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Is this legit?

formidify

formidify

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 10, 2018
8
1
I recently bought a 2018 MBP 15 with 16 RAM 512 SSD and 560 Redeon Pro 2.6GHz on B&H for 2580 ish with taxes, but then saw one with the exact same spec on this eBay site https://www.ebay.com/itm/173681036479 for 2500 but also includes an AppleCare+. Does the ebay product seem legit? BTW, it does not support PayPal nor accept return but it does transaction thru eBay so I will still get buyer protection right? Has anyone bought from this seller before? Thank you for your answers! Is it worth it to take a risk - may it be a refurbished one or sth, even though the seller claims it is completely new? (not like B&H is completely clean according to some buyers)
 
Most likely legit. It’s a grey market item instead of coming from a authorized seller, but should be fully covered by apple. I got the same model on cyber Monday for $2124 so $2500 isn’t much of a stretch.
 
Celedral said:
Most likely legit. It’s a grey market item instead of coming from a authorized seller, but should be fully covered by apple. I got the same model on cyber Monday for $2124 so $2500 isn’t much of a stretch.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much! So you got one without the AppleCare+ I assume?
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Celedral said:
Most likely legit. It’s a grey market item instead of coming from a authorized seller, but should be fully covered by apple. I got the same model on cyber Monday for $2124 so $2500 isn’t much of a stretch.
Click to expand...

Also, another question - is AppleCare+ really worth getting? Thanks!
 
No, AppleCare+ is not worth getting, on average, all else equal. If it was worth (you) getting (it), Apple would not be selling it.

This said, I purchase it because I don't mind giving Apple insurance money.

Joe

formidify said:
Thanks so much! So you got one without the AppleCare+ I assume?
[doublepost=1544467068][/doublepost]

Also, another question - is AppleCare+ really worth getting? Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
formidify said:
I recently bought a 2018 MBP 15 with 16 RAM 512 SSD and 560 Redeon Pro 2.6GHz on B&H for 2580 ish with taxes, but then saw one with the exact same spec on this eBay site https://www.ebay.com/itm/173681036479 for 2500 but also includes an AppleCare+. Does the ebay product seem legit? BTW, it does not support PayPal nor accept return but it does transaction thru eBay so I will still get buyer protection right? Has anyone bought from this seller before? Thank you for your answers! Is it worth it to take a risk - may it be a refurbished one or sth, even though the seller claims it is completely new? (not like B&H is completely clean according to some buyers)
Click to expand...

This is why I would steer clear of them.

We dont Accept PayPal
Payment Method : Visa / Master Card / Discover / American Express


Then that leaves you with no protection other than your credit card. I am unsure how they can even sell on ebay without paypal.
 
IdentityCrisis said:
This is why I would steer clear of them.

We dont Accept PayPal
Payment Method : Visa / Master Card / Discover / American Express


Then that leaves you with no protection other than your credit card. I am unsure how they can even sell on ebay without paypal.
Click to expand...

But eBay should give protection over it too, right? Yeah, I don't know why they opt out of PayPal (do you have to pay PayPal if you sell sth?). Other than that this seems a legit deal, sigh. If it were AppleCare+ then I could hopefully get rid of any product issues (if there were any) when they arise so that part is fine.
[doublepost=1544488196][/doublepost]
PROFESS0R said:
No, AppleCare+ is not worth getting, on average, all else equal. If it was worth (you) getting (it), Apple would not be selling it.

This said, I purchase it because I don't mind giving Apple insurance money.

Joe
Click to expand...

Yeah, I kinda wanna get it cuz three of my previous iPhones all died because of terrible Apple engineering issues which destroyed the main board, so now I think AppleCare+ may be useful, but 379$ is just too much.
 
formidify said:
But eBay should give protection over it too, right? Yeah, I don't know why they opt out of PayPal (do you have to pay PayPal if you sell sth?). Other than that this seems a legit deal, sigh. If it were AppleCare+ then I could hopefully get rid of any product issues (if there were any) when they arise so that part is fine.
[doublepost=1544488196][/doublepost]

Yeah, I kinda wanna get it cuz three of my previous iPhones all died because of terrible Apple engineering issues which destroyed the main board, so now I think AppleCare+ may be useful, but 379$ is just too much.
Click to expand...

After doing a little research, it seems Ebay allows sellers to bypass Paypal now. I am not sure though if you get the same protection that paypal provided. Most of the time that is why Sellers move away from Paypal, because they don't want to get screwed if something is wrong.
 
formidify said:
But eBay should give protection over it too, right?
Click to expand...
It's been awhile since I used FeeBay but they did have protection back in the day. I used it once and it was something like $200 or less maximum coverage and you had to go through a claims process first to see if you and the seller can work it out one last time.
 
