Knock off Power Adapters

I have a 2008 MacBook Pro with an 85W Magsafe Power Adapter (Model #A1222). The covering on the wire is starting to separate from the plug that goes to the computer, so I've thought to buy a new one before the cord fails and I can't power the battery/computer. However, I haven't reconciled to paying Apple $79 for a cord. I see on Ebay there are knock-offs at about 1/3 to 1/2 the price. Any thoughts on reliability? Are they the same product other than without Apple's blessing, and is there anything particular I should be looking for in sifting through the many ads? Or are the knockoffs an inferior product and I should just cough up the $79? All thoughts welcome!

Hmm, well they work, but the quality is ropey at best. Macally used to make good quality replacements, not sure if they still do, but if they do, better to go for that.
I have used a couple of cheapy's before, for old iBooks, and they were ok until the end's broke! Buyer beware I would say.

hotel_guy47 said:

However, I haven't reconciled to paying Apple $79 for a cord. I see on Ebay there are knock-offs at about 1/3 to 1/2 the price. Any thoughts on reliability? Are they the same product other than without Apple's blessing, and is there anything particular I should be looking for in sifting through the many ads? Or are the knockoffs an inferior product and I should just cough up the $79? All thoughts welcome!

Click to expand...

Short answer...you get what you pay for!

Build quality & materials with Apple adapters are better (in most cases) than the "knock-offs". As you found..even the Apple adapters are prone to problems...just think how long a knock-off adapter would last!

Are Apple adapters worth $79 bucks...probably not. Personally...if I needed to replace an Apple laptop adapter...I would buy a used "genuine Apple Adapter" over a new "knock-off" adapter. Just bought one on e-Bay for my wife for $33.00 (with shipping).

Hope this helps,

- Nick

Thanks for the insight. I probably had some inkling of the answer, but wanted to get some sense of how much it's paying for Apple's name and how much is true quality. I like the idea of searching for "genuine Apple Adapter", it makes a huge difference in my search results.