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

Found New, sealed MBP for $900 on Craigslist... help?!

jessica. said:
You're not a kid. That's the issue here. You're a sophomore in college and that should make you what? 19-20? You're not a kid at all. You're young, and that's totally okay. Heck, it is even fine living at home while in college; I sure wish I had taken that luxury myself. But a sound financial decision is not made simply because mom and dad carry you. Wouldn't you rather spend less, save some, and perhaps start looking towards a future? This is a great time to do that because you have nothing to take care of. Why would you want to blow every single penny on a silly laptop? Because it's Apple? Because it makes you feel superior? What's the real point here?

Like I said, you're going to do what you're going to do. You came here for advice and I think you were hoping for a pat on the back and accolades for your wonderful CL search capabilities. That went south fast because we're a bunch and yahoos around here and we like to hear ourselves type. Just think about it. Think about you saying you're a kid, a sophomore in college, and you rely 100% on mom and dad. I'd tell you to man up but that doesn't work here so do whatever we women do similar to manning up. ;)
Click to expand...

I guess I still think of myself as a kid because my father keeps treating me like a kid (parents divorced, live with mom)... I'm still expected to come over every-other weekend and he still confiscates my computer when he's angry.

Oh... and I want the MBP because it'll work. And I know it'll work for years to come. However, I'm EXTREMELY skeptical when it comes to windows computers. Where I live, having a MacBook is very common place... nothing about having it would make me feel superior in ANY way.
 
I'm usually a lurker on the forums, but thought I'd throw my 2cents in the well...

From an outsiders view, with knowing nothing about you, it really sounds like you want a NEW Macbook just for the "look". This may be completely wrong, but as a 'starving ramen-noodle-type college student', I wouldn't think blowing your entire savings on a machine that is probably overkill for what you want to do with it is the best decision, both logically and financially.

I have an older 2007 or 2008 white macbook that I originally purchased to hook up to my drum set and keyboards for music production. Since I've bought it, the only maintenance I've done, if you can even call it that is added a bigger hard drive and more ram. I have a few applications on it on the "mac side", and even loaded Windows 7 via bootcamp/parallels to hook up my telescope to be able to capture images and video.

My point is, you don't need a $1000 machine (or in your case $900) to get email, surf the web, and check your facebook status.

Yes, my machine can't run mountain lion.. snow leopard/regular lion works just fine, and I'd suspect it'd work fine for you too for day-to-day operation.

It's all about personal habits as well. My machine is almost 4 or 5 years old and has almost no wear at all, I keep it in its case when I'm not using it, and even still have that piece of plastic between the screen and keyboard. Also, when people comment about build quality, and macs have no problems, etc etc... it's just not the case. It's a piece of electronics. There will be lemons, components will go wrong; that's the way it is. No getting around it.

;TLDR:
1) Save your $900.

2) If you don't want to spend the money to fix your blackbook, sell it on ebay... you can still probably get a few hundred bucks for it. Look for an older whitebook/blackbook for around 400-500 on eBay.

3) just buy one of those 300-400 windows laptops from staples or best buy when they go on sale. Some people hate windows, I personally love windows 7 and never have had any major issues.

If you're going to be rough with your computer or not take proper care of it... I definitely wouldn't go and buy a brand new computer; regardless of brand.

Either way, good luck!

--rob
 
MusicIsLifeMD said:
The problem isn't that I can't save enough... the problem is that I don't have the time to save it. I need a computer for school (sophomore in college) which starts in 2 weeks...
Click to expand...

Losing your money to a scammer won't help in this situation - or pretty much any situation I can think of.
 
I'd def avoid this guy sounds like BS "breaking the seal crap" apple refurbs are just as good and the price is right and. youll have warrant etc.. its a no brainer
 
probably stolen but I got a brand new but open box MB pro 13 inch last year from Microcenter in Cambridge,MA for $950 for the current model at the time.

It's just sketchy that it's on craigslist
 
Thank you all...

I want to thank everyone who has replied and advised me on this situation.

I have decided to forgo Craigslist and eBay. I've been going through all my accounts this morning and cleaning/reorganizing my room and realized that I have $275 stashed away in a Paypal account (I found my teen Paypal debit card which prompted me to look at Paypal) that I used once a couple of years ago (refund on a purchase made somewhere along the way with my Paypal "teen" account... I was also the "parent" for the account). In any case, I'm going to buy the Apple Refurb instead. It's what I was looking for, it's a great price and I also have a couple babysitting jobs set up for the coming weeks.

