Need help selling MacBook ASAP please!

[MarkTbh]

Hi, I am selling my macbook pro and a guy emailed me this:

I'm very intrested in your laptop,I'm getting it for my brother's birthday.
Anyhow, I've been scammed on here before and I've taken some internet safety courses since then.
Could I please have your laptop's serial number and also a picture of the receipt for the laptop as proof of purchase ?
Once I have it, I'll call Apple and have them verify the serial and the receipt, after these are provided i'd be interested in meeting up to purchase the laptop.
I'm sorry for all this trouble but I'm sure you understand.

Is giving out my receipt and serial number a risk?

 

[ramram55]

serial number is good enough, are you selling on craiglist ?

 

[MarkTbh]

Selling through Kijiji

 

[ramram55]

the rule of thumb is buyer will get the serial number to verify, if the macbook
registered, as to receipt, why would you want the buyer to know the price you paid ? Meet at a public place in broad daylight, to check out the item.

 

[MarkTbh]

I gave the guy the serial number but not the receipt.

I still kind of think its suspicious that he's asking for the receipt... Maybe identity theft?

 

[ramram55]

unless you disclose the purchase price of the item, you do not have to give the receipt to the buyer, do you ask walmart what is their item price they bought from manufacturer ? the serial number should be enough to get the buyer have faith in you that your item is not stolen or otherwise. Not familiar with Kijiji, is this same as ebay ?

 

[Weaselboy]

I gave the guy the serial number but not the receipt.

I still kind of think its suspicious that he's asking for the receipt... Maybe identity theft?

Can't you just block out any personal info on the receipt and give it to him? I can understand the potential buyer wanting to make sure you are not selling a stolen machine.

unless you disclose the purchase price of the item, you do not have to give the receipt to the buyer, do you ask walmart what is their item price they bought from manufacturer ? the serial number should be enough to get the buyer have faith in you that your item is not stolen or otherwise. Not familiar with Kijiji, is this same as ebay ?

It has nothing to do with the price. The buyer just wants to make sure the machine is not stolen and asking to see the receipt is a reasonable way to do that. I don't think anybody is too concerned with Walmart selling them a stolen laptop.

 

[tillsbury]

The receipt is a critical thing for the buyer to see that you bought it legitimately. Scan it, remove any personal information, and send it. The buyer will know the price you paid for it approximately anyway -- the retail price of new Apple products is hardly a trade secret.

 

[MarkTbh]

Is there anything key that I should remove from the receipt?

I see stuff like:
Val # (whole bunch of numbers after it)

Some transaction number?

etc..

 

[MarkTbh]

I gave him this. Hopefully its enough.

 

[sarthak]

A few months ago I listed my MacBook Air on Kijiji. I received a similar message from someone stating that they took "internet safety courses" and requested the serial number and receipt for the machine.

I responded stating that they could check all aspects of the machine upon purchasing it. They replied saying they could wire me money so be cautious of this person. I think they just want the serial and receipt to scam other people in ways I can't discuss on this forum. They could even report the machine as stolen by providing Apple with the serial and receipt (if requested).

I always check the X-ORIGNATING IP ADDRESS of an email I receive from someone on Kijiji or Craigslist. This can only be had if you reply to them and they reply back from the browser or an email client. Geo-locating their IP gives me their whereabouts as to whether or not the person is legitimate or a scammer in a different country or province.

The best way to sell it is to meet up with a person locally. List it on Kijiji and Craigslist. STAY AWAY from eBay as there are many scammers who claim they received an empty box or defective unit. They file a claim against you (the seller) and send back an empty box or switch the unit or even switch parts inside of it. In many cases you have no way of proving the buyer is wrong and PayPal's seller protection is especially useless in Canada. The worst part is if the buyer does a chargeback to block the payment from going through entirely. You'll be fighting on the phone for months. This is why I stopped selling expensive items on eBay. They don't deserve the fees they charge.

 

[Ryukouki]

Hey there, I just wanted to chime in a little bit. mseth is actually pretty accurate as far as his safety prevention measures. Usually I take their opening response and google parts of it, to see if a scammer had taken a similar approach. The IP address is another good way to check as well, and make sure to meet in a public place that is in broad daylight. If you're uncomfortable, ask a friend to go with you, but have him sit elsewhere that's close by.

I once tried to sell my Macbook Pro on eBay, and ugggh, it's a huge mess. It's really not worth the hassle that people could put you through to get money. And trust me, people will do anything on eBay if it's a big ticket item. The guy I sold my laptop to listed an address that was in New York. I shipped it out without knowing that I incorrectly weighed the package (I eyeballed it! ) but that ended up saving me my computer, because I googled the address that he provided, and it turns out that the address he gave was an overseas distribution center. I panicked and crapped bricks, calling USPS to immediately cancel the shipment and have it rerouted, but because I incorrectly weighed it it came back home returned to sender. And the guy was an idiot and thought he could fool me by saying it was a gift for his wife or some crazy stuff like that. And they charge a silly amount for their Final Value Fee, so not worth it at all.

Best of luck with the sale, and if you need further help just ask us!

 

[johnnnw]

Man I can't believe some of the more veteran members here thought this was real.


OBVIOUS fake buyer.

Seriously. This reeks of just another scam situation.

 

[saberahul]

I usually go by the English and overall logic of the poster when selling things online. The English is bad and the extra personal information is unnecessary. I'd call this fake and wouldn't be surprised if he/she/it comes back to you saying to wire the payment or to create a PayPal account through his/her/it special link.

 

[MarkTbh]

So I sent him the blanked out receipt and this was his response:
Lol I sent that to Apple and they giggled they need all the information blocked out so they can verify it.

I asked him what he needs to verify, and I have had no response since.

I lost another potential buyer (was offering slightly lower than his offer) and I declined his offer because of this guy.. Man.......


I was kind of tempted to give out the receipt to that guy but after reading your post mseth I'm just gonna wait I guess.

Thanks guys

 

[maflynn]

I'd say that you didn't lose another buyer but avoided a possible scammer or at least headaches.

The serial number is all that he needed, not the entire unbalanced receipt.

 

[B...]

I think you should be glad that transaction didn't go through. Total scam.

 

[GoCubsGo]

So I sent him the blanked out receipt and this was his response:
Lol I sent that to Apple and they giggled they need all the information blocked out so they can verify it.

I asked him what he needs to verify, and I have had no response since.

I lost another potential buyer (was offering slightly lower than his offer) and I declined his offer because of this guy.. Man.......


I was kind of tempted to give out the receipt to that guy but after reading your post mseth I'm just gonna wait I guess.

Thanks guys

I'd say that you didn't lose another buyer but avoided a possible scammer or at least headaches.

The serial number is all that he needed, not the entire unbalanced receipt.

He wrote that he lost a potential buyer for this guy. So yes, he lost a potential buyer and avoided a scammer.

Anyone who says that Apple giggled when they saw the receipt needs to be told to go pound sand. mseth is absolutely spot on with this and frankly, unless money was about to change hands, I wouldn't show a receipt. The serial number was indeed all he needed. Also, tell me what internet safety courses are available. That is a new one.

You can simply contact the guy with the slightly lower offer and tell him you will not sell to the higher bidder. Just like eBay, if the highest bidder backs out, you can offer to sell to the next highest bidder; at least you used to be able to. I don't sell or buy from eBay much these days.

 

[ramram55]

In ebay world if you sell would attract bad characters.
What a dangerous world it is. Hope you get a good buyer and go from there.