Sold Macbook on EBAY, buyer claims he is locked out of it?

[Tachion]

I recently sold my old MBP on eBay and now the buyer is flipping out on me telling me he can't do anything on it because when I erased the hard drive and reinstalled osx it linked to my apple ID and I'm the administrator on the laptop, meaning it won't let him do anything.

I linked him to the erase and reinstall instructions on apple's website for OSX but he claims he can't do anything because I'm an administrator on it? Can he seriously not wipe the hard drive and reinstall os x using his own apple ID because it's linked to mine?

Any ideas? I'm certainly not giving this guy my password and I don't know what else to do or tell him. I have a feeling he's about to dispute the money with PayPal and I'll be screwed.

Edit: He just opened a dispute on eBay and is demanding I refund his his money as I was typing this.

 

[aodesigns]

Heard a lot of stuff like this with eBay and MacBooks (thought not limited to) I recently had mine up on there for sale but it didn't meet the reserve. Which tbh I'm glad about.

Sold privately no hassle.

As for your post, I'd suggest asking the buyer returns the item and his costs are refunded. Remember to check the serial number to ensure its the same as the one you sent.

IMO, eBay is risky these days and is certainly not worth the hassle.

 

[Tachion]

Is there any way I can allow him to restore the system without giving him my apple ID and password? Can I do it remotely for him?

 

[Mike Boreham]

Is there any way I can allow him to restore the system without giving him my apple ID and password? Can I do it remotely for him?

Did you sign out of Find my Mac and iCloud on the mac before handing it over?

You could try logging into iCloud.com now on any computer, and go to "Find my iPhone" there. Even though it is labelled Find my iPhone it finds your signed in Macs there too. If it still shows your MBP then I think new buyer may have a problem. Thee may be other ways round it.

From a quick look I couldn't see that you could delete a device from there, but I was a big reluctant to try for real.

The important screen is the Find my iPhone one with the map. If your mac (under "all devices") is there it is still signed in to your account. Some people have signed out of Find my Mac correctly, but it can still appear in the Settings list for up to 90 days, even though signed out. This is annoying but doesn't matter.

In theory you could send him you apple ID and password then change your password, promptly, but confess I would nervous doing this.

 

[simonsi]

I recently sold my old MBP on eBay and now the buyer is flipping out on me telling me he can't do anything on it because when I erased the hard drive and reinstalled osx it linked to my apple ID and I'm the administrator on the laptop, meaning it won't let him do anything.

TBH if this is true for the buyer then is YOUR Keychain still logged in? (saved passwords, credit cards etc???)

As above, get the buyer to put it online via WiFi, go to iCloud, Find My iPhone, select the device and choose Erase My Mac.

Unless you had FileVault setup the buyer should be able to erase and reinstall locally via Option-boot but via iCloud should also work.

 

[Tachion]

The hard drive was erased with one of the more secure options (3x pass, I think?) then OSX was reinstalled. I then logged onto OSX to make sure it worked, which I'm sure is what the problem is.

I've linked him a video about how to erase the hard drive and reinstall osx, but he doesn't understand. He doesn't understand he needs an Apple ID to reinstall the os. So, basically, I'm getting screwed because I messed up by logging into osx after the erase and install, and because he has no idea how to follow instructions to erase the hard drive and reinstall osx and probably doesn't have an Apple ID.

Never selling on ebay again. Thanks for the help everyone, though.

 

[Weaselboy]

The hard drive was erased with one of the more secure options (3x pass, I think?) then OSX was reinstalled. I then logged onto OSX to make sure it worked, which I'm sure is what the problem is.

I've linked him a video about how to erase the hard drive and reinstall osx, but he doesn't understand. He doesn't understand he needs an Apple ID to reinstall the os. So, basically, I'm getting screwed because I messed up by logging into osx after the erase and install, and because he has no idea how to follow instructions to erase the hard drive and reinstall osx and probably doesn't have an Apple ID.

