27' iMac arrived DOA. What to do?

[Starry]

Hi all,
I recently ordered a mid-2011 27'' iMac from an eBay seller who specializes in reselling computers from schools and offices. The iMac was packed VERY well, with lots and lots of padding and bubble-wrap(it was almost excessive). Plugged in the mac, turned it on, and no chime or anything came on. I plugged the cable into another power source and saw a huge spark come from the outlet. At this point, I called the seller's office and they assured me it was working before it was shipped to me. The computer has a 90 day warranty with the seller and was "guaranteed" to be 100% functioning with no hardware problems, just some minor cosmetic on the outer bezel. I took it into the local apple store and the only possible solution they could think of was the slightly loose power button, a $300 repair. I emailed the seller about this and they said they'd reimburse the cost of this repair. I thought that was a pretty generous offer on their part but I'm not convinced this could be the actual cause of this issue or there are more issues than seen on the surface. So, I'm very stuck at this point. While I was waiting for the computer to arrived, I ordered a magic trackpad, and on a whim, connected an HDMI wire from my rMBP to my 32'' led tv, connected my wireless keyboard, and discovered it could run smoothly as a "desktop" without any lag like my old MBP would run. I'm confused as to why the computer arrived DOA, maybe shipping issues? Or something else? Should I get a replacement, do the repair, just send it back, get a refund and use my MBP with my monitor as a desktop? Can anyone help me out on this? Thank you

 

[ucfgrad93]

I wouldn't spend money on a repair that might not fix the problem. Send it back and get your money back.

 

[Starry]

I wouldn't spend money on a repair that might not fix the problem. Send it back and get your money back.

I would be reimbursed but agreed, I don't think it'll fix the issue. The only good thing would be the fact that Apple would provide a new 90 day warranty so if it still doesn't power on, then more repairs could be done until it does under the same $300.

 

[bogg]

Well, Apple won't just replace the part and give it back to you. If you leave it to be repaired for this issue of course they will test it to see that it actually solved the problem.
But I wouldn't trust a computer that's DOA when purchased as used or refurbished from a third party. The risk that they get a faulty one, opens it up and does a "quick fix" to solve the problem and sell it is too great.
I remember speaking to a computer shop owner that said when they sold used computers they couldn't really spend more than 20-30 minutes on them to get them running without losing money.
That is actual time working on the machine, not including waiting for installations to finish or hardware tests to run, as they could work on other computers when waiting for those to complete. But the
actual time spent inside or using the machine rarely exceeded 20 minutes if it wasn't some really expensive machine they got at a great price (which gave them good margins).

Is 20 minutes of actual usage (or repairs) enough to guarantee that it works ok? Not in my book.

 

[maflynn]

Send it back, clearly its not a working unit, and you shouldn't be burdened with the cost of the repair. This is where ebay's policies protect you. As you can document that this is having issues, and you shouldn't have any problem in getting you money back.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Send it back it's that simple.

 

[ray737]

Send it back!