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LiemTa

Suspended
Original poster
Jun 2, 2014
499
332
My thinking is this will prevent any shady buyer from claiming they never received the laptop. Thoughts? Swappa prohibits selling products with a software lock, but handing over the iCloud password upon receipt is about the best way I can think of to avoid false non-receipt claims. Signatures don't mean much.
 

ChrisA

macrumors G5
Jan 5, 2006
12,919
2,173
Redondo Beach, California
My thinking is this will prevent any shady buyer from claiming they never received the laptop. Thoughts? Swappa prohibits selling products with a software lock, but handing over the iCloud password upon receipt is about the best way I can think of to avoid false non-receipt claims. Signatures don't mean much.
If you set the price low enough someone will buy your password-locked computer. Most people will assume it is some kind of scam and avoid it.
 

petvas

macrumors 603
Jul 20, 2006
5,479
1,808
Munich, Germany
This is just ridiculous. You would give your iCloud password to someone else? What kind of thinking is that? The proper way to do that is:
  • Reset your Mac to default (remove all data and reinstall OS)
  • Remove your Mac from your iCloud Account
  • Disable Find my Mac
Sell your Mac with PayPal. After the buyer pays per PayPal, you can send the Mac.
 

laptech

macrumors 601
Apr 26, 2013
4,135
4,456
Earth
Trust works both ways, the buyer sends you the money, you send the laptop. If you are using paypal, make sure the money is in your paypal account and then immediately transfer it into your own bank account before you send the laptop because it is very easy for the buyer to raise a dispute which will cause paypal to put a hold on the money. If you've transferred the money out of paypal, there is nothing paypal can do. Just make sure in any selling description that funds must be in your paypal account before the laptop will be sent. Or use a delivery service that comes with insurance against lost or damaged items. That way if the buyer claims they never received it, you can claim on the insurance and let them deal with it.
 
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maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
So if you advertise it with a lock, it would raise red flags for the buyer, such as, is it stolen. Regardless of promises that you'll supply the password, and regardless that paypal (provided its not done via a gift ) protects the buyer, people just won't want to deal with hassle or risk.

If you don't advertise it, then in all likelihood the buyer will dispute the sale, if its a site like ebay, you're pretty much guarantied a horrible review.
 

Lounge vibes 05

macrumors 68040
May 30, 2016
3,863
11,125
whenever I’ve had to have a computer serviced by Apple, I’ve always been asked to turn off the Lock Screen password and turn off find my Mac before sending it out or leaving it with them.
That’s more risky then erasing, removing and selling your computer.
So… no don’t do this, it’s a terrible idea.
Do everything else suggested here.
Get the money through PayPal, immediately move it to an account, get shipping insurance so if the package goes missing you can at least have some sort of back up plan, and have the buyer let you know when they receive the computer.
But don’t be weird about it, don’t treat a regular person just looking for a computer like a criminal.
I’ve received an iCloud locked Apple Watch before, and trying to get it unlocked is not fun.
You don’t want the new user of your computer’s first experience with it to be frustration because you were paranoid.
 
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ConcernedCitizen

Suspended
Jan 12, 2023
54
94
Trust works both ways, the buyer sends you the money, you send the laptop. If you are using paypal, make sure the money is in your paypal account and then immediately transfer it into your own bank account before you send the laptop because it is very easy for the buyer to raise a dispute which will cause paypal to put a hold on the money. If you've transferred the money out of paypal, there is nothing paypal can do. Just make sure in any selling description that funds must be in your paypal account before the laptop will be sent. Or use a delivery service that comes with insurance against lost or damaged items. That way if the buyer claims they never received it, you can claim on the insurance and let them deal with it.
This isn't true. Paypal will reach right back into your bank account and take the money. Just FYI.

Source=personal experience with a "you sent me an empty box instead of iPhone X" scam. Paypal will ALWAYS side with the buyer, and they absolutely will charge back.
 

laptech

macrumors 601
Apr 26, 2013
4,135
4,456
Earth
This isn't true. Paypal will reach right back into your bank account and take the money. Just FYI.

