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Macbook Pro 2.16 C2D - $640 Craigslist - Buy?

E

Eric.

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 30, 2008
188
0
I know that its an amazing deal. I was stumbling around my local craigslist and spotted a Macbook Pro 2.16Ghz for $640. I assumed they left off the 1, since I see that a lot on there. Nope, he typed $640 again in the listing.

Specs:

120GB HDD
2.16 Core 2 Duo
2GB RAM
Leopard
Matte

Basically, its the base model of that generation with Leopard installed. It also has a battery purchased last month and a new charger. He lists the condition as "excellent - hardly any scratches at all" and says that it "works perfectly, never had any problems".

There is only one picture that more or less focuses on the "top case" with the palm rests and keyboard. No imperfections there but Craigslist has small images anyway.

I've already sent him an email about it offering $640 in about two weeks. There was another listing for the same spec of MBP for $650 around a week earlier and I think its the same person. The area code of that phone number (which is missing the last digit *sigh*) is not that local...~500 miles away.

So, should I act on this? I have had plans to get a Montevina MBP with the free Touch and a 160GB classic. My current idea is to use this until Montevina is announced and ebay it for $1000-1200 (that's about what it should be selling for isn't it?), using that to pay for part of the new one.

I'm not going to link to the listing in the event someone else would snatch it.
 
Be extremely cautious when buying from Craigslist, as a great number are scams! If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Some people have even been robbed when they meet a Craigslist buyer or seller, so be very careful!
 
Eric. said:
I know that its an amazing deal. I was stumbling around my local craigslist and spotted a Macbook Pro 2.16Ghz for $640. I assumed they left off the 1, since I see that a lot on there. Nope, he typed $640 again in the listing.

Specs:

120GB HDD
2.16 Core 2 Duo
2GB RAM
Leopard
Matte

Basically, its the base model of that generation with Leopard installed. It also has a battery purchased last month and a new charger. He lists the condition as "excellent - hardly any scratches at all" and says that it "works perfectly, never had any problems".

There is only one picture that more or less focuses on the "top case" with the palm rests and keyboard. No imperfections there but Craigslist has small images anyway.

I've already sent him an email about it offering $640 in about two weeks. There was another listing for the same spec of MBP for $650 around a week earlier and I think its the same person. The area code of that phone number (which is missing the last digit *sigh*) is not that local...~500 miles away.

So, should I act on this? I have had plans to get a Montevina MBP with the free Touch and a 160GB classic. My current idea is to use this until Montevina is announced and ebay it for $1000-1200 (that's about what it should be selling for isn't it?), using that to pay for part of the new one.

I'm not going to link to the listing in the event someone else would snatch it.
Click to expand...

Don't do the deal unless you can do it in person and have a chance to inspect the laptop.

When the price is this low and you inquire about doing the deal its likely you'll get an email from the "local" owner saying that he/she has moved to another country (most of the time it's England) and is no longer living in the US. There will be some complicated deal involving a shipper called TNT and their escrow service.

It's a common Craigslist scam. Be careful.
 
Well if he does happen to be local I'll make the meeting be in a public place of my choice. There's just that chance that its someone who doesn't know about the resale value of Macs. I'll let you know if I do hear anything.
 
Yeah, unless he is local I would stay away. As everyone else said it smells like a scam.
 
A good rule of thumb is that if it's too good to be true then chances are it is. That doesn't mean you can't find very good deals on craigslist. Plus even if that deal was legit it would've sold 2 weeks ago.
 
Craiglist really scares me. Unless you are a big burly man who can hold your own, meeting on neutral ground can be scary since the person who listed the item knows you have a huge amount of cash on you - mugging waiting to happen.
 
not to defend craigslist, but...

it's doable if you conduct the transaction in your financial institution, that way if everything looks okay you can w/d the money right there. both parties are protected IMO.

Not to endorse the OP's transaction, i do stand by the "if it's too good to be true it probably is" rule
 
haha

I saw the EXACT same offer in my area. I figured it was a scam but I sent them an email anyhow. They wrote back that they JUST had moved to the UK and were no longer in my area but they could ship it if I wanted. lol
 
noodle654 said:
I hate Craigslist, deal with eBay so that your covered.
Click to expand...

Careful with that.

You are covered with eBay / PayPal ONLY if certain conditions are met - such as the seller having greater than a certain % feedback rating, and being a Verified PayPal member. Even then, your coverage may be limited to $300 or something.

If a deal is stupidly low priced, or there is any indication the seller isn't 100% honest, or if they are outside your country, or if they propose any complex delivery scheme DO NOT rely on eBay or PayPal to back you up if you take a foolish risk.
 
The MacBook Pro for crazy low prices are advertised constantly on Craigslist. If you look at more then just your city you will see essentially the same ad repeated in city after city.

Either it's a scam or the tooth fairy is stopping in a lot of cities trying to spread great deals on MBP's. :)

As far as buying and selling on Craigslist I have had a number of successful transactions. I deal only locally and for small items we meet in a coffee shop and for bigger items we meet in the parking lot of banks where there are lots of security camera's. Also I always take a second person along.
 
I don't know where you are located, but I'm willing to bet that the "seller" of the mbp has recently located from there to Manchester (or London), and is therefore unable to meet up in person. But they'll be happy to make a deal with you, as long as you send them the money, they'll be sure to ship the computer right out.

Don't fall for it.
Why would somebody move to another country and not take their laptop with them? It's not like it's a big-screen tv. Anytime you see someone selling fairly new electronics for half their value, it's a scam. Even if someone is desperate for money, why would they be desperate for only half the money?
 
Eric. said:
I know that its an amazing deal. I was stumbling around my local craigslist and spotted a Macbook Pro 2.16Ghz for $640. I assumed they left off the 1, since I see that a lot on there. Nope, he typed $640 again in the listing.

Specs:

120GB HDD
2.16 Core 2 Duo
2GB RAM
Leopard
Matte

Basically, its the base model of that generation with Leopard installed. It also has a battery purchased last month and a new charger. He lists the condition as "excellent - hardly any scratches at all" and says that it "works perfectly, never had any problems".

There is only one picture that more or less focuses on the "top case" with the palm rests and keyboard. No imperfections there but Craigslist has small images anyway.

I've already sent him an email about it offering $640 in about two weeks. There was another listing for the same spec of MBP for $650 around a week earlier and I think its the same person. The area code of that phone number (which is missing the last digit *sigh*) is not that local...~500 miles away.

So, should I act on this? I have had plans to get a Montevina MBP with the free Touch and a 160GB classic. My current idea is to use this until Montevina is announced and ebay it for $1000-1200 (that's about what it should be selling for isn't it?), using that to pay for part of the new one.

I'm not going to link to the listing in the event someone else would snatch it.
Click to expand...



I know a few people who put up fake listings on Craigslist to capture email addresses for marketting and selling to SPAM companies.
 
Eric. said:
Well if he does happen to be local I'll make the meeting be in a public place of my choice. There's just that chance that its someone who doesn't know about the resale value of Macs. I'll let you know if I do hear anything.
Click to expand...

Eric,

if you were a macrumors newbie, I coul understand you naiveness. However, since you're a regular, I don't understand how you could even fall for such thing. This has been posted before about such scams on CL's.

There's a chance he doesn't know the resale value of the Mac? Yeah right. He could easily surf CL or Ebay and see what it's selling for.

I think the seller is hoping for a chance for someone who doesn't know about the MBP scam's on Craiglists! :D
 
Prob to good to be true. I saw a cheap MBP in my area which looked legit. It was a Core Duo model and needed a new battery and charger.
 
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