IdentityCrisis said:
After doing a little research, it seems Ebay allows sellers to bypass Paypal now. I am not sure though if you get the same protection that paypal provided. Most of the time that is why Sellers move away from Paypal, because they don't want to get screwed if something is wrong.
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Seller said that they don't trust PayPal, which I guess is a fair sentiment. Also I found that eBay does not have buyer protection on this item.....should I still buy, sigh.
 
formidify said:
Thanks so much! So you got one without the AppleCare+ I assume?
[doublepost=1544467068][/doublepost]

Also, another question - is AppleCare+ really worth getting? Thanks!
Click to expand...
applecare plus is a must lol
[doublepost=1544506555][/doublepost]
formidify said:
Seller said that they don't trust PayPal, which I guess is a fair sentiment. Also I found that eBay does not have buyer protection on this item.....should I still buy, sigh.
Click to expand...
No give up on that unless you are using a major credit card that will insure you for this purchase other than that you may shoot yourself in the foot.
 
Interesting update - doesn't mean to sound stalkery or anything, but after reading through the purchase history of the seller, i found that they frequently buy from places that sell phone batteries, ipad frames, macbook RAM, among many other different electronic parts. Of course, they could also be buying lingeries, christmas decor, or phone cases which those sites also offer, but it did raise suspicion.

Were there incidents where sellers fix and repackage damaged items and sell them for a cheaper price? How would I know though? Sure, I could just go ahead and buy and just return - but not like i would be able to really test my claim anyways. Sigh.

Oh eBay...
 
formidify said:
Interesting update - doesn't mean to sound stalkery or anything, but after reading through the purchase history of the seller, i found that they frequently buy from places that sell phone batteries, ipad frames, macbook RAM, among many other different electronic parts. Of course, they could also be buying lingeries, christmas decor, or phone cases which those sites also offer, but it did raise suspicion.

Were there incidents where sellers fix and repackage damaged items and sell them for a cheaper price? How would I know though? Sure, I could just go ahead and buy and just return - but not like i would be able to really test my claim anyways. Sigh.

Oh eBay...
Click to expand...
ABORT!!!!!
 
formidify said:
Yeah, i thought so too. But that 500$ difference in price tho... (or 100$ if i don't get AppleCare+)
Click to expand...
Get AppleCare+
Do you trust that your credit card company will back you incase of an incident that they screw you over.
 
B&H is a legit, Apple Authorized seller. You’re forking a real good chunk of cash for a serious machine (I have been wanting that same spec MBP to replace my mid-2012 MBP 15 Retina). The risk is high with the eBay one. The “savings” not worth it. Better safe than sorry.

Also check the refurbished MBP directly from Apple (good savings, same warranty from Apple as a “brand new” one. Only difference is the refurbished machine gets mailed directly to you in a plain box as opposed to the retail one which you can pick up at Apple store or other authorized retailer, get mailed directly to you, and comes in a pretty, slim box.
 
Airboy1466 said:
Get AppleCare+
Do you trust that your credit card company will back you incase of an incident that they screw you over.
Click to expand...

Don't know honestly, it's gonna be a hassle and I wouldn't want to resort to that. eBay does seem to have a buyer protection thing for every purchase on its site, as I just found out, but I guess my issue was more on the fact that nothing may show as `faulty` but I will be working with a bad or modified product and that sucks ...
[doublepost=1544509029][/doublepost]
Gator1pk said:
B&H is a legit, Apple Authorized seller. You’re forking a real good chunk of cash for a serious machine (I have been wanting that same spec MBP to replace my mid-2012 MBP 15 Retina). The risk is high with the eBay one. The “savings” not worth it. Better safe than sorry.

Also check the refurbished MBP directly from Apple (good savings, same warranty from Apple as a “brand new” one. Only difference is the refurbished machine gets mailed directly to you in a plain box as opposed to the retail one which you can pick up at Apple store or other authorized retailer, get mailed directly to you, and comes in a pretty, slim box.
Click to expand...

I agree, and risk is considerably higher for an already so expensive machine. Would you get an AppleCare+ for this one if you were to get the machine too?
 
formidify said:
Thanks so much! So you got one without the AppleCare+ I assume?
[doublepost=1544467068][/doublepost]

Also, another question - is AppleCare+ really worth getting? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yup. Without AppleCare. It was purchased on a less than ideal site HHGREGG, but through google express. Surprisingly it shipped and arrived in 5 days.

Like others have mentioned. Just play it safe and get it from an authorized seller since they don’t accept PayPal.
 
I would never buy a mobile product from Apple without AppleCare (desktops I never bother with it anymore). I've only had to use it two or three times since the pre-Intel era, but it paid for itself each time, as it was past the one year point.
 
formidify said:
Yeah, i thought so too. But that 500$ difference in price tho... (or 100$ if i don't get AppleCare+)
Click to expand...

This is exactly how scammers get people. Offer a deal that is so attractive a person acts against their gut instinct.

Most folks who've been ripped off by a scammer admit they knew better but...
 
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_Kiki_ said:
company who avoid PayPal option for payment is very suspicious, I wouldn't buy from them
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True. Not just paypal but a brand should have any trustable known payment gateway. It could be amazonpay or ccavenue where you can file a dispute.
 
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