How safe is it to buy a macbook pro from ebay

I was just looking around on ebay and stumbled upon someone who's selling their macbook pro 15'

There's some bidding still going on so idk if I'll even end up getting it but I was just wondering if you guys had any experiences or anything? The MBP is new. It's still in it's packaging and everything. It's also got the apple care warranty until sept 2012.

Is it even worth buying stuff like this from ebay? Or could I maybe get ripped off or something... was just wondering.

share your input if you want :]


Eddie.

Eddie513 said:

I was just looking around on ebay and stumbled upon someone who's selling their macbook pro 15'

There's some bidding still going on so idk if I'll even end up getting it but I was just wondering if you guys had any experiences or anything? The MBP is new. It's still in it's packaging and everything. It's also got the apple care warranty until sept 2012.

Is it even worth buying stuff like this from ebay? Or could I maybe get ripped off or something... was just wondering.

Eddie.

Click to expand...

That must not have been much of a "stumble"...there are 100's of people selling MacBook Pro's on eBay!

You will get various opinions regarding eBay. Some people hate eBay & some people love eBay. Personally I think eBay is ok as long as you do two things:

- ask lots of questions
- if a deal is too good to be true, it probably is.

As far as the specific deal you're looking at. I'm always a bit concerned about people who are selling "New" Macintosh computers on eBay...unless they are an authorized reseller. Not many people buy a brand new computer, and then sell it on eBay. I can almost guarantee that this computer is NOT brand new. It was probably opened, and used at least a little bit.

So it is "like new"...but not "Brand new"!

Of course it does come with Applecare which helps. But basically compare the price of it (when the auction gets closer to it's end)...to what you would pay for a new computer. If we are only talking a couple hundred bucks...your probably better just buying it directly from Apple.

Hope this helps,

- Nick

Buying a Macbook Pro on eBay is just like buying anything else on eBay. Make sure you take all the necessary steps to protect yourself and you should be fine.

As they said, pay with a credit card, not debit, and pay it through paypal. A credit card can hold you responsible for a maximum of $50 if something goes wrong. A debit card can hold you responsible for a maximum of $500. That is if you encounter something similar to opening your box to only find a brick inside! I use ebay all the time. As long as you understand how everything works(not just hitting the bid/buy-it-now button, and paying) it would be a safe transaction. I wouldn't buy a computer on ebay if I didn't know how the ebay system works. There are loopholes with computers, and if you don't know how paypal is setup to protect you, you could be taken advantage of.
With that said, if it's at a substantial price difference, I would go for it! Good luck!

"If it's at a substantial price difference", stay away.

Some one selling a new macbook at a discount on ebay should give you pause.

Do the due diligence of ensuring that you are buying from a reputable seller, and ensure that there are no gotchas in the description, pricing or anything else.

Regards