New In Box M3 vs used

[Supermacguy]

Looking at an M3 MBP - I see some "New In Box" sold on eBay. Is this
1. A good choice considering it hasn't been used or charged for over a year to 14 months? I'd love a "new" machine but if the battery is dead that's worse. In that case a used/low cycle count might be preferable?
2. Are they somehow a scam of repackaging?

 

[splifingate]

"eBay-er Beware", and all that.

One never really knows the Product until they get their hands on/powers-up the item (if it arrives intact). Even NIB

Personally, I've never had a fraudulent transaction on the Bay; but, then again, I've never completed a transaction over ~USD900

Personally, I never shop for anything if I can't afford to lose the monies.

Ask the Seller for photo documentation of the Serial (you can check for used/stolen), trust you intuition to avoid if they refuse to provide additional documentation, and make sure they do not ask you to use PayPal Friends&Family (or any other form of payment that does not include any form of Buyer Protection).

It never hurts to ask. If the answers don't satisfy you, look elsewhere

 

[Fishrrman]

If you want to be sure of what you're getting, buy from the Apple online refurbished store.

From eBay... well... it's a crapshoot.
Do ya feel lucky, son...?

 

[picpicmac]

If you want to be sure of what you're getting, buy from the Apple online refurbished store.

Some reputable vendors still have M3 product they are attempting to sell.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I assume ANYTHING from Apple on eBay is a scam, yes.

 

[Stella_Fudge]

eBay has very good buyer protection policies, so if something goes wrong with that machine it's pretty trivial to basically get it returned to the seller for a full refund with them having to cover the shipping cost or they can decide if they wanna just abandon the machine and issue a refund. It's very hard to go wrong on eBay as long as you don't waste your time with things, and you at least have a paper trail of attempting to talk to the seller if there is something that has gone wrong with it. With machines that are marketed as "new in box", you can check the serial number of the machine either beforehand or when you receive it and just check to see if it shows up as having a purchase date, or having warranty, or whether or not it shows up as being an unactivated unit. During the activation process a.k.a. setting it up, it'll also tell you if there is any sort of iCloud or MDM/remote management stuff associated with the unit as long as you set it up with a Wi-Fi connection, though iCloud shouldn't pop up at all for new inbox units but it's worth pointing out.