Thank you all again, so much!

If the CL guy replies, should I still post it here?

 
...I'm going to buy the Apple Refurb instead...

You won't be sorry. I have purchased two refurb items from Apple, a 2009 iMac and a iPad2, both looked and performed like new, impossible to tell the difference by looking at them - plus they include a 1 year warranty and the option to buy AppleCare within a year. The refurb MBP also seems have a Mountain Lion update program (ML did not exist when this model was released).

I strongly suspect that my next MBP will be a refurb as well!!!
 
Whoop.. Well done everyone the community has shown the light again

OP i hope you love your new refurb purchase
 
Last edited:
jessica. said:
You're not a kid. That's the issue here. You're a sophomore in college and that should make you what? 19-20? You're not a kid at all. You're young, and that's totally okay. Heck, it is even fine living at home while in college; I sure wish I had taken that luxury myself. But a sound financial decision is not made simply because mom and dad carry you. Wouldn't you rather spend less, save some, and perhaps start looking towards a future? This is a great time to do that because you have nothing to take care of. Why would you want to blow every single penny on a silly laptop? Because it's Apple? Because it makes you feel superior? What's the real point here?

Like I said, you're going to do what you're going to do. You came here for advice and I think you were hoping for a pat on the back and accolades for your wonderful CL search capabilities. That went south fast because we're a bunch and yahoos around here and we like to hear ourselves type. Just think about it. Think about you saying you're a kid, a sophomore in college, and you rely 100% on mom and dad. I'd tell you to man up but that doesn't work here so do whatever we women do similar to manning up. ;)
Click to expand...

THANK YOU. That is the problem with society today, everyone thinks they are owed something or are raised with ZERO personal responsiblity. Personally OP, I wish you wouldve just repaired your perfectly fine blackbook and saved the $700 for future NEEDS like idk, health insurance premiums, college tuition fees, etc instead of WANTS like a shiny new macbook. Theres absolutely nothing that one wouldve done differently than the new one, they both surf the internet the exact same
 
Last edited:
SiPi said:
Common sense OP... You know this is wrong

Save your money and buy direct from
Apple. Perhaps a refurb?

Good advice.

There is a 13" MBP on Apple's refurb store for $929. Then you get a full warranty and can add AppleCare before the first year is up. Apple refurbs are like new machines.
Click to expand...
 
nozebleed said:

THANK YOU. That is the problem with society today, everyone thinks they are owed something or are raised with ZERO personal responsiblity. Personally OP, I wish you wouldve just repaired your perfectly fine blackbook and saved the $700 for future NEEDS like idk, health insurance premiums, college tuition fees, etc instead of WANTS like a shiny new macbook. Theres absolutely nothing that one wouldve done differently than the new one, they both surf the internet the exact same
Click to expand...

I'll take your honesty. And consider it and think about it and remember it. However, there is more wrong with the BlackBook than just the display... it's really just that the other things I could ignore or not notice... not being able to see the screen did it all in.

My friend is a huge Apple geek, and she's gone over the computer countless times. If you get close enough to it, you can hear a clicking noise, the button on mousepad sticks and the scroll buttons rarely ever work. The BlackBook's RAM died 10 months after I bought it, but thankfully that was covered by the limited warranty... all of the plastic edging has cracked off and I can barely go an hour on battery power (the new battery is less than a year old, though there are 415 cycles on it) before I have to plug it in, and I'm using Energy Saver mode. I probably should have mentioned all of this before, and I'm sorry I didn't.
 
MusicIsLifeMD said:
I'll take your honesty. And consider it and think about it and remember it. However, there is more wrong with the BlackBook than just the display... it's really just that the other things I could ignore or not notice... not being able to see the screen did it all in.

My friend is a huge Apple geek, and she's gone over the computer countless times. If you get close enough to it, you can hear a clicking noise, the button on mousepad sticks and the scroll buttons rarely ever work. The BlackBook's RAM died 10 months after I bought it, but thankfully that was covered by the limited warranty... all of the plastic edging has cracked off and I can barely go an hour on battery power (the new battery is less than a year old, though there are 415 cycles on it) before I have to plug it in, and I'm using Energy Saver mode. I probably should have mentioned all of this before, and I'm sorry I didn't.
Click to expand...

Oh great... Another 'expert' friend!!!

