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purchase a macbook pro off of ebay?

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fleali88

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 29, 2008
192
0
Hey I was just wondering if anyone here has bought a macbook or macbook pro off ebay. If so, was the unit just as described BNIB?. I want the 2.53 unibody pro 4gb of ram, but in ebay there are a few buy it nows for 2100$, thats a huge 400$ price drop. the feed back is basically flawless. I use ebay alot just never purchased an expensive laptop on there. I guess I just want to know about anyones experience of buying on on ebay vs refurb vs brand new from apple.
Thanks in advance.
 
fleali88 said:
Hey I was just wondering if anyone here has bought a macbook or macbook pro off ebay. If so, was the unit just as described BNIB?. I want the 2.53 unibody pro 4gb of ram, but in ebay there are a few buy it nows for 2100$, thats a huge 400$ price drop. the feed back is basically flawless. I use ebay alot just never purchased an expensive laptop on there. I guess I just want to know about anyones experience of buying on on ebay vs refurb vs brand new from apple.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

My father got a early 2007 MBP for an insane price on ebay. still works great. If they have good feedback and you use paypal you should be fine.
 
I'm no longer purchasing/selling anything on eBay, due to the scammers and the spammers. There's no checks and balance system that applies both ways. Your product takes too long to get delivered to you; and it takes at least 72 hours to get your money. When did that become a problem? Go with the Apple Store, Apple Store Online (Refurbs are awesome), Macmall, or get something at a local college or university with the education discount or closeout sales... IMHO :cool:
 
When you are spending that kind of money... is it really worth the risk ?

What if there is a problem with the machine... its easy to assume that apple will cover you, but I can bet for sure that the seller wont want to know.

Also, trust your senses... $400 off a new machine is not really viable .. the guy would be losing money in reality.. so something is wrong somewhere.

Just do as others say.. go refurb to save money. Buy an older model via refurb to save even more money, or save up a bit more.

Im in the same position, but I still wont buy something like a Mac off ebay on a buy it now 'new' auction.
 
I got an IBM thinkpad cheap off ebay years ago and it never seemed to work right, of course teh guy didn't want to know.

I came over to mac by getting an old refurb ibook of ebay, there were screwdriver marks allaeround from the refurb and non mac parts were used, but it worked great for a year. Then started freezing, blacking out, etc, then it died.

Then i got this powerbook from the small adds in the local paper for a great price, but it gives me little electric shocks which are getting worse.

I'm seeing a pattern here, it get them cheaper but they die quicker and i have no come back against anyone.

I have never bought new from ebay though, if he is a power seller with good feedback it would make sense that he keeps you happy.

But there are no guarantees.
 
I bought my Unibody Macbook Pro new in box on ebay for only $1639 including everything. It was a great deal, and everything went smoothly. Just make sure that the seller has good feedback, and try to buy from people who normally sell electronics. And Power Sellers are the best to buy from.
 
A MBP 15" 2.53 GHz can be had for $2,100 easy. Heck, I can buy a brand new-in box MBP 15" 2.53 GHz (from Apple) for $1,999.

It can be done, with eBay, you simply needed to research whom you're buying from. If they have a history of selling and delivering high-end merchandise then you are fairly safe. If they have been selling low-dollar items and just started selling MBP, etc... STAY AWAY!
 
Revelation78 said:
A MBP 15" 2.53 GHz can be had for $2,100 easy. Heck, I can buy a brand new-in box MBP 15" 2.53 GHz (from Apple) for $1,999.

It can be done, with eBay, you simply needed to research whom you're buying from. If they have a history of selling and delivering high-end merchandise then you are fairly safe. If they have been selling low-dollar items and just started selling MBP, etc... STAY AWAY!
Click to expand...

I agree. I bought mine for $1650 and its sealed, NIB. purchase it from electronics sellers and power sellers.

Ebay has a new system now where if you sell something electronic, like laptops, monitors, cell phones..etc. Paypal holds the fund until the buyer receives the item, make sure its as described and leaves a positive feedback, thus protecting both the buyers and sellers.
 
i bought an ibook on Ebay about 3 1/2 maybe 4 years ago and it turned out to be a fantastic purchase. I spent a little over $700 and the machine hadn't been put under applecare so it was easy to register it and purchase the protection which i never had to use.

My only suggestion would be to try and find someone selling it near your area. I lived in Jersey but found the machine from someone in Brooklyn. Since i worked in NYC i was able to get them to meet me face to face so i could take a good look at the machine to check its legitimacy.

I approved and gave him the cash. I was very apprehensive about spending so much money and going on good faith, but i have worked out a couple of ebay sales where i did the transaction face to face and would recommend trying for that if at all possible on big ticket items.
 
As lots of people have said before, as long as you're careful, Ebay is a great place. I'm currently bidding on a couple netbooks. I probably won't win them though because I'm not bidding very high- I'm holding out for the new GN40 Eees and Aspires.
 
thanks guys, ill more than likely buy off of ebay. unless have a refurb onthe site that i want. I want 2.8 or 2.5, ive looked online and the 2.8 is only like 9-11% faster. so i dunno yet
 
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