Have I been missold (iMac 2019)

[Coley2]

Hello - finally bought a new iMac after years of procrastinating - very happy so far. A few questions for those in the know...

I bought one from this listing. As you can see, the seller has plenty of good feedback. A few things that are troubling me (not too much as I have PayPal protection).

The seller is selling this as brand new, but the box has been opened and the seal for the screen cover had been removed. I asked the seller before purchase whether the RAM was factory fitted or fitted by them after market. He claimed the machine was ordered from Apple with the standard 8GB of RAM, but then Apple upgraded this to 24GB for them.

Questions:

1. If Apple did fit the RAM themselves, I'd expect them to reseal the stickers before shipping.
2. Apple doesn't offer a 24GB RAM option, as far as I'm aware (even if it's a business custom order).
3. What do we think? Do we think Apple did the RAM or did the seller do it after market? Everything appears to be running as I'd expect.
   
4. The SSD is reporting to have 499.96GB of capactiy. Is this normal?

Is there anything else I should check? As I say, everything seems okay.

Here's the memory information from the System Report:

Memory Slots:

ECC: Disabled
Upgradeable Memory: Yes

BANK 0/ChannelA-DIMM0:

Size: 4 GB
Type: DDR4
Speed: 2667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: SK Hynix
Part Number: HMA851S6CJR6N-VK
Serial Number: 3444527C

BANK 1/ChannelA-DIMM1:

Size: 8 GB
Type: DDR4
Speed: 2667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: Kingston
Part Number: 9905624-045.A00G
Serial Number: 8924E4D5

BANK 2/ChannelB-DIMM0:

Size: 4 GB
Type: DDR4
Speed: 2667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: SK Hynix
Part Number: HMA851S6CJR6N-VK
Serial Number: 1803884

BANK 3/ChannelB-DIMM1:

Size: 8 GB
Type: DDR4
Speed: 2667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: Kingston
Part Number: 9905624-045.A00G
Serial Number: 8324DFD5

 

[spiderpumpkin]

Looks and sounds like someone carefully opened up the screen wrapping to access RAM door and then added Kingston 2x8GB after they received it from Apple.

 

[DeltaMac]

I don't think I have ever heard of Apple providing an upgrade with Kingston-brand anything.
I could be wrong on that.
However, that RAM configuration looks OK, and should work fine.
And if something happens to the RAM (or hardware is somehow affected by third-party RAM), Apple won't cover that issue unless the RAM is the type that they install.
Nothing wrong with the reported SSD capacity.

I think you have to decide if you want to accept a system that was obviously opened, when the ad claims that it was new and unopened.
Should be OK - probably - maybe.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Go to Apple System Profiler (About This Mac) and see what is shown for model and year. At a thousand quid off it probably is not new,.

 

[lcseds]

There is *NO* way there would be Kingston memory in a new unit. It's all Hynix for iMacs from Apple. Seller may have simply upgraded the configuration for resale as mentioned.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Hello - finally bought a new iMac after years of procrastinating - very happy so far. A few questions for those in the know...

I bought one from this listing. As you can see, the seller has plenty of good feedback. A few things that are troubling me (not too much as I have PayPal protection).

The seller is selling this as brand new, but the box has been opened and the seal for the screen cover had been removed. I asked the seller before purchase whether the RAM was factory fitted or fitted by them after market. He claimed the machine was ordered from Apple with the standard 8GB of RAM, but then Apple upgraded this to 24GB for them.

Questions:

1. If Apple did fit the RAM themselves, I'd expect them to reseal the stickers before shipping.
2. Apple doesn't offer a 24GB RAM option, as far as I'm aware (even if it's a business custom order).
3. What do we think? Do we think Apple did the RAM or did the seller do it after market? Everything appears to be running as I'd expect.
   
4. The SSD is reporting to have 499.96GB of capactiy. Is this normal?

Is there anything else I should check? As I say, everything seems okay.

Here's the memory information from the System Report:

Memory Slots:

ECC: Disabled
Upgradeable Memory: Yes

BANK 0/ChannelA-DIMM0:

Size: 4 GB
Type: DDR4
Speed: 2667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: SK Hynix
Part Number: HMA851S6CJR6N-VK
Serial Number: 3444527C

BANK 1/ChannelA-DIMM1:

Size: 8 GB
Type: DDR4
Speed: 2667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: Kingston
Part Number: 9905624-045.A00G
Serial Number: 8924E4D5

BANK 2/ChannelB-DIMM0:

Size: 4 GB
Type: DDR4
Speed: 2667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: SK Hynix
Part Number: HMA851S6CJR6N-VK
Serial Number: 1803884

BANK 3/ChannelB-DIMM1:

Size: 8 GB
Type: DDR4
Speed: 2667 MHz
Status: OK
Manufacturer: Kingston
Part Number: 9905624-045.A00G
Serial Number: 8324DFD5

Are there Apple authorized service providers in the UK (EU?) that will install DRAM as a service for the customer, at a fee, of course. If so, they may have done that. Try registering the iMac with Apple and see what happens, maybe the only way to know.

