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Where's the best place for me to by a used Macbook Pro?

SnowLeopard OSX

SnowLeopard OSX

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 5, 2012
676
60
California
Hey guys,

I'm considering getting a Macbook Pro retina 15 inch preferably with 512 GB and a 2.5 GHz processor. However, if possible, I'd like to get one used to save money.

Where would be the best option to get one? Would it be Amazon? I'm very reluctant to use eBay just because I've never liked dealing with big purchases on there.


Any other not-well-known places any of you guys know of to purchase a used or refurbished, fairly priced Macbook pro -- without having to deal with a headache of receiving a not-great laptop?



Thanks.
 
Why not someone off of CraigsList - they're reliable (kidding).

Your BEST place is from a reliable source - Apple's refurb's, Amazon or similar place.
 
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Bought one on eBay from a reseller / overstock.
Had to ship back due to undocumented damage. Seller was all cool and apologized as they missed the issue.

Paid around $60 extra and got a unit from original owner.if not for the markings / oils on keyboard this thing is mint. Included original box / case, restore and drag DVDs.

I paid little more than I wanted for the 2010 model but it's in killer shape. Two hair like scratches on the back, and the wear on keyboard.

I did look for a while.
 
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To the OP. If the price is too good to be true, then it's probably a scam. MacBooks tend to hold their resale value much better than windows machine.

You may need to pay a bit more on the apple site, but at least you know what your getting. I read stories of people just getting a macbook, iPad, or iPhone box with rocks, block or wood or something else that is not what they ordered.

If you are planning to buy a macbook from craigslist (or Kijiji in canada but they may be in the states as well) and you are going to meet with the seller, make sure you meet where there's a lot of people around and bring someone else with you...never go alone.
 
Amazon is certainly a viable option - we bought our latest machine through there and you are always protected by their return policies. Apple Store refurbs are good if you want like-new with a full warranty - but you're also going to pay for it.

As for a reputable third party reseller of used Macs... I've always had excellent experiences with macofalltrades.com. They've been around forever and always have a good selection. We've bought several machines from them over the last 15 years.
 
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Bending Pixels said:
Why not someone off of CraigsList - they're reliable (kidding).

Your BEST place is from a reliable source - Apple's refurb's, Amazon or similar place.
Click to expand...
I have yet to meet a normal person on Craigslist that I didn't feel wanted to take me to their place and skin me alive in their basemen
 
Amazon from "Amazon Warehouse Deals"

They price it competitively with other sellers and have the same return policy as any Amazon item, they are also returned items so they are basically just open box and lightly used, most likely will have several months left on the warranty.

I recently got a mid 2014 rMBP from them and it had 8months left of warranty, 1 cycle on the battery, and was in perfect condition with box. I decided against the Apple refurb because not having a box hurts resale quite a bit and the tax made it more expensive than the upgraded model on Amazon ($1750 for 512gb 750m 15")

If they arent selling the model you want its worth bookmarking and checking every day, they update stock frequently.
 
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I have bought all my Macs on eBay. I look for a long time, research the seller and the machine, then strike at the right time to get a good deal. :D
Got my mid 2014 15" with dGPU for $1675. It was three months old with 2 battery cycles and has the three year Applecare.

If you have time and patience, you can get lucky on eBay.
 
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Wreckus said:
To the OP. If the price is too good to be true, then it's probably a scam. MacBooks tend to hold their resale value much better than windows machine.

You may need to pay a bit more on the apple site, but at least you know what your getting. I read stories of people just getting a macbook, iPad, or iPhone box with rocks, block or wood or something else that is not what they ordered.

If you are planning to buy a macbook from craigslist (or Kijiji in canada but they may be in the states as well) and you are going to meet with the seller, make sure you meet where there's a lot of people around and bring someone else with you...never go alone.
Click to expand...

Very excellent point. I ended up buying a refurbished 15 inch Macbook Pro (mid 2014) with retina display 256 GB from Best Buy.


I think Best Buy refurbs are probably the second most reliable place to buy refurbished Apple products next to Apple itself. I saved $500 on the purchase, and applied that savings towards a reurbished Thunderbolt display from MacOfAllTrades and a 1TB external seagate hard drive on Amazon. Hopefully I'm satisfied with the purchases. I'll make sure to report back in.


Thanks for all of your help, guys.
 
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Amazon or eBay - these company always side with the buyer if there is a problem. In fact its sad how easy it is for the buyer to scam the seller/eBay.

Also huge fan of CL - if they can carry and intelligent conversation over the phone there probably good to go.
 
Spink10 said:
Amazon or eBay - these company always side with the buyer if there is a problem. In fact its sad how easy it is for the buyer to scam the seller/eBay.

Also huge fan of CL - if they can carry and intelligent conversation over the phone there probably good to go.
Click to expand...


Few years ago I used PP to buy a car part from a online car forum.
Part of the deal was me sending in another part and pay shipment for this.
The seller shipped me defective unit.
For me to recoup my $ I had to ship the defective part back and pay shipping for it. (and I would not get my original part I shipped to him). At the end of the day another forum member stepped up and fixed the item for me.
I basically lost about 200 on this "deal" etc.

So treat ebay and pp differently.

if something is wrong ebay will always want you to ship back (at your cost).
Strangely mbp I bought on ebay seller was offering return policy and indeed agreed with me it was bad and provided paid for shipping back.

CL for Mac items i'd be careful as they may be hot.
 
I'm a power seller on eBay and seller always pays return shipping if it is defective. I've done plenty of times :)
 
I decided to bite the bullet and buy a full price mid 2015 rMBP. No stress, no headache. A worthy investment. It's my computer, it's where I spend a lot of time getting work, school, and play done. Not something I want to cut corners on.
 
Spink10 said:
Cut corners? Same machine - less $. :)

It's all personal preference.
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One thing that I really wish was a standard in the case of refurbs is if buyers were able to have at least a little bit of history on the computer.

For instance, as a buyer, I'd like to at least know why the computer was returned. Was it because of a defect? Or did the buyer just decide he didn't need that screen size? Background information seems like a no brainer in the case of refurbs. But instead, it's all blackboxed. It's kind of a mixed bag with what you get. I haven't bought a "brand new" computer since 2003. My last two laptops were Gateway refurbs and they each lasted me an average of 2.5 years before they either the hard drives gave out, or I ran into consistent overheating issues.

I'd rather just get a brand new one this time, and be done with it. Plus, for what it's worth, I save 100 bucks because of Best Buy's back to school sales. Not the best discount, but it's something :)
 
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