How do you tell the difference between BRAND NEW and REFURBISHED?

Thanks to pmackin for verifying and confirming the serial number on my MacBook Pro laptop to be brand-spanking new. Now I can relax.:)
 
I had a refurb 17" PowerBook G4, and it had dark smudges at the very top corners of the LCD bezel (not the LCD itself) that I could never remove.
 
dpaanlka said:
I had a refurb 17" PowerBook G4, and it had dark smudges at the very top corners of the LCD bezel (not the LCD itself) that I could never remove.
Click to expand...
Does it look like skid marks?
 
If I had bought a brand new MacBook Pro laptop (fully upgraded with lots of extra full version softwares installed)in early June, is it normal to have Software Updates (from System Preferences) dated as far back as early March??

Buying a 'brand new' laptop with a broken factory seal has been the source of endless doubts as to whether the laptop I bought is truly .... brand new.
 
My guess is that the seller is not using Apple brand memory for the second 1GB stick. That could explain the fingerprints as he would have needed to upgrade the memory himself. That would also make the price sound much more reasonable. Have you checked to verify if this is the case?
 
I think I might have some answers

ScarletRed said:
Consider the following scenario:

You are shopping for a brand new and fully upgraded MacBook Pro 15.4" laptop which has the following specs:
----------------------------------------------
2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo
2GB 667 DDR2 - 2x1GB SO-DIMMs
100 GB Serial ATA drive @ 7200 rpm
iWork'06 preinstalled (full version)
Apple USB Modem
AirPort Express
----------------------------------------------

You happen to find such unit for sale on ebay for $2599.00. Free shipping and no tax (out of state). The ebay item description says the laptop is Sealed, New in Box. You check out the seller's feedbacks (who happens to be a powerseller) and they're very positive.

You make the purchase and pay via Paypal. You receive the merchandise two days later only to find that the factory seal is broken. Upon further inspection, you determine that there are no signs of wear and you find nothing really wrong with the laptop except for numerous fingerprints on the battery and missing iWork'06 installation disc. You contact the seller to inquire about the broken factory seal and the seller replies it was necessary to install the software extras.

Now here's a pop quiz:

1. Since the merchandise was delivered with the seal broken, you are uncertain as to whether the product (which the seller claims is brand new) you just purchased is really truly 'brand new' or 'refurbished'. How do you tell the difference?

2. Now that you think about it, total cost of $2599.00 (this includes tax & shipping & handling) seems suspiciously low. What is the MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) for the 'brand new' MacBook Pro described above?
Click to expand...


Hey guys.Thanks to your post its got me thinking.Especially since the prices seem too good.I''m about to buy or not on Ebay.I did ask the seller for the model number which is Z0EC-W28923883..I then went on apple and typed ZOEC(this means Mac OS X Leopard Qualifying Computers and Apple Certified Refurbished Qualifying Systems) Here is the link .http://www.apple.com/search/mac/?q=Z0EC++family ,http://www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate/refurblist.html..I guess these are not the newest ones just older ones that were updated.??
 
ScarletRed said:
Consider the following scenario:

You are shopping for a brand new and fully upgraded MacBook Pro 15.4" laptop which has the following specs:
----------------------------------------------
2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo
2GB 667 DDR2 - 2x1GB SO-DIMMs
100 GB Serial ATA drive @ 7200 rpm
iWork'06 preinstalled (full version)
Apple USB Modem
AirPort Express
----------------------------------------------

You happen to find such unit for sale on ebay for $2599.00. Free shipping and no tax (out of state). The ebay item description says the laptop is Sealed, New in Box. You check out the seller's feedbacks (who happens to be a powerseller) and they're very positive.

You make the purchase and pay via Paypal. You receive the merchandise two days later only to find that the factory seal is broken. Upon further inspection, you determine that there are no signs of wear and you find nothing really wrong with the laptop except for numerous fingerprints on the battery and missing iWork'06 installation disc. You contact the seller to inquire about the broken factory seal and the seller replies it was necessary to install the software extras.

Now here's a pop quiz:

1. Since the merchandise was delivered with the seal broken, you are uncertain as to whether the product (which the seller claims is brand new) you just purchased is really truly 'brand new' or 'refurbished'. How do you tell the difference?

2. Now that you think about it, total cost of $2599.00 (this includes tax & shipping & handling) seems suspiciously low. What is the MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) for the 'brand new' MacBook Pro described above?
Click to expand...

1. A refurbished Macbook Pro comes in a plain brown box, not the retail box.

2. Refurbished products come with a different serial number and is usually found as a sticker inside the battery compartment in most cases with laptops.

Pretty easy to figure out actually.
 
wako said:
You be the super anal buyer and tell the seller that he either do something about it, or demand your money back, through paypal, because it was NOT described as in the listing. This will force him to give you the money back or he can either send you a replacement that is brand spanking new... or even better he can give you some of your money back. :)
Click to expand...

This is why I stopped accepting Paypal, I had plenty people do this crap to me because of any reason, even if it's not my fault. Good luck and hope the seller doesn't take legal action if you "reverse" almost 3 grand from him.
 
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