 

[SaSaSushi]

There is *NO* way there would be Kingston memory in a new unit. It's all Hynix for iMacs from Apple. Seller may have simply upgraded the configuration for resale as mentioned.

Apple does not use all Hynix RAM. Mine shipped with Micron and I've also seen reports of Samsung. Apple does not, however, ship Macs with Kingston.

 

[Coley2]

Go to Apple System Profiler (About This Mac) and see what is shown for model and year. At a thousand quid off it probably is not new,.

Attached a screenshot of "About This Mac". Seems legit to me, but is it possible to "fake" this info?

Are there Apple authorized service providers in the UK (EU?) that will install DRAM as a service for the customer, at a fee, of course. If so, they may have done that. Try registering the iMac with Apple and see what happens, maybe the only way to know.

It seems to have registered okay (screenshots attached). Do I need to do anything further in order to use Apple's one-year warranty? Such as get the original proof of purchase?

Thanks for the continued help everyone.

 

[mikehalloran]

Attached a screenshot of "About This Mac". Seems legit to me, but is it possible to "fake" this info?

No.

Instead of dealing in nonsense, let's get down to earth.

Was it a good price?

Do you have reason to believe it was stolen?

Are you really suffering buyer's remorse?

Are you otherwise happy?

Can you add AppleCare to extend the warranty for 3 years? You do not have to be the original owner to add it. Only the aftermarket RAM won't be covered. To find out, you can go to Apple's web site and type in the serial# — if it says Yes, you're good.

When I added AppleCare to my used iMac Pro, the serial number said Yes but I had to call Apple to purchase it. Easy.

Once you know the answers to those questions, you should know whether to keep or let go.

 

[alien3dx]

wow the price is nice . and save the normal hassle and upgrade to 24 gb

 

[Fishrrman]

The Kingston RAM DID NOT COME FROM APPLE. It was added later.
The box was opened at some point "between Apple and you".
How much the computer was used or disturbed... can't say (beyond the fact that RAM was added).
So... I'll ask...

What is the overall condition of the computer?
Essentially, "like new"?
Or... dings and damages anywhere?

Does it boot and run without problems?
No crashes?

The 499gb available is NORMAL for a drive that is advertised to be "512gb".
Some space is ALWAYS consumed by the drive formatting, recovery partition, etc.

If it looks and behaves as one might expect from a "new" computer, and if you're satisfied with the price you paid, it really boils down to "your choice":
- Am I happy with it as it looks and runs now?
or
- Am I dissatisfied that it wasn't "brand-spanking-new-and-unopened", and want to send it back?

(heh, wrote this before I read the replies, seems like Mr. Halloran asked the same questions!)

 

[mikehalloran]

(heh, wrote this before I read the replies, seems like Mr. Halloran asked the same questions!)

Ha!

Great minds sometimes think alike.

BTW, absolutely nothing wrong with Kingston RAM. You'll have documentation showing it was included with a new purchase so there should be no issue with their standard Lifetime warranty. Bad RAM can happen but I don't see 1 stick a year anymore. Out of the numbers of Macs where I'm the first call for service, that's very good.

 

[Zdigital2015]

Ha!

Great minds sometimes think alike.

BTW, absolutely nothing wrong with Kingston RAM. You'll have documentation showing it was included with a new purchase so there should be no issue with their standard Lifetime warranty. Bad RAM can happen but I don't see 1 stick a year anymore. Out of the numbers of Macs where I'm the first call for service, that's very good.

Perhaps that’s why Apple relented on SO-DIMM slots in the Mac mini. I had 4 sticks in one year, back in 2013, I think...and the Apple Geniuses at my local store claimed that bad DRAM (errors and/or user error) was their number one hardware repair issue.

 

[a2jack]

Peace of mind is a real treasure. It can be one of the benefits we trade off when we deal with e-bay's "Pig In A Poke" world.

Low value purchases, OK. Big bucks,too risky for me. a2

 

[mikehalloran]

Peace of mind is a real treasure. It can be one of the benefits we trade off when we deal with e-bay's "Pig In A Poke" world.

Low value purchases, OK. Big bucks,too risky for me. a2

I dunno...

Very happy with the iMacPro I got on eBay. Seller emailed the serial# to me so that I could look it up for AppleCare eligibility. When I punched it in and the reply was Yes, I pulled the trigger and got a 14 core 128GB 2TB for the same price as the 10 core 64GB 2TB I was looking at in the Refurb Store—then I purchased AppleCare for $169.

Mind quite peaceful here.

 

[RyanXM]

There is *NO* way there would be Kingston memory in a new unit. It's all Hynix for iMacs from Apple. Seller may have simply upgraded the configuration for resale as mentioned.

This statement is false in that Apple uses the following RAM suppliers: Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung. Apple used Elpida before they were purchased by SK Hynix.