Anybody Bought a Mac Computer from eBay Classified Ad?

[Sossity]

Greetings all, I have been looking at M series mac studio desktops on eBay, and found some good specced ones from some sellers on eBay, and they are classified ads, so it does not look like they have eBay buyer protection. I am also in the process of asking PayPal what kind of protections they can offer for buyers of eBay classifieds.

I clicked on their seller profiles, and they have more than one mac item, but they have no ratings. But the macs they have have some apple care warranty.

I am very tempted, but also very weary, and I am willing to pay a bit more for more me as a buyer security.

Does anybody have experience buying from an eBay classified ad?

Would I better buying one of these macs that might be a little more or have lower specs from a regular buy it now or auction? from a top rated seller?

 

[Bigwaff]

eBay collects sales tax. Check the Apple online refurbished store for Mac Studio w/ similar configuration and compare overall price + sales tax. Apple refurbs include 1 year warranty and option to purchase AppleCare+. Consider you have to configure Mac Studio at time of purchase with no way to upgrade components later. Since everything is soldered to the motherboard, if any component should fail, full motherboard replacement is required, which is very expensive repair. For this reason, I would only purchase a Mac Studio which still has AppleCare and I were able to purchase AppleCare+ (or extend current AppleCare+).

 

[Fishrrman]

Buy from Apple.
Either new or Apple-refurbished.

That way, you KNOW what you're getting.
And you're "getting" an actual warranty, as well.

 

[Chuckeee]

I clicked on their seller profiles, and they have more than one mac item, but they have no ratings.

No rating is HUGE red flag. Avoid avoid avoid.

 

[AZhappyjack]

I would avoid eBay like the plague... for every good deal that is legitimate there are dozens of scams and bait and switch "deals".

I'm a big fan of the Apple refurb store... decent savings over new, guaranteed and eligible for AC+.

 

[Saturn007]

I would definitely NOT buy any of the ones you mentioned.

By way of background, I purchased my old 2015 MacBook Air off eBay several years ago. It was a good buy and the MBA still works quite well. It came with a new battery and a newly upgraded SSD — and the ability to return it if I was unsatisfied. I had good message correspondence with the seller, too,

Here are tips for finding a good, credible buy on eBay.

Look for sellers with scores, if not hundreds, of good ratings. Avoid like the plague any seller with few or no feedback ratings.

Look for frank details about the condition of the item. Avoid any that lack specifics, e.g., ones that lazily state, “Look at the photos” or state generically, this Mac “may or may not have…” and lists such things as scratches, dents, etc.

Look for sellers that have installed a new battery or state the battery cycle count and health rating of the battery and ensure that it's low count and high rating. Avoid any that don't provide such information.

Look for sellers who are selling the original box and accessories. People who offer those — and show photos of them — typically have taken good care of their devices.

Look for sellers who offer Free Returns. Avoid any that state, “All sales final.”

Do not think that buying a Mac with All State insurance protects you. There are far too many horror stories.

Favor well-rated individual sellers rather than big resellers who churn hundreds of Macs and, typically, provide only generic descriptions. Some, though, are smaller outfits that have excellent ratings and offer easy returns.

Buyer Protection is a must.

Favor sales that are Buy It Now — or with Best Offer — so you don't have the hassles of getting into an auction, the frenzy of that, and having other people “snipe” the item out from under you.

Finally, listen to the advice of the people who posted before me! Save yourself all the time, energy, and effort of sifting through eBay ads, worry over what you're getting, and simply buy a refurbished Mac from the Apple Store!

Or, take advantage of the current, superb discounts on *new* Macs from Best Buy and Costco — which include returns until well into January.

 

[ObsidianIce]

You can definitely buy from Ebay. Over the years I've bought 3 from Ebay sellers and had great experiences and gotten good deals. The number 1 thing is you have to do is research. Ratings matter a lot. I will usually reach out to the seller and ask some questions as well. I would never buy from a seller with no rep, you might miss a deal, but you have a bigger chance of getting screwed over. Buyer protection is good, pay through ebay as well, so you have at least a little more protection. I have been a ebay buyer and seller for 20+ years. Just CYA and you can get some really good deals.

 

[Sossity]

Thanks all, for the tips, I decided against those classified ads, no ratings, and I noticed after the time had run out on one of the listings, I saw the same mac re listed again, but the seller name was different than from the first time they listed their mac, so I decided not to.

I will look for good rated sellers, @Saturn007, thanks for the list of tips, I did see a couple that said Allstate insurance, so I will now avoid those as well.

 

[MBAir2010]

OWC has used Macs at better prices than your neighbor, for those looking for one in N America.
I scored a refurb Mac mini 2020 which is perfect!

 

[ThunderSkunk]

Yep, I buy and sell most of my macs through the macrumors classifieds and on ebay. As usual, 90% of the time I'm perfectly happy and get a great deal. The other 10% of the time that there's an issue, the time I spend is the equivalent of paying 10% tax retail. But since I like macs that you can't buy retail, it's the only way. I've also bought from Apple, Apple Business, and Apple Refurb, but tbh, with about the same error rate.

There are a couple bigger sellers on ebay that occasionally have huge inventories of thousands of high end systems to sell, and they're the only ones who I'll buy from that list their machines in quantity, because every time I've done so, I've asked them for a clean one, and a practically (sometimes literally) brand new machine shows up.