Need Some Fast Help - Ebay iMac

[MisterEd]

Hi guys, yes I'm new here but I've been looking at entering the Mac world for a while now, and have come to the conclusion that an iMac would be perfect for my needs.
Being a student, I have a fairly tight budget, so I've been trawling ebay trying to find a good deal on a 17" Rev B machine.
I've found this one:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8744799243&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Although the person doesn't seem very experienced and the product isn't described very well, I've been in touch with her and what she's offering seems to be a fairly good deal.

Can anyone here see any reason not to go ahead and buy this? (is it overpriced or anything?)

NOTE: Yes I could wait just over a week til macworld, but I'm pretty sure I'd rather go for a late PPC iMac than a possible Rev A Intel one - this is a vibe I've picked up from many people on this forum.

Thanks for any help,
Ed

 

[excalibur313]

It's too bad that you couldn't get an apple from the states and export it to you. If I go down to my local apple dealer I can get a 17" imac new for $1300 which is about 756 british pounds. Upon going to apples uk website though with a price of 899 british pounds for the same machine I can see why you are going used. It seems like this is a pretty good deal so I give it the thumbs up. (Although you might be able to get a better deal if you buy it from an american seller, provided importing it isn't too expensive.)

 

[danny_w]

You might be able to do better with an official Apple refurb unit if one is available; I don't see any on the UK site. I just ordered the very same machine from Apple for $849 USD (new price was $1299 USD).

 

[MisterEd]

Yeah after seeing some of the USA prices I did think about the possibility of importing, but I just didn't know whether after shipping and everything it would work out. This price definitely seems cheap for a UK based seller - if I could stroll down to an Apple dealer and get a 17" model for around £750 I'd be right there!
Thanks for the advice,
Ed

 

[Blue Velvet]

It's too bad that you couldn't get an apple from the states and export it to you. If I go down to my local apple dealer I can get a 17" imac new for $1300 which is about 756 british pounds. Upon going to apples uk website though with a price of 899 british pounds for the same machine I can see why you are going used. It seems like this is a pretty good deal so I give it the thumbs up. (Although you might be able to get a better deal if you buy it from an american seller, provided importing it isn't too expensive.)

A. British prices include VAT (sales tax at 17.5%)
B. U.S. G5 iMacs run from 110-120v, not 220-240v as in most of the EU.

To the OP, it seems OK from the cursory description but as a student have you considered a new model with an educational discount? They can be pretty generous...

 

[stevep]

A new one (well, the nearest comparable model) is £899.00
A new one with edu discount is £845.00
The seller has only got feedback for buying, not for selling.
Its a 7 day listing, with 3 days left. If it really was a bargain it would have been snapped up by now.
If you lived nearby it might be worth a look. You could also consider making a silly offer - the worst answer is 'no'. Personally I'd wait, as I think prices of secondhand Macs will drop soon.
If you decide to go ahead, check the remaining warranty and get the original receipt or invoice so you can confirm the date of purchase. You'd also need to check things like the optical drive, and the screen for dead pixels (as well as a host of other checks).

 

[MisterEd]

Okay, I have asked about warranty etc.
According to the seller, it has no dead pixels / scratches / marks on it, and I am therefore assuming is in pretty much mint condition.
I have made an offer of £600 so I'll wait and see what happens. I get the feeling I could knock this person down in price a bit, as they mentioned that if I came to pick it up they could knock off £20
Might have a look in the refurb store tomorrow morning to see if any are going at a nice price.
Thanks Guys

Ed

 

[MisterEd]

Sorry to repost - just a small update after some thinking...
Get this:

I can buy a Mac Mini with 1gb ram and apple keyboard & mouse for £584 (student discount).
add a decent 17" monitor onto this and you're talking about something like £750

OR I could buy this iMac (which is considerably better spec) for £700, keyboard, display and various software packages included.

surely I'd be stupid to not go with the G5 iMac?

Maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy the damn thing... lol

Ed

 

[SpaceMagic]

If you are picking the device up, pay then like on his computer. Then you'll know for sure your money is safe.

I'd go with the iMac, btw... it's much more powerful than a mini.

 

[danny_w]

I have a mini and 2 iMacs (a 17" and a 20" for my son). The mini is great if you already have everything else, but the iMac is a much better deal if you don't, esp. if you can get a good price or get a refurb.

 

[UberMac]

If you get the current iMac with a student discount (12% with NUS cards) AND get an egg money card you can get the price down to £712...and then of course you can always put a voucher on top of all of that...but that assumes quite a lot! Ah well, but if you got it for £600...

 

[dcv]

I have the exact same iMac (the 17 inch SuperDrive 2.0GHz model) and I bought mine a couple of months ago from the Apple refurb store.

Original price was £999, the refurb price was £719 and I then got a further 10% discount (as cash back) as I paid with my Egg Money card.

So you might want to look at buying a refurb - if they are still available, but otherwise £699 for this machine isn't a bad deal.

 

[MisterEd]

Ok thanks, I was wondering what the refurb prices of these were, as I haven't seen one on there yet. I guess I'll have a look tomorrow morning, but if not, I might just have to go for a bit of a drive all the way to wherever this person is based for a looky!

Ed

 

[stevep]

They've had refurb iMacs on the UK site on and off for the last few days, and iBooks and PowerBooks every day for about 2 weeks, but today the site has had nothing on at all. Maybe tomorrow there'll be a whole load of machines. The refurb page is supposed to be up every day until the 4th Jan, and then back to every Wednesday.

 

[hubristol]

I can't advocate buying through Apple or another authorized dealer enough, be it refurbished or new. As legitimate as eBay can be (I've used it many times in the past and haven't been ripped off) there are just so many scams for higher end equipment like macs, audio equipment, etc. I just wouldn't take a risk with it unless the seller agrees to have you personally pick it up. And refurbs are so cheap these days that unless time is a factor I would just wait for the iMac to be restocked in the apple refurb dept.

 

[pusman83]

A. British prices include VAT (sales tax at 17.5%)
B. U.S. G5 iMacs run from 110-120v, not 220-240v as in most of the EU.

http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html

Line voltage: 100-240V AC

For the Rev B's, too. I checked before buying mine.