartllc) was holding the box and waited 45+ days to process the return
B - the ebay seller (fromtheheartllc) had a key generator and eventually the holder of the real PoP did a return.

My bet is on A. I have several printouts of this seller's auctions where she specifically states that she owns all the agreements herself, then she has the nerve to tell me that she never did and she only sold on consignment for a 3rd party who now has all the money.

I'm compiling all my evidence in case any action actually takes place in the case I opened on the IC3 site.
Click to expand...
 
How is it possible to have a BAD BATCH of serials? This whole applecare on ebay is a scam.

I think they have a keygen, and u get a void once someone in a store buys it with the same serial, returns it because they couldn't register it.

That or they steal them.

They obviously don't have the box in there position as they refuse to send it. So its a illegitimate process.

neiltc13 said:
The seller that I bought AppleCare from just sent out an email a few days ago saying that they had issued a bad batch of codes which were being rejected by Apple.

Mine is fine, but reading this topic I am a little worried.
Click to expand...
 
This is ridiculous, so my plan hasn't been canceled yet.

But apple wont:

Remove the apple care and allow me to buy it from apple without the POF

Wont Refund my money without the POF

So I'm stuck, and there is nothing I can do.

This is dumb.
 
Detektiv-Pinky said:
I am just back from a 35min (4 Euro, 90 Cent) phone call with Apple...

Short summary:

1. My AppleCare is fake
2. Apple is aware that people sell fake AppleCare on Ebay
3. This unbelievable low price found on Ebay is in fact this: unbelievable
4. You need a paper-receipt from an Authorized Reseller to show, if doubt over your contract arises at a later time

I emailed off all my details and they will look more closely into the issue.
Keep you informed...
Click to expand...

Scheiße! :eek:

As someone who is getting a MacBook Pro + AppleCare very soon, reading this thread is all I need to be convinced to buy everything in person at the Apple store...i.e., so it will be directly through Apple. I've purchased a number of items from Flea-bay and have never been scammed, but I'm definitely going to keep this in mind from now on. :eek:
 
Well right now the seller is refusing to refund me my money or provide me with there original receipt of proof of purchase. They have sold around 100 copies of apple care, and gave the excuse, 'who keeps receipts anyways'.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back