I am looking into buying a used macbook and was wondering if gainsaver.com was a good, legit, reputable website than has good reviews or is it known for bad service or something?
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gainsaver a good site?
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I tried to buy a mac from them 3 years ago. As soon as I placed my order they took the payment, but they never shipped the mac. After 2 weeks I called them and canceled my order. They did refund my money a few days later.
Here's a related thread from several years ago.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/257967/
Here's a related thread from several years ago.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/257967/
eBay, Craig's list, and Apple's refurb site (15% off new) are probably your best bets. Generally, if something seems too good to be true or just sketchy, in general, don't buy it. Macs have good resale value, so don't expect a $500 laptop or anything like that.
even if its used from 2006? cause thats what most of those laptops seem to sell for.
Oh... well, yeah, in that case you're looking at something fairly inexpensive. May I ask why you want to buy such an old MacBook? Sure, they usually last a long time, but after four years of use things can get iffy. Also, a computer from 2006 is going to be rather slow. So, unless you really need a cheap Mac, I'd reconsider and maybe get something a few years newer.
It looks like you should have access to the MacRumors classifieds. Why not start here? At least you know (most) of us are pretty enthusistic about our machines.
ok so I actually got a good offer from someone on here which i am considering. its a 2.0GHZ used macbook, he said he bought in 2007 and he just bought a brand new 120GB HDD for it. He said it runs fine and basically jsut has a few nicks on it. do you think this laptop would continue to run smooth (it is running leopard right now)or in the next few years would it like crash or start running reeaaally slow? By the way he is offering for 350 which I think is a good price!
RIGHT!!! There are other threads on the forum detailing people's experiences with that company.
www.powermax.com
I have no experience with them but they have been around for quite awhile and I don't recall hearing any horror stories.
They sell older Macs (and new ones) so you can check their catalog to get an idea of whether a particular price is good or not.
When buying from someone on the forum (or any forum) the first thing I check is how long they've been a member. For example, you should not buy one from me!
I want someone who has been around for a few years. You can also search to see how active they've been in the forum during that time (how many messages posted). An old-timer with lots of messages is a much lower risk. IMHO.
I have no experience with them but they have been around for quite awhile and I don't recall hearing any horror stories.
They sell older Macs (and new ones) so you can check their catalog to get an idea of whether a particular price is good or not.
When buying from someone on the forum (or any forum) the first thing I check is how long they've been a member. For example, you should not buy one from me!
I want someone who has been around for a few years. You can also search to see how active they've been in the forum during that time (how many messages posted). An old-timer with lots of messages is a much lower risk. IMHO.
www.powermax.com
I have no experience with them but they have been around for quite awhile and I don't recall hearing any horror stories.
They sell older Macs (and new ones) so you can check their catalog to get an idea of whether a particular price is good or not.
When buying from someone on the forum (or any forum) the first thing I check is how long they've been a member. For example, you should not buy one from me!
Ya they joined in 2008 so that should be good plus he works for apple! but how long do you think this machine will run for before it gets old, slow and eventually crashes?
You may need to check with Nostradamus for answers to those questions.
Unless the programs you use change, the speed will remain the same no matter the age. Computers don't age the same way people do.
There's no way to predict a crash. Some crash in the first week, others never do. Hard drive crash probabilities DO increase steadily with age, but it's still just a probability. Since you said he just put in a new one, that's a low risk. An educated guess is that hard drives are the most likely element to fail in a computer.
Stay away from gainsaver
I purchased a PowerBook for my 82 year old mother in June, 2011. She barely uses it, only surfs the net. It was an "overkill" purchase but I thought would be easier then a PC. In less then six (6) months, with very little use, the hard drive has failed and it is now going to cost me $100's to fix the problem, myself. ABSOLUTELY NO HELP OR CARE FROM THIS COMPANY !! "It's out of warranty" doesn't cut it for me. This was a lame, worthless and bad piece of equipment which should never been sold. I will make it a point to NEVER do business or recommend doing business with this company again. Plus .. you'll never talk to anyone, only receive "form" answers. I should have know better to try and get a "deal," as they advertise and gone with a reputable MacIntosh dealer. I'll be sure to let Mac know about this. STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE !!!
I purchased a PowerBook for my 82 year old mother in June, 2011. She barely uses it, only surfs the net. It was an "overkill" purchase but I thought would be easier then a PC. In less then six (6) months, with very little use, the hard drive has failed and it is now going to cost me $100's to fix the problem, myself. ABSOLUTELY NO HELP OR CARE FROM THIS COMPANY !! "It's out of warranty" doesn't cut it for me. This was a lame, worthless and bad piece of equipment which should never been sold. I will make it a point to NEVER do business or recommend doing business with this company again. Plus .. you'll never talk to anyone, only receive "form" answers. I should have know better to try and get a "deal," as they advertise and gone with a reputable MacIntosh dealer. I'll be sure to let Mac know about this. STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE !!!
