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Trust eBay seller or not?

ZachsMacDaddy

ZachsMacDaddy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 24, 2007
461
57
Maryland
Would you feel comfortable buying a rMBP off eBay that comes with AppleCare? I found some good deals, and they claim to come with AppleCare. The seller has 100% positive feedback with over 500+ good feedbacks. Everything they sell is Apple hardware, mostly laptops. The price is good, but not outrageously unbelievable (doesn't seem like a "too good to be true" price).

I have sold several computers (some MacBooks) on eBay, and I would hope that there are other sellers as honest as I feel I am, but I know it's a huge marketplace with plenty of scammers mixed in.
 
Read the sellers feedback to see what they have been selling. If they have been selling computers, then there is an excellent chance they are a decent seller who will stand by what they sell. Use Paypal or CC to pay. This will give you added protection.

I personally would never buy something like this off Ebay, but that is me. Many people do. I would rather buy a refurb directly from Apple and feel confident I am getting what I pay for. Yes you may pay a bit more, but you know Apple will help for sure if there are any problems down the road.
 
I bought a 2009 13" Macbook Pro off of ebay a few months ago and I didn't have any problems. The sellers feedback was 100% positive and they were not a new seller. I was covered by the buyers protection so i felt i had some backup.
 
I think my biggest concern is the applecare that is on the machine. Many years ago I was a victim of the classic ebay scam for AppleCare. I bought AC, got the code, activated it, and left feedback. A few months later I find that the seller returned the AC to Apple, and they (apple) cancelled my plan without telling me. All they needed was the receipt as proof of purchase, which the seller apparently kept. I had no recourse as it was way past the paypal dispute period.

It's a good deal for the laptop with AC on it. Around what I would expect to pay on here if anyone ever tried to sell the same spec machine.
 
ZachsMacDaddy said:
Would you feel comfortable buying a rMBP off eBay that comes with AppleCare? I found some good deals, and they claim to come with AppleCare. The seller has 100% positive feedback with over 500+ good feedbacks. Everything they sell is Apple hardware, mostly laptops. The price is good, but not outrageously unbelievable (doesn't seem like a "too good to be true" price).

I have sold several computers (some MacBooks) on eBay, and I would hope that there are other sellers as honest as I feel I am, but I know it's a huge marketplace with plenty of scammers mixed in.
Click to expand...
You can ask for the serial number and check for yourself if it has applecare.

https://checkcoverage.apple.com/

I have bought all my Macs used from ebay which many happened to have the extended Applecare warranty. Applecare follows the machine, not the owner. That's the beauty of it.

Can you put up the ebay link so we can see it?
 
He has over 500 feedbacks and has sold many Macbooks. Definitely a trusted seller.
The price is ok, not great.
 
I would buy from this seller on eBay after reading the feedbacks everyone who has purchased a Macbook Pro from him is happy with their purchase and he has no negative feedbacks or comments. The only odd thing about this seller is that they sell so many of these Macbook Pros I would wonder where they are getting them from to resale so many of them?
 
Fancuku said:
He has over 500 feedbacks and has sold many Macbooks. Definitely a trusted seller.
The price is ok, not great.
Click to expand...

Same laptop on Apple refurb store is $1529. At 6% tax, that's $1621. Add AppleCare and you're looking at another $230 or so, depending on where you get it. Right there you're at about $1850. This ebay deal is $1525 shipped with AC. And that gets you about $33 back in ebay bucks that you can apply to a later purchase.

Maybe not great, but pretty darned good.
 
Geffen said:
I would buy from this seller on eBay after reading the feedbacks everyone who has purchased a Macbook Pro from him is happy with their purchase and he has no negative feedbacks or comments. The only odd thing about this seller is that they sell so many of these Macbook Pros I would wonder where they are getting them from to resale so many of them?
Click to expand...

Good point. What is his supply chain like? Most stolen laptops aren't sold with an original box.
 
ZachsMacDaddy said:
Doubt it's off lease being way less than a year old.
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That might be a question to ask the seller before you buy as to where the Mac originated from that you're interested in buying. When I bought mine it was from a person and not a business that sells multiple Macs.
 
That is a very high price. Retinas have dropped a lot since 2012, my boss is buying 15" 2014s for under a grand...
 
Hondaboi said:
That is a very high price. Retinas have dropped a lot since 2012, my boss is buying 15" 2014s for under a grand...
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Not so much when you consider that was for a 2015 model with 512GB SSD that was well within the first year warranty and also had Applecare for 2 more years. It was a savings of over $300 versus buying from Apple refurb. That being said, someone did buy it, but it wasn't me.

15" 2014 for under $1000? Now that sounds like a "too good to be true" situation.
 
Fancuku said:
Your boss is lying to you.
Click to expand...

Nope. We get our prices from major buyback sites such as SellYourMac.com and Gazelle.com which pay fair market prices for used Mac computers. Some people just need quick cash. I've seen pawn shops offer $500 for 15" Retinas haha, Florida is a rough place.
 
I bought my first MacBook Pro 13 at an Apple Retail store. A year later, I sold it on ebay. Used the proceeds to offset the cost of my current MacBook Pro 15 Retina (2012) which I bought refurbished directly from Apple.

Not everyone on eBay is trying to scam, some sellers, like myself, have 100% feedback, have been on for a very long time (over 10 years in my case) and I sell stuff I don't need or use any longer.

Use your common sense and trust your instincts, especially if it's "too good to be true", then run away. I only buy from sellers where you have the ebay protection, very high feedback rating (98%+) and have been on there for at least a couple of years. I ONLY use PayPal when buying or selling. I will never wire or ACH funds directly to someone's bank account on ebay. I also refuse to sell to anyone who is new on ebay or has very little feedback points or negative feedback.

Good luck
 
I think you're safe if you're diligent. (I've purposely sold a few products still covered by Apple out of concern for the buyers.) Asking for evidence of the AppleCare agreement is reasonable – a photo of the paperwork, which it comes with. Once you have the thing, you should be able to confirm all this online – if the product isn't actually covered and you dispute this and want to return it, then it should be something eBay will back you on. (Read the fine print, but that's normally true.)
 
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