New MBA Purchased From Macmall: Was it really new??

[Mode-III fan]

I recently purchased a supposedly brand new MBA from Macmall. The first thing I did after starting up the computer was a check of the battery cycle count, which was at 9.

Is this usual for a brand new Mac? Has anyone else seen something similar? Could this indicate that the MBA wasn't actually brand new?

Incidentally, I had to return the MBA due to a sleep mode problem.

 

[calvol]

Looks like it was a return, my refurb MBA from AppleStore only had 3 battery cycles.

 

[jenzjen]

Was the plastic still sealed on the laptop? Search the forum, as someone else had a similar situation with a count of 10 but unit was still new. It would be hard for anyone to reseal the white sticker on the plastic.

 

[Mode-III fan]

Was the plastic still sealed on the laptop? Search the forum, as someone else had a similar situation with a count of 10 but unit was still new. It would be hard for anyone to reseal the white sticker on the plastic.

I agree and I will search the forum again for that post you mentioned. The box was sealed in the plastic wrap. My initial thought was that the unit had been tested a few times for some reason. The replacement MBA had a cycle count of zero.

I wonder if it is possible somehow for a refurb unit to be mistakenly resold as a brand new unit? It seems to me that the non-zero cycle count and the fact that the unit had a sleep mode problem suggests the MBA was actually a refurb. The unit didn't have a refurb serial number.

Any theories anyone??

 

[Mode-III fan]

Looks like it was a return, my refurb MBA from AppleStore only had 3 battery cycles.

That's interesting. Can returns be resold as being brand new? Plus, that means the reseller had to reapply the plastic wrap mentioned by jenzjen.

 

[Beaverman3001]

I wouldn't be surprised if so many MBA from every new batch are set aside for some testing by Apple then packaged and sold. 9 cycles isn't anything to fret over and I highly doubt MacMall would reseal a return item and not mention that fact.

 

[old-wiz]

That's interesting. Can returns be resold as being brand new? Plus, that means the reseller had to reapply the plastic wrap mentioned by jenzjen.

They might, but I don't think a reputable dealer would do it.

 

[jmoore5196]

Re-shrink-wrapping the box is no problem if you have a shrink-wrap machine. I'm sure MacMall does or has access to one. So judging the "newness" of the Air by the shrink-wrap can be very misleading.

The inner seal, however, would be quite a bit harder to replace. They'd need plastic wrap cut to the proper size and some original Apple seals. While I wouldn't put this past MacMall, it would be harder to convincingly reseal a used machine.

My guess is that your Air was returned, re-wrapped and sold as new. Did the actual machine have a sealed cello cover around it when you removed it from the box?

 

[jenzjen]

The inner seal, however, would be quite a bit harder to replace. They'd need plastic wrap cut to the proper size and some original Apple seals. While I wouldn't put this past MacMall, it would be harder to convincingly reseal a used machine.

My guess is that your Air was returned, re-wrapped and sold as new. Did the actual machine have a sealed cello cover around it when you removed it from the box?

This is what I was referring to when I wrote the white sticker. There's a white sticker on this cello plastic that covers the laptop itself that you need to break to get to the machine. While possible, I doubt most stores have access to this plastic and another OEM sticker to make it appear new.

 

[Mode-III fan]

They might, but I don't think a reputable dealer would do it.

I agree. It just looked a little weird.

 

[Mode-III fan]

I wouldn't be surprised if so many MBA from every new batch are set aside for some testing by Apple then packaged and sold. 9 cycles isn't anything to fret over and I highly doubt MacMall would reseal a return item and not mention that fact.

That's a great point, which hadn't occurred to me. So, it seems like I had a machine that had been set aside for some Q&A testing, which by chance also had a problem (apparently not picked up during the Q&A testing).

 

[Mode-III fan]

Re-shrink-wrapping the box is no problem if you have a shrink-wrap machine. I'm sure MacMall does or has access to one. So judging the "newness" of the Air by the shrink-wrap can be very misleading.

The inner seal, however, would be quite a bit harder to replace. They'd need plastic wrap cut to the proper size and some original Apple seals. While I wouldn't put this past MacMall, it would be harder to convincingly reseal a used machine.

My guess is that your Air was returned, re-wrapped and sold as new. Did the actual machine have a sealed cello cover around it when you removed it from the box?

Yes it did and the white label was completely intact.

 

[jmoore5196]

If the white seal was completely intact, then I wouldn't worry.

In any case, getting MacMall to take back a piece of Apple gear has been problematic for me ... which is why I seldom do business with them. I ordered a G4 PowerBook with additional RAM years ago; the machine arrived looking as if it had been dipped in a big jar of mayonnaise. Nothing I could do - phone calls, email photos, etc - would get MacMall to accept it as a return.

Enjoy your Air!

 

[Mode-III fan]

If the white seal was completely intact, then I wouldn't worry.

In any case, getting MacMall to take back a piece of Apple gear has been problematic for me ... which is why I seldom do business with them. I ordered a G4 PowerBook with additional RAM years ago; the machine arrived looking as if it had been dipped in a big jar of mayonnaise. Nothing I could do - phone calls, email photos, etc - would get MacMall to accept it as a return.

Enjoy your Air!

Thanks! It turns out there was a sleep mode problem with the air. I figured the same as you, that Macmall would be a pain, so I visited an Apple store who replaced it with a brand new unit! Guess I was lucky. Still, that's always worth a try for anyone attempting to return a malfunctioning, new item to Macmall.