Never selling on ebay again. Thanks for the help everyone, though.

He is kind of stuck if he is trying to erase and reinstall, since he does not have an AppleID that was used to "purchase" Yosemite.

Here is what he can do. Follow this process to make the machine run the new system setup wizard, then during that he can make an admin account. Then he will need to go here and create an AppleID. Then have him login to the app store and purchase Yosemite with his AppleID and stop the download since he does not need the installer.

Then have him follow this guide to boot to recovery and erase the drive and install Yosemite with his own AppleID that he just created.

 

[Mike Boreham]

The hard drive was erased with one of the more secure options (3x pass, I think?) then OSX was reinstalled. I then logged onto OSX to make sure it worked, which I'm sure is what the problem is.

You mean you signed with your Apple ID after the erase and reinstall....but didn't sign out again?

Have you looked at iCloud.com->Find my iPhone and checked to see if it is listed, and if so tried to delete the device? Not the same as erasing which I think would still leave it associated with your ID

 

[Tachion]

Alright, all sorted out. Finally.

Turns out, Mavericks doesn't like a "blank" admin password (which I hadn't assigned one as, like I mentioned earlier, I had just logged on to verify the OS install went well and never assigned a password, assuming the buyer would do so).

This fixed it: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203852

Took forever to figure out, but there you have it. A little stupidity on my part (should have just wiped the hard drive, re-installed, and left it at the welcome screen...)

Thanks everyone for the help. Really appreciate it.

On a side note, for future reference, any suggestions where the best place to sell Apple stuff would be in the future that isn't EBay?

 

[Trogdor796]

Alright, all sorted out. Finally.

Turns out, Mavericks doesn't like a "blank" admin password (which I hadn't assigned one as, like I mentioned earlier, I had just logged on to verify the OS install went well and never assigned a password, assuming the buyer would do so).

This fixed it: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203852

Took forever to figure out, but there you have it. A little stupidity on my part (should have just wiped the hard drive, re-installed, and left it at the welcome screen...)

Thanks everyone for the help. Really appreciate it.

On a side note, for future reference, any suggestions where the best place to sell Apple stuff would be in the future that isn't EBay?

Probably craigslist and meet somewhere public/an Apple retail store. I haven't sold any Macs before but when I've sold old cell phones I always wipe it and then meet at a verizon store with the buyer and offer to stick around while Verizon checks out the phone for the buyer and make sure it's all good(clean number/not stolen, etc.). I'd assume the process would be similar for selling a Macbook.

I don't deal with selling stuff on eBay but from everything I've read it's buyer's sided and seems like a hassle for sellers, plus eBay+PayPal take a 10% cut.

 

[MacManTexas56]

Alright, all sorted out. Finally.

Turns out, Mavericks doesn't like a "blank" admin password (which I hadn't assigned one as, like I mentioned earlier, I had just logged on to verify the OS install went well and never assigned a password, assuming the buyer would do so).

This fixed it: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203852

Took forever to figure out, but there you have it. A little stupidity on my part (should have just wiped the hard drive, re-installed, and left it at the welcome screen...)

Thanks everyone for the help. Really appreciate it.

On a side note, for future reference, any suggestions where the best place to sell Apple stuff would be in the future that isn't EBay?

not eBay's fault man...that was all on you. you didn't set it up to sell it correctly...

 

[glenthompson]

Alright, all sorted out. Finally.

On a side note, for future reference, any suggestions where the best place to sell Apple stuff would be in the future that isn't EBay?

I have bought 2 Macs from Craigslist, sold one there, and bought two on eBay. No problems with any of the transactions. One of the eBay purchases had a shipping problem but it was the post office at fault not the seller. If there's a good market in your area Craigslist is probably the best. I think you can probably net the same as eBay. If you live in Podunkville where 2 people have Macs then eBay is a better bet.

 

[PBG4 Dude]

I've sold a couple things in the marketplace here. If you haven't been here long enough / have enough posts, you won't see it in the forum list.