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darrengreer

macrumors regular
Original poster
Has anyone ever purchased those $500 gift cards online from ebay and used those to purchase your mac? I read that if you buy online at the store, you can only enter 4 gift cards, and then 6 in the store. Has anyone had luck in this endeavor?
 
Hmm interesting question, and I look forward to the responses. So you're not looking to buy a macbook on ebay. Rather, you're looking to buy gift cards at a discount on eBay and then use those at the Apple store... Interesting - i'll be following this thread to see how it goes and how much money you end up saving. In my experience on the sell-side of gift cards on ebay, they get pretty close to fair value. I.E. a $50 gift card will go for $47, or something like that.
 
In my experience on the sell-side of gift cards on ebay, they get pretty close to fair value. I.E. a $50 gift card will go for $47, or something like that.

I haven't executed, as you have to commit a fair amount of cash on ebay, but the end result would be about $50 per $500 saved. So, on a new macbook pro, I would save about $250. I just am a little worried about spending $2000 in gift cards on ebay.
 
instead of buying gift cards at a minimal discount, why not buy a mbp at a significant discount? I purchased mine a couple of weeks ago for $1650 from a reputable seller. Brand new and just registered with Apple. He was selling the 2.5 version for a little less than $2100. Thats much more significant. Of course, you have to be careful who you're buying it from.
 
instead of buying gift cards at a minimal discount, why not buy a mbp at a significant discount? I purchased mine a couple of weeks ago for $1650 from a reputable seller. Brand new and just registered with Apple. He was selling the 2.5 version for a little less than $2100. Thats much more significant. Of course, you have to be careful who you're buying it from.

I'd consider it. Can you PM me the seller ID you bought from?
 
It is also not hard to sell a gift card and use the balance after its in your possession. So once you have verified the amount, there is still a chance the seller could use the numbers.
 
If all you are doing is looking to save a little on a new MBP.. depends on what size model you are wanting. I recently purchased the new 15 inch, late 2008 model. Maxed out the processor and memory, as well as bumped the hard drive to 7200rpm. I traded up from an older model 17 inch for this model in November 2008. Since the release of the new 17 inch model, I have placed a new order for the 17 inch. Result is.. I'll be selling the 15 inch model in the next two weeks when the new 17 arrives. Has Apple Care for next 3 years.. so if interested, make me an offer and I can avoid putting it on ebay, dealing with bids, paying ebay seller fees, etc. Let me know, I'd be happy to discuss a personal sale to avoid hassle on your end as well as mine.
 
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