got lucky with a MB on craigslist

Queen of Spades

Queen of Spades

macrumors 68030
I wanted to share my good deal here because my friends/family can't truly appreciate this - I need other mac geeks.

I was looking around on craigslist for a cheap MacBook the last few days. I didn't have any serious requirements other than it be a MacBook in decent working order. I came across an ad for a WhiteBook for $450. It had Core 2 Duo 2Ghz, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, etc etc. The guy said it worked fine, but a little "beat up."

I offered $400 and he accepted, so I drove to go pick it up. When I got there, it definitely was not beat up. For a mid-2006 MacBook, I thought it was in great condition (and I'm fairly anal retentive). The only issue I noticed was the palmrest cracking, which I knew I could get replaced free.

So I paid him and got home. After futzing around with it, I realized the ethernet port didn't work. Lame, but I use wireless 90% of the time, so it seemed like not a huge deal. Long story short, when I went to register the MacBook in my name, it came up as still being under Apple Care until July! Awesome.

That guy totally didn't mention/realize it, and now I'll get the ethernet and palm rest both fixed. I didn't notice any water damage or issues when I opened it, so I should be good to go. I had a 250GB drive lying around, and someone I know gave me 2GB of RAM - so I got some nice upgrades done free.

$400 for a good condition, good working MacBook with some warranty left. I'm happy. :D
 
Very good deal, well done.

There is one thing that bugs me about craigslist though. Every single time I set a price on something expensive (PowerBook, iPhone EDGE, etc), they ALWAYS try to talk me down ~$50. Just like the OP did. The ads I make say the price, and never indicate Best Offer. Is it like a rule of thumb that you should add $50 to the intended price because everyone tries to talk you down?
 
Sounds great! I've had two similar Mac deals in the past few months. The first was a Mac Mini 1.66 GHz for £160 which I then sold on for £300 to fund the purchase of a brand new 2009 Mac Mini. The second was a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo 17" iMac with a faulty screen that I got for £100. I'm using it as a server so the faulty screen (a third of it doesn't work) doesn't bother me. :D
 
uberamd said:
Very good deal, well done.

There is one thing that bugs me about craigslist though. Every single time I set a price on something expensive (PowerBook, iPhone EDGE, etc), they ALWAYS try to talk me down ~$50. Just like the OP did. The ads I make say the price, and never indicate Best Offer. Is it like a rule of thumb that you should add $50 to the intended price because everyone tries to talk you down?
Click to expand...

Well, he did mention best offer, which I always think is code for "I expect someone to knock $50 off" or offer a little less. I try to be fair/reasonable with my offers when I'm a buyer.

Believe me, I feel you. I sell a lot and it does get annoying - but not if it's respectful/reasonable. I hate it when people offer like $1000 for a Unibody MBP or something. I generally expect that on craigslist people will offer me a little less than what I'm asking if I don't put "firm" (which I do sometimes). I've just learned to accept it and either adjust my prices or be willing to haggle.

It's part of the culture of craigslist at this point.
 
Spanky Deluxe said:
Sounds great! I've had two similar Mac deals in the past few months. The first was a Mac Mini 1.66 GHz for £160 which I then sold on for £300 to fund the purchase of a brand new 2009 Mac Mini.
Click to expand...

When the 2009 mini came out (with big price rises), the average price of 2nd hand minis rose considerably, because if you didn't need the better graphics and the extra USB port, there wasn't that much to justify the £100 jump in price. :)

I was impressed that I managed to offload a 1.42GHz G4 with 1GB RAM for £215.
 
YanniDepp said:
When the 2009 mini came out (with big price rises), the average price of 2nd hand minis rose considerably, because if you didn't need the better graphics and the extra USB port, there wasn't that much to justify the £100 jump in price. :)

I was impressed that I managed to offload a 1.42GHz G4 with 1GB RAM for £215.
Click to expand...

That is impressive for a G4 mini! I would have hung out for more with my mac mini sale but I wanted it gone quick since I'd already ordered the new mini. I had it up as a Buy-It-Now or Best Offer for £320 but wanted £300 for it.

You're right though, for many the new Minis aren't that much better. For me though, I wanted the 9400m, larger RAM capacity etc etc. I got it for £450, which wasn't that much more had I upgraded the original with a 2.0GHz processor. :) I love me my mac deals!!
 
uberamd said:
Very good deal, well done.

There is one thing that bugs me about craigslist though. Every single time I set a price on something expensive (PowerBook, iPhone EDGE, etc), they ALWAYS try to talk me down ~$50. Just like the OP did. The ads I make say the price, and never indicate Best Offer. Is it like a rule of thumb that you should add $50 to the intended price because everyone tries to talk you down?
Click to expand...

I always offer less than the stated price on craigslist, since that's what I always did with classified ads in the newspaper and garage sales. But I also respect it when people say they want what they asked for, and if it was a good price I pay it. When I list stuff, I do inflate the price slightly to leave room for negotiation. And you never know, someone might take it at the higher price.
 
uberamd said:
There is one thing that bugs me about craigslist though. Every single time I set a price on something expensive (PowerBook, iPhone EDGE, etc), they ALWAYS try to talk me down ~$50. Just like the OP did. The ads I make say the price, and never indicate Best Offer. Is it like a rule of thumb that you should add $50 to the intended price because everyone tries to talk you down?
Click to expand...

Queen of Spades said:
I generally expect that on craigslist people will offer me a little less than what I'm asking if I don't put "firm" (which I do sometimes). I've just learned to accept it and either adjust my prices or be willing to haggle. It's part of the culture of craigslist at this point.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I'd say "cultural expectation" is a completely accurate term. The norm is that people believe your quoted price is simply your starting point. If you don't want to bargain or think your already at your rock bottom price then, as mentioned, put "price firm" or state in your posting that your not willing to take less. People don't go to Craigslist looking to pay top dollar and sellers shouldn't expect to get it either. In truth it's nothing more than an online garage sale and you should definitely raise your starting price a little knowing that you are going to be offered less.

As far as the OP's good fortune, well done sir! :)
 
Congratulations and well done. It's nice to hear a positive story about this type of Craigslist purchase - we hear so many of the negative ones. Great tale and finding out about the Applecare was a bonus. Enjoy your MB.

Cheers and good luck
 
Well I just got back from my genius appointment. Everything went smoothly, the MacBook is off getting a top case replacement for the palmrest cracking and logic board replacement because of the dead ethernet port.

Sucks to be without it for a couple of days, but I'm grateful/lucky everything will be taken care of. The genius said they'll give the MacBook a full once over while it's there.

It'll come back with a 90-day warranty, so I'll have another 3 months just in case anything happens. Once again great luck with Apple Care and thanks for all the comments!

It is rad when you can score a good deal. :cool:
 
*high five*

Congrats!! It's nice to hear when things like that go right!

I saw that too, but recently, my experience with Macbooks listed on Boston Craigslist has been...sad. I had edged into the "be VERY wary with Craigslist" territory when I saw it and wasn't quite willing to jump in yet. :D
 
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