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So a guy offered me a retina Macbook Pro, but its serial number is apparently invalid

W

wickoo

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 15, 2011
67
0
Welcome.
A guy gave me C02LJCSMSD56 as the supposed serial number of his retina MacBook Pro. He warned me that it's not recognized on Apple's support website and - sure enough - it does say it's invalid.

What's the deal with this machine? Is the seller a phony? Are there special cases where a computer's serial number would not be recognized by Apple as valid? It has a Swedish keyboard.
 
wickoo said:
Welcome.
A guy gave me C02LJCSMSD56 as the supposed serial number of his retina MacBook Pro. He warned me that it's not recognized on Apple's support website and - sure enough - it does say it's invalid.

What's the deal with this machine? Is the seller a phony?
Click to expand...

Seems fishy to me, because a SN from Apple even out of warranty will state something on their site regardless, but I would go with, Don't do it.
 
If you cannot verify the serial number then I'd say something is fishy. I'd not go through with a sale based on that.
 
Could either be a stolen computer/replacement, or it could be a prototype. Take some pictures of it.
 
Mars478 said:
Could either be a stolen computer/replacement, or it could be a prototype. Take some pictures of it.
Click to expand...

Stolen would even come up in their support system as would a replacement. Prototype; however, will not. I would ask for a lot of pictures.
 
I tend to follow the Occam's razor approach. Chances are the guy just fat-fingered the serial number. Any one actively trying to be shady wouldn't have given you a bunk SN, particularly because of this sort of "WTF" moment.

Just have him confirm the SN and try again. Also, you should really always approach this with due diligence, the serial is only goingto confirm specifications and warranty, YOU are responsible for inspecting the machine thoroughly before forking over the cash.

I highly doubt anything weird is going to come of this.
 
Call Apple at 1-800-MY-APPLE with the serial number and ask if they have anything on record. Just make sure that you have the correct serial number.
 
Robyr said:
I tend to follow the Occam's razor approach. Chances are the guy just fat-fingered the serial number. Any one actively trying to be shady wouldn't have given you a bunk SN, particularly because of this sort of "WTF" moment.

Just have him confirm the SN and try again. Also, you should really always approach this with due diligence, the serial is only goingto confirm specifications and warranty, YOU are responsible for inspecting the machine thoroughly before forking over the cash.

I highly doubt anything weird is going to come of this.
Click to expand...

But the seller pre-warned the OP it wouldn't be recognised. Doesn't seem plausible that not only did the seller fat finger on Apples support site, but also when relaying to the OP.
 
Apple doesn't care if it's been stolen. There's no reason to fudge the serial number. If it's a non-working serial number, it's bogus. Run away from it.
 
Robyr said:
I tend to follow the Occam's razor approach. Chances are the guy just fat-fingered the serial number.
Click to expand...

What does Occam's Razor say about the guy telling OP that the serial number is invalid even before he sends it?
 
the serial number is fake.\


or the bottom plate of the mac is fake.

it could be, that your entire computer isn't even stock apple….possible a counterfeit.

can you give more details? really interested.
 
gochi said:
the serial number is fake.\


or the bottom plate of the mac is fake.

it could be, that your entire computer isn't even stock apple….possible a counterfeit.

can you give more details? really interested.
Click to expand...
Are there any fake MacBooks?

Barney
 
Sometimes Apple replaces a motherboard and the new serial over-rides the old one. That happens also.
 
also

It's also possible the machine got a new logic board and some ******* tech used Blank Board Serializer and didn't put in the right serial.

It tends to **** up the machine something fierce, I know of a case where someone put the wrong serial on a new Mac Mini logic board and that particular machine never worked right ever since.
 
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