[Help] Buying a macbook pro on craigslist

[hytl]

This is the first time I'm buying a mac on craigslist. Is there anything I need to look for? I was reading the other topic about someone got scammed (The seller changed the info in the "About This Mac" and the buyer fell for it) Is there anyway to verify or check for the real specs? This is what I'm going to do when I meet up with the seller so far:

1. Meet up at a public place that has wifi like Starbucks
2. Go with at least 1 or 2 friends and one of them will hold my money for and he will seat at another table
3. Check for Apple warranty since he said it's still under warranty
4. Check About this Mac (doesn't seem to be reliable)
5. Check the cosmetic of the mbp

Is there anything else I need to look for? Thanks.

 

[lifeinhd]

If it makes you feel any better, I've bought and sold loads on things on CL, including my current late 2006 MacBook Pro, never had a problem. The five things you mentioned wouldn't hurt, though-- when I bought my MBP I had someone else hold half my money, I tested the machine out, etc..

I've never heard of anyone spoofing the "About This Mac" specs, but if you want, there's a sticker on the bottom somewhere (or under the battery cover if the MacBook Pro is old enough to have one) that should read something along the lines of "15" MacBook Pro 2.8 GHz C2D/750/4/AP/BT/SD." The first bit obvious, the next few bits are hard drive, RAM, maybe GPU, AirPort, BlueTooth, etc.. Shouldn't be too hard to tell what's what. Obviously the sticker can be faked too, but I wouldn't worry that much over it.

If you're near an Apple Store, you might consider meeting up there. Apple can perform diagnostics on the machine for you, so you'll feel doubly sure before purchasing.

 

[hytl]

If it makes you feel any better, I've bought and sold loads on things on CL, including my current late 2006 MacBook Pro, never had a problem. The five things you mentioned wouldn't hurt, though-- when I bought my MBP I had someone else hold half my money, I tested the machine out, etc..

I've never heard of anyone spoofing the "About This Mac" specs, but if you want, there's a sticker on the bottom somewhere (or under the battery cover if the MacBook Pro is old enough to have one) that should read something along the lines of "15" MacBook Pro 2.8 GHz C2D/750/4/AP/BT/SD." The first bit obvious, the next few bits are hard drive, RAM, maybe GPU, AirPort, BlueTooth, etc.. Shouldn't be too hard to tell what's what. Obviously the sticker can be faked too, but I wouldn't worry that much over it.

If you're near an Apple Store, you might consider meeting up there. Apple can perform diagnostics on the machine for you, so you'll feel doubly sure before purchasing.

Thanks for the reply. Here is the topic I was talking about https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1161820/ . That's some crazy stuffs.

 

[Lennyvalentin]

When you buy stuff from places like craigslist or ebay or any other internet site you run the risk of dealing with human garbage that may be trying to fence stolen goods to you.

Laptops are good targets for thieves since they're both valuable items and easily portable/stolen. Ask for the original sales receipt, if the seller can't produce it (or don't have other items included with the computer like the battery charger, original packaging and so on), be suspicious.