When will they learn
 
MusicIsLifeMD said:
I'll take your honesty. And consider it and think about it and remember it. However, there is more wrong with the BlackBook than just the display... it's really just that the other things I could ignore or not notice... not being able to see the screen did it all in.

My friend is a huge Apple geek, and she's gone over the computer countless times. If you get close enough to it, you can hear a clicking noise, the button on mousepad sticks and the scroll buttons rarely ever work. The BlackBook's RAM died 10 months after I bought it, but thankfully that was covered by the limited warranty... all of the plastic edging has cracked off and I can barely go an hour on battery power (the new battery is less than a year old, though there are 415 cycles on it) before I have to plug it in, and I'm using Energy Saver mode. I probably should have mentioned all of this before, and I'm sorry I didn't.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's time for something new else live in fear that each day something may go wrong. Most people replace their computer about every 3 years or so. Best to it when it still works and has enough value to sell to help finance the replacement. A refurb MBP should be powerful and last a long time especially since you can add up to 16gb ram, and replace the hard drive with something bigger or faster as the prices drop and need arises.

As prices for Macs go, and considering your limited budget, that refurb is a solid investment. Hook it up to a external monitor if you need something bigger.
 
SiPi said:
Oh great... Another 'expert' friend!!!

When will they learn
Click to expand...

My friend is going into Programming. She's taken workshops/classes in various Apple/Computer stores since we were 10, she's been "Certified" for repairs by Apple AND Microsoft and she's owned a Mac since we were 8. I'm not saying that she knows absolutely everything, because she doesn't. And I certainly never said that she was an expert.

----------
Vantage Point said:
Yeah, it's time for something new else live in fear that each day something may go wrong. Most people replace their computer about every 3 years or so. Best to it when it still works and has enough value to sell to help finance the replacement. A refurb MBP should be powerful and last a long time especially since you can add up to 16gb ram, and replace the hard drive with something bigger or faster as the prices drop and need arises.

As prices for Macs go, and considering your limited budget, that refurb is a solid investment. Hook it up to a external monitor if you need something bigger.
Click to expand...

Thank you?

I don't need anything bigger... I like the 13" screen just fine... if I need to I can always zoom in. It's very light and easy to carry around. Not to mention the way the speakers are situated on MBP 15" and 17" look funny to me.
 
I don't think it's our place to tell someone how to spend their money (although there's nothing wrong with offering wise advice.) A MBP is a luxury perhaps, but maybe that's the one thing they've decided to spend money on, and scrimp and save on the other stuff.

In any case, Apple refurbs are great, they always look brand new.

Let us know if the CL guy responds, I'm curious what he says. ;) Pretty sure there are just a couple of books in there to make weight.
 
..I don't need anything bigger... I like the 13" screen just fine...

I have the 15" which is fine but I also do photo editing with high end 26" monitor. I have the best of all world's.
 
MusicIsLifeMD said:
I had originally budgeted $900. I have $970 in emergency money/bonds (and no other money anywhere else, as I don't have a job and the little money I do earn through babysitting goes towards car insurance and paying for classes/books.
Click to expand...

You're going to use your entire emergency money to attempt to get a laptop that might be a complete rip-off? If you really want a macbook, go get a $350 white macbook 13" from 2007 on amazon/ebay. (If you're just using it for internet and what not) Or like other people said, go with a low end windows computer.
 
madmaxmedia said:
I don't think it's our place to tell someone how to spend their money (although there's nothing wrong with offering wise advice.) A MBP is a luxury perhaps, but maybe that's the one thing they've decided to spend money on, and scrimp and save on the other stuff.

In any case, Apple refurbs are great, they always look brand new.

Let us know if the CL guy responds, I'm curious what he says. ;) Pretty sure there are just a couple of books in there to make weight.
Click to expand...

Well that's the thing. I can open the box to make sure there is what looks like a MBP in the box (along with charger and manual/install disks), but I can't take the MBP out of it's plastic wrap. So I could make sure that inside the box has a MBP and all the accessories and not just "books in there to make weight", however whether what looks like a MBP actually works is the question... and it's not a question I'm willing to spend $900 to find the answer for.
 
madmaxmedia said:
Are MBP's even sealed inside the box like this? I didn't think so.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought at first... and then I watched some MBP un-boxing on youtube. They are wrapped in plastic... units sold in 2012 have a white sticker seal on the back.
 
Buy a new MBP if you can justify it. None of our business what you do with your money. That said though the CL deal is really shady.
 
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