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Buying with ebay...

adamvk

adamvk

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 29, 2008
1,308
0
Phoenix, AZ
I do want to wait until MacWorld 2009 to see if a new iMac is released. However I often look on eBay for new iMacs that have low prices, and I have been tempted to buy a few of them because the price seemed so good. If I buy an iMac from ebay, can I still buy AppleCare, and will it work even though I'm not the original buyer? This may be a dumb question but I'm just double checking. Thanks
 
Yep, Did it with my girlfriends Macbook that I bought off of craigslist. (assuming the iMac is still under the factory year warranty)
 
You should be OK.

But
- If the machine sat around for awhile Apple will think it is older - all they know is the manufacturing date on many machines. A receipt would be needed to prove it is less than a year old
- Apple can request the receipts for the machine and AppleCare to determine eligibility later. This is especially true if Apple's system eats the registration - keep the paperwork Apple mails you after registering AppleCare.

On eBay watch for the auctions with $2,000 of coverage. Some only meet the $200 level (or none) and you don't want that.
 
IF you are going to buy a computer on ebay, any kind, use a credit card or PayPal...or, preferably, both:) Even better, the Paypal M/C! Even better.

The above suggestion is common sense, I know. But it does protect your butt in the case of a bad deal.

Obviously, look for feedback and keep in mind...if it sounds too good to be true, you know the rest, again common sense. Try to talk to the seller to get a vibe from them on their honesty. To me, there is no better way to buy used than on Craigslist, locally. You can check it out, meet the person, etc. BUT, 2nd best has to be ebay with the range of choices and competition for better prices. Especially right around when a new release hits the market. Plenty of us (that are totally honest and anal about our computers) are in a tizzy to buy the latest and greatest and are ready to dump the one year old computer in the den that has less than one hundred hours on it:)

Just like anything else on ebay, use your head with the buyer and pull the trigger. It (ebay) is based on the belief that "everybody is good." While there are a couple of bad apples, most of my purchases and sales have been more than perfect.

Good luck

J
 
So When you buy the Applecare, do you need the original receipt or anything?

Also when your mac needs to be repaired, do you need the original receipt?

And last, how reasonable are Apples repair fees? (If not under warranty/Applecare)
 
If you buy a used Mac and you ARE still able to buy Apple Care, do it, no ifs ands or butts:) Seriously, if it is a possibility, grab it.

Once you get applecare, you register online, with your name, purchase info, etc. They send you a warranty card/letter in the mail, and you can look online to see what you have registered and when the warranty is dead.

If you need it fixed, you will call in to an Apple Care "Specialist" and they will check you in, give you an RA#, send it in...or drop off at Mac Repair shop if local.

Hope that helps.

J
 
akdj said:
If you buy a used Mac and you ARE still able to buy Apple Care, do it, no ifs ands or butts:) Seriously, if it is a possibility, grab it.

Once you get applecare, you register online, with your name, purchase info, etc. They send you a warranty card/letter in the mail, and you can look online to see what you have registered and when the warranty is dead.

If you need it fixed, you will call in to an Apple Care "Specialist" and they will check you in, give you an RA#, send it in...or drop off at Mac Repair shop if local.

Hope that helps.

J
Click to expand...

Thanks :)
 
Don't know much about Applecare, but I recently bought a mid-2005 G5 iMac off ebay , and the process was great. As long as a seller has good feedback and has been selling for a bit, it's all good.:cool:
 
Ok Thanks....Well if I see a good deal I'll snatch it. Everyone keep you eyes open for iMacs with 8800s for under $1600 for me :)
 
Apparently my first post wasn't clear.
adamvk said:
So When you buy the Applecare, do you need the original receipt or anything?
Click to expand...
Most likely not, but it is possible.

Also when your mac needs to be repaired, do you need the original receipt?
Click to expand...
Most likely not, but it is possible.

And last, how reasonable are Apples repair fees? (If not under warranty/Applecare)
Click to expand...
Expensive. Here is an example of parts for a current 24" iMac (from http://www.dttservice.com/imacintel.html): $600 logic board, $200 power supply, $750 screen.
 
While most credit cards give you pretty good protection from bad ebay clients, i've found that Amex makes pay pal bend over backwards for fun. It's downright easy to have pay pal go die and give you your money back when you have Amex doing it.
 
Buying computers on eBay is easy, especially if you buy from me, lol
It's a simple trick. Just decide your maximum price and then go down the list to find a computer you like the specs of. Then click on the seller's feedback score. There are a few things to watch out for.

1 ... Has the seller sold anything in the last 3 month or so? If not, beware. It could be a hijacked account.
2 ... Has the seller got a record for selling computers and/or related stuff? If the seller usually sells baby clothes, beware. Same reason as above.
3 ... Is it a fairly new seller with between 10 and 20 feedback scores? All feedback being for buying low value items such as recipes, posters, e-books etc. This is the normal way that iffy sellers set up a Sting. From such low value items, they suddenly have 10 top-of-the-range Mac laptops for sale.
4 ... Is the auction for 3 days or less? For some reason known only to eBay, it takes forever for an auction to be removed when it is reported so always be wary of 3 day auctions.

All of the above are just my own guidelines and do not count as Gospel. You could find all of the above on one auction and the seller could still be genuine
 
*old-guy* said:
Buying computers on eBay is easy, especially if you buy from me, lol
It's a simple trick. Just decide your maximum price and then go down the list to find a computer you like the specs of. Then click on the seller's feedback score. There are a few things to watch out for.

1 ... Has the seller sold anything in the last 3 month or so? If not, beware. It could be a hijacked account.
2 ... Has the seller got a record for selling computers and/or related stuff? If the seller usually sells baby clothes, beware. Same reason as above.
3 ... Is it a fairly new seller with between 10 and 20 feedback scores? All feedback being for buying low value items such as recipes, posters, e-books etc. This is the normal way that iffy sellers set up a Sting. From such low value items, they suddenly have 10 top-of-the-range Mac laptops for sale.
4 ... Is the auction for 3 days or less? For some reason known only to eBay, it takes forever for an auction to be removed when it is reported so always be wary of 3 day auctions.

All of the above are just my own guidelines and do not count as Gospel. You could find all of the above on one auction and the seller could still be genuine
Click to expand...

Thanks for advice....So do you sell iMacs on ebay?
 
I sell anything on eBay.
Most of the stuff I sell is computer related ranging from Software to full size desktop PCs via all points between. All of it bought for me to personally use over the years and now being sold to finance the next purchase.
I am holding on to all my bits and bobs just now and making preparations for a clear out starting about the 4th of december. That's a Thursday so a 10 day auction gets visibility over 2 weekends. Most folk pay instantly with Paypal so it6yems get posted out on Monday in plenty of time for Christmas. There is just one Mac and that's an old G3 B&W running Panther quite well. It will have a Buy Now price of £10 and UK P&P of £9.99 or collect in person.
Not much use to people in Nebraska or Iowa, lol
 
*old-guy* said:
4 ... Is the auction for 3 days or less? For some reason known only to eBay, it takes forever for an auction to be removed when it is reported so always be wary of 3 day auctions.
Click to expand...

The sooner the auction ends, the higher it is on the list. When you buy a five or seven day listing, your product is so far down the list that people won't bother to wade all the way through to it.
 
M1stake .... No offence intended but your last post doesn't make sense.
The fact that a seller starts his/her auction as a 3 day event is a red flag to me.
Wether an auction has one day, three days, 5, 7 or 10 days left to run is besies the point. Even a 10 day auction will, at some point, reach the stage where it is on the first page and viewed by all.
 
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