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What do you think about buying on ebay?
- Thread starter ajwells1
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i'm going to assume we're talking about buying a macbook pro on ebay, because this is a common thing to do.
as long as the item is new, then it's just like any other retailer. you get the same warranty coverage.
if the item is used, warranty will still be valid, but you should be wary that not all damage can be seen from the outside. apple is for example notoriously anal about corrosion and 'water damage' being non-warrantable.
that being said, most of the time you probably won't have an issue. it's that other occasional issue that might bite you and then you'd be pissed.
as long as the item is new, then it's just like any other retailer. you get the same warranty coverage.
if the item is used, warranty will still be valid, but you should be wary that not all damage can be seen from the outside. apple is for example notoriously anal about corrosion and 'water damage' being non-warrantable.
that being said, most of the time you probably won't have an issue. it's that other occasional issue that might bite you and then you'd be pissed.
Its all about the seller. Make sure you read the description thoroughly and if the seller seems to have left out information ASK. I wouldn't buy from resellers though. I think its best to buy from normal people who are just selling their computer on eBay because usually they are the original owners.
If you have a particular item you are planning on buying, might I suggest you post a link to the auction and then maybe we can give you our thoughts ? (ie. no way seems like a scammer, or well, looking at the feedback then I say go for it. etc)
Link
Here is the link to what I am considering. The sweetness of the deal to me is the software. Please let me know your thoughts. I appreciate all you help.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170426226210&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Here is the link to what I am considering. The sweetness of the deal to me is the software. Please let me know your thoughts. I appreciate all you help.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170426226210&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
The software is nice, but be advised he is not including the install discs. You'll need to image the hard drive (using something like Carbon Copy Cloner) as soon as you get the machine to make sure you don't lose the software in the event of a hard drive failure.
Also, if he does keep the software's install discs (seller claims not to have them) and decides to install those licenses on another machine, your activation could be voided. Then the software won't be usable by you.
In other words, included software with no install media is not that great of a selling point IMO.
Also, if he does keep the software's install discs (seller claims not to have them) and decides to install those licenses on another machine, your activation could be voided. Then the software won't be usable by you.
In other words, included software with no install media is not that great of a selling point IMO.
The price doesn't reflect the included software (Adobe CS4 and MS Office 08) because you don't get the install disks.. basically you'll be getting pirated software from this guy's job that he's installed onto both his computers. It may or may not be a problem as far as the functionality of the computer is concerned but if you have moral issues about the purchasing of software applications the included software on this machine is no more legal than if you were to have downloaded it via torrent.
Like others have said, it's not so sweet as you could do the same thing if you took the time or just looked on Craigslist
I hate when people inflate the price of the computer and say it comes with Thousands of dollars worth of S/W, and it's such a great deal. Or in this case say it's a perk
You'd be better off getting it for refurb and upgrading the ram yourself.
I purchased a Macbook Pro from a Seth Alamar Triplethreattech.
It was supposed to have preinstalled software which he claimed was legal to use and register. He claimed that the laptop was purchased from a liquidation of a production company and that it was brand new.
I paid 1,000.00 over the retail cost of the Macbook Pro as the software was over a 5,000.00 value. He also had and still has good ratings so I felt secure in the decision. Well the Macbook Pro was in fine condition but he had obviously done a sloppy job of simply cloning the software to the hard drive which caused and endless nightmare of permission errors.
After I complained he asked me to send him a USB hard drive so that he could copy over the actual disk images to allow me to do a clean reinstall. I sent him the USB hard drive and havent heard back from him in months. The folks at the apple store informed me that my Brand New laptop was a refurb and that the software had already been registered. I got taken. Paypal of course offered no assistance.
Buy from Apple and pay for the software yourself.
It was supposed to have preinstalled software which he claimed was legal to use and register. He claimed that the laptop was purchased from a liquidation of a production company and that it was brand new.
I paid 1,000.00 over the retail cost of the Macbook Pro as the software was over a 5,000.00 value. He also had and still has good ratings so I felt secure in the decision. Well the Macbook Pro was in fine condition but he had obviously done a sloppy job of simply cloning the software to the hard drive which caused and endless nightmare of permission errors.
After I complained he asked me to send him a USB hard drive so that he could copy over the actual disk images to allow me to do a clean reinstall. I sent him the USB hard drive and havent heard back from him in months. The folks at the apple store informed me that my Brand New laptop was a refurb and that the software had already been registered. I got taken. Paypal of course offered no assistance.
Buy from Apple and pay for the software yourself.
You're always taking a risk when you buy used... Me, I've bought about 6 Macs from eBay and only one had serious issues. (A white iBook G3, which are known to be the most unreliable Mac out there; unfortunately, I was ignorant of that fact when I bought it.) Other then that, no problems at all. I'd recommend it if you do your research on what you're buying first.
Oh, and FYI: don't buy a computer because of the software. It's best to buy one that's been wiped clean, or buy one and do it yourself.
Oh, and FYI: don't buy a computer because of the software. It's best to buy one that's been wiped clean, or buy one and do it yourself.