Anyone ever bought a Mac off of Ebay?

I started shopping for a new Mac Pro. I have been keeping an eye on prices for a while now. I noticed that ebay has several merchants selling Mac new and used. Some offer better deals than the Apple website giving you more memory, more ram, etc at a cheaper price. I am only looking at sellers with at least 98% feedback. But a friend of mine told me that some people might switch components with cheaper parts and that you have no way of knowing if it's authentic. Anybody heard anything, good or bad, about Mac purchases on Ebay.

I have bought a couple Macs from eBay. Years ago I bought an iMac G3, when they were only a couple years old. I bought a 12" PowerBook on eBay three years ago, and recently bought an iMac G4, just for fun. I have been happy with all of my purchases, but I have only bought from sellers with 100% feedback and have had conversations with them before committing to the sale. I would be careful though buying anything that expensive. Make sure you have some kind of recourse if you have problems with it, and be sure to get to know the seller a little beforehand. I haven't heard of anyone switching components, but it could happen.

Yes have purchased about a dozen Macs through eBay Australia. As advised look for sellers with suitable feedback from satisfied purchasers, 100% is best, but at least 98%.

Look for sellers offering PayPal as this provides you with protection if goods do not turn up or are sub-standard. Check PayPal's requirements for number of sales etc.

Have not heard of sellers switching parts and have had one bad transaction in over 700 and that was from a seller of flashed graphic cards.

Make sure your sellers are in your own country, as you have not stated where you are in your avatar. If in the States, deal with someone in your own state or recognised sellers such as OWC, Craiglist etc.

I bought my iMac on Ebay with no problems.

I am looking for sellers in the U.S. only and of course with a solid feedback rep. If anyone knows of a seller on ebay that you recommend, post it here so I can check them out. BTW, anybody got ideas on how could I verify authenticity of the Mac and its components after I recieve it? How about before I order?

You could ask the seller for the serial number, then look it up andget the specs build date etc.

I purchased my PowerMac G5 from eBay last summer and sold it late last week. If it was a used Mac, I'd have no problems.

I buy my Mac Pro through the Apple store though - I can add memory, bigger HDD myself so it doesn't work out much more expensive. At least you know who you're dealing with.

It would be difficult to swap parts in an all in one Mac.

A lot of sellers post screenshots of 'About this Mac'. You could request further screenshots from the seller to double check all the specs.