I purchased a PowerBook for my 82 year old mother in June, 2011. She barely uses it, only surfs the net. It was an "overkill" purchase but I thought would be easier then a PC. In less then six (6) months, with very little use, the hard drive has failed and it is now going to cost me $100's to fix the problem, myself. ABSOLUTELY NO HELP OR CARE FROM THIS COMPANY !! "It's out of warranty" doesn't cut it for me. This was a lame, worthless and bad piece of equipment which should never been sold. I will make it a point to NEVER do business or recommend doing business with this company again. Plus .. you'll never talk to anyone, only receive "form" answers. I should have know better to try and get a "deal," as they advertise and gone with a reputable MacIntosh dealer. I'll be sure to let Mac know about this. STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE !!!
So if the PB was out of warranty, what exactly were you expecting and what did you want them to do?
Your anger appears to be misdirected. Be angry at yourself that you were cheap, yet expected a full warranty and top customer service. It doesn't work that way.
Exactly. While gainsaver isn't exactly top notch, you have to have a realistic expectation of what you buy; full warranty only happens on a new machine from an authorized dealer. Buy used and you take your chances.
I've never had an issue with gain saver and have actually pointed my sister and a friend to their site, one picked up a black MacBook the other picked up an iBook G4. Both knew they were getting a used older system, but both had financial limitations at the time. For used macs, I personally use dvwarehouse, I picked up a G4 cube from them and it's still very usable today.
Powermax has a great reputation and offers probably the beset warranty for third party used macs.
Powermax has a great reputation and offers probably the beset warranty for third party used macs.
I had heard of this site before but had never bought from them. I always ended up buying new from apple. I decided today to price the same 2010 Mac Pro that's in the refurb store at apple.com (the 2.8GHz Quad). Stripped down it seems like a good price, $1900 basically, but if you tried to add the same features that you get if you buy the refurb from apple, gainsaver ends up costing $2,600 compared to apple's $2,100. A complete overpricing on gainsaver's part.
My suggestion is to NOT buy from these guys. You'll get cheaper prices on newer models if you buy directly from apple, plus you get apple's warranty.
My suggestion is to NOT buy from these guys. You'll get cheaper prices on newer models if you buy directly from apple, plus you get apple's warranty.
Defect laptop from gainsaver
Just to share my experience with Gainsaver: I ordered a laptop and paid for extra diagnostics. When it arrived, turned out the motherboard was defect, and that I had to send it back at my own expense with UPS (340USD).
When they sent me the replacement, I asked to clearly indicate on the outside of the box that this was a replacement, in order to avoid having to pay import taxes twice. They did not do this. Consequence: a double import tax of 400USD and three weeks of waiting because customs did not want to clear this suspicious parcel.
When it finally arrived. The replacement's motherboard was also defect. I have been trying to file service order requests, mail and call them for three days now, and they keep filing my requests as solved without even getting back to me.
Today I went to an official apple store to see how much it would cost to have the motherboard fixed mysel: around 800USD.
Conclusion, I will have paid around 3600USD (1660 original price, 2X400 import tax fine, 350 return shipment, 800 repair) for a refurbished mac of which it is still not sure whether it will ever function properly.
This website is a total fraud. Do not trust this company. A friend of mine had a similar experience.
Just to share my experience with Gainsaver: I ordered a laptop and paid for extra diagnostics. When it arrived, turned out the motherboard was defect, and that I had to send it back at my own expense with UPS (340USD).
When they sent me the replacement, I asked to clearly indicate on the outside of the box that this was a replacement, in order to avoid having to pay import taxes twice. They did not do this. Consequence: a double import tax of 400USD and three weeks of waiting because customs did not want to clear this suspicious parcel.
When it finally arrived. The replacement's motherboard was also defect. I have been trying to file service order requests, mail and call them for three days now, and they keep filing my requests as solved without even getting back to me.
Today I went to an official apple store to see how much it would cost to have the motherboard fixed mysel: around 800USD.
Conclusion, I will have paid around 3600USD (1660 original price, 2X400 import tax fine, 350 return shipment, 800 repair) for a refurbished mac of which it is still not sure whether it will ever function properly.
This website is a total fraud. Do not trust this company. A friend of mine had a similar experience.