Attention: If you have a seething hatred for people who are reselling their iPad 2 for profit, please exit this thread. Thank you.
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OK, so I managed to purchase two iPad 2's. My initial goal was to buy one Black 16GB WiFi model for my wife as an early anniversary gift (and so that I could play with it and see if I really had to have one eventually, too). I was about 5 minutes too late to score that model on release day at my local Walmart, but they had a 32GB available. I turned it down and went home. Later, a coworker told me I was crazy to not buy it because they were commanding a premium on ebay. I took a look and said, "Doh!" Next thing I knew, I was making use of online inventory trackers and spending way more time than I ought to have running around trying to find a couple. My initial thought was that I'd buy two or more and sell all but one. Long story short, I managed to buy two Black 32GB WiFi models at two different Targets (I could have ended up with three had they allowed for selling more than one per customer).
Total cost for each unit was about $638 including tax.
After reading some people posting that CraigsList was the way to go instead of ebay due to ebay and PayPal fees (and, possibly unfounded, concerns about scams where a buyer claims they never got the item and then gets their money refunded by PayPal), I decided to give CraigsList a shot. I saw someone selling the same model for $1000, which seemed crazy high, but I figured I'd post mine at $950 or best offer, and noted that I wanted cash only and local purchasers only. I received a couple of inquiries and late that evening I was exchanging some emails with a potential buyer where we haggled on the price. Eventually we agreed on $820. His name and phone number aligned with someone who owned a local business, so I felt more comfortable about it. I met him at the cafe in the local Barnes & Noble and everything went well. Total profit about $180, minus gas money and personal time. Quite frankly, when I add it all up, I think my time is worth more than what I expended, so I'm not sure if it was worth all the trouble. Plus, it was a bit of a nerve-racking experience, as I still worried about whether he might try to scam me in some way. When the deal went down, I felt like a drug-dealer, having hidden the iPad in my laptop bag, putting it on the table to let him see it, then counting his money, then handing him the receipt. What if he tried to grab it and run? What if he passed along some counterfeit $100 bills? What if he jumped me as I was going back to my car so as to take the money back? Was $180 in profit really worth this?
I still hadn't opened the 2nd unit up yet, and by now I was second-guessing my desire to purchase the smaller 16GB for my wife, since GarageBand and iMovie sounded like they could be fun and could use up a lot of storage. So now I was thinking more about keeping the 2nd unit. But I could also purchase that (or whichever) unit using AmEx points I have racked up and there's a 20% sale thru their points store and my wife told me I should sell it because she's fine waiting 4-5 weeks.
So I'm thinking, should I sell the 2nd unit and, if so, how and for how much. Today I get another email from the other guy who initially inquired about my CL ad. He writes a really lengthy email that reads like one of those "Nigerian Prince" letters. He tells me that he would like to buy it at the price I have it for (red flag #1: He doesn't even try to haggle), and that he can't pick it up himself but will send me a Bank Certified check, and will let me wait for it to clear, and will then have one of his "movers" arrange to pick it up from me. He asks for my name, physical address (no PO Box), and phone number.
This offer certainly sounds like a scam, but I am a bit confused by how a Certified Bankers check scam works. I used to be under the impression that these types of checks were solid, but I do see that CraigsList states that they can be faked, that your bank will cash it, but when they determine it's bad (potentially weeks later), you're left holding the bag. What I don't fully understand is why it would take weeks to determine this. Shouldn't it fully clear (and be determined to be legit) within a day or two?
At this point, I'm thinking of bumping my CL ad back up, and maybe dropping the price since it's overly aggressive. The other approach would be to sell it on ebay, and state that I'll only ship in the US and only sell via PayPal.
What general advice/tips would you all recommend?
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OK, so I managed to purchase two iPad 2's. My initial goal was to buy one Black 16GB WiFi model for my wife as an early anniversary gift (and so that I could play with it and see if I really had to have one eventually, too). I was about 5 minutes too late to score that model on release day at my local Walmart, but they had a 32GB available. I turned it down and went home. Later, a coworker told me I was crazy to not buy it because they were commanding a premium on ebay. I took a look and said, "Doh!" Next thing I knew, I was making use of online inventory trackers and spending way more time than I ought to have running around trying to find a couple. My initial thought was that I'd buy two or more and sell all but one. Long story short, I managed to buy two Black 32GB WiFi models at two different Targets (I could have ended up with three had they allowed for selling more than one per customer).
Total cost for each unit was about $638 including tax.
After reading some people posting that CraigsList was the way to go instead of ebay due to ebay and PayPal fees (and, possibly unfounded, concerns about scams where a buyer claims they never got the item and then gets their money refunded by PayPal), I decided to give CraigsList a shot. I saw someone selling the same model for $1000, which seemed crazy high, but I figured I'd post mine at $950 or best offer, and noted that I wanted cash only and local purchasers only. I received a couple of inquiries and late that evening I was exchanging some emails with a potential buyer where we haggled on the price. Eventually we agreed on $820. His name and phone number aligned with someone who owned a local business, so I felt more comfortable about it. I met him at the cafe in the local Barnes & Noble and everything went well. Total profit about $180, minus gas money and personal time. Quite frankly, when I add it all up, I think my time is worth more than what I expended, so I'm not sure if it was worth all the trouble. Plus, it was a bit of a nerve-racking experience, as I still worried about whether he might try to scam me in some way. When the deal went down, I felt like a drug-dealer, having hidden the iPad in my laptop bag, putting it on the table to let him see it, then counting his money, then handing him the receipt. What if he tried to grab it and run? What if he passed along some counterfeit $100 bills? What if he jumped me as I was going back to my car so as to take the money back? Was $180 in profit really worth this?
I still hadn't opened the 2nd unit up yet, and by now I was second-guessing my desire to purchase the smaller 16GB for my wife, since GarageBand and iMovie sounded like they could be fun and could use up a lot of storage. So now I was thinking more about keeping the 2nd unit. But I could also purchase that (or whichever) unit using AmEx points I have racked up and there's a 20% sale thru their points store and my wife told me I should sell it because she's fine waiting 4-5 weeks.
So I'm thinking, should I sell the 2nd unit and, if so, how and for how much. Today I get another email from the other guy who initially inquired about my CL ad. He writes a really lengthy email that reads like one of those "Nigerian Prince" letters. He tells me that he would like to buy it at the price I have it for (red flag #1: He doesn't even try to haggle), and that he can't pick it up himself but will send me a Bank Certified check, and will let me wait for it to clear, and will then have one of his "movers" arrange to pick it up from me. He asks for my name, physical address (no PO Box), and phone number.
This offer certainly sounds like a scam, but I am a bit confused by how a Certified Bankers check scam works. I used to be under the impression that these types of checks were solid, but I do see that CraigsList states that they can be faked, that your bank will cash it, but when they determine it's bad (potentially weeks later), you're left holding the bag. What I don't fully understand is why it would take weeks to determine this. Shouldn't it fully clear (and be determined to be legit) within a day or two?
At this point, I'm thinking of bumping my CL ad back up, and maybe dropping the price since it's overly aggressive. The other approach would be to sell it on ebay, and state that I'll only ship in the US and only sell via PayPal.
What general advice/tips would you all recommend?
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