Not unless they have permission from the bank account holder to do so but this basically depends on what country you live in and how robust that countries banking laws are.
 

clueless88

macrumors regular
Aug 23, 2020
249
153

Not unless they have permission from the bank account holder to do so but this basically depends on what country you live in and how robust that countries banking laws are.
I think you are taking the answer out of context. The answer should be expanded to include "with cause" when they mention with permission. The money that one transfers from their PayPal balance into their account is still subject to transfer back to PayPal from one's bank if there is insufficient funds in one's PayPal balance to refund a previous transaction.

However if the PayPal transaction is done at the friend to friend level, the buyer is at risk of getting robbed since there is no protection in friend to friend transfers.
 
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clueless88

macrumors regular
Aug 23, 2020
249
153
My thinking is this will prevent any shady buyer from claiming they never received the laptop. Thoughts? Swappa prohibits selling products with a software lock, but handing over the iCloud password upon receipt is about the best way I can think of to avoid false non-receipt claims. Signatures don't mean much.
Why can't you send the laptop without iCloud lock via FedEx with required signature? Assuming the FedEx driver pays attention to the signature requirement, the package should have an electronic trail. I'd also spring for extra insurance coverage from FedEx that would cover the amount that you sold the laptop for. Default FedEx liability coverage may fall short of the transaction amount.

Unless you are sending the laptop across town, USPS would not work since Priority Mail and Express Mail utilizes commercial passenger planes for transport and anything with lithium batteries cannot be placed in the cargo holds of those planes. The prohibition does not apply to freight/cargo only planes like FedEx.
 

ConcernedCitizen

Suspended
Jan 12, 2023
54
94

Not unless they have permission from the bank account holder to do so but this basically depends on what country you live in and how robust that countries banking laws are.
My experience with PayPal in the US has shown otherwise. *shrug*
 
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laptech

macrumors 601
Apr 26, 2013
4,135
4,456
Earth
I think you are taking the answer out of context. The answer should be expanded to include "with cause" when they mention with permission. The money that one transfers from their PayPal balance into their account is still subject to transfer back to PayPal from one's bank if there is insufficient funds in one's PayPal balance to refund a previous transaction.

However if the PayPal transaction is done at the friend to friend level, the buyer is at risk of getting robbed since there is no protection in friend to friend transfers.
It does not matter how the refund works, Paypal is not a bank nor is it a credit card company therefore it's powers in dealing with banks and the banks account holders is very very limited. Again it depends on the banking laws in ones country but in many countries, permission has to be granted by the bank account holder before funds can withdrawn from their account to a non bank or non credit card company. But here is where will stop because it's causing the thread to be derailed and go off topic.
 

ZMacintosh

macrumors 65816
Nov 13, 2008
1,448
709
Even if someone did buy into your ad for a locked device, whats stopping them from scamming you back after you release the key? they could say the device was stolen, never unlocked, etc and you'd be in more of a mess.

You can try other marketplaces that use things like Apple Pay or Zelle, or sell locally. PayPal can be cumbersome if you get a potentially bad buyer.

best way to go about it is, sell honestly and transparently. wipe the Mac fully, when sold add insurance, tracking and signature required and thats really all you need. stipulate no returns if you want and provide any warranty details. you'd limit your risk and put the burden on the buyer. avoid the unnecessary risk and complications.
 

fwmireault

macrumors 68020
Jul 4, 2019
2,288
9,705
Montréal, Canada
I would never provide my iCloud account password to anybody, even if it is temporary. Even my partner of 5 years doesn’t have any access in my iCloud account.

There are safer ways to be sure that the buyer indeed received your laptop, and if I was in the market for a used laptop, I would certainly not buy your laptop under these conditions, because this goes the other way around: you could possibly prevent me from fully using the computer I bought.
 

ConcernedCitizen

Suspended
Jan 12, 2023
54
94
My thinking is this will prevent any shady buyer from claiming they never received the laptop. Thoughts? Swappa prohibits selling products with a software lock, but handing over the iCloud password upon receipt is about the best way I can think of to avoid false non-receipt claims. Signatures don't mean much.
You should absolutely never give anyone your iCloud password. But you don't need to.

1. Go to www.iCloud.com/find.
2. Sign in with your Apple ID and password.
3. At the top, click All Devices.
4. Select the device that you want to remove from iCloud.
5. Click Remove from Account.

Thats it. So you could literally 'accidently' forget to remove activation lock, the computer will be useless to them until they actively admit to receiving it and being unable to use it, then you remove the device from icloud remotely and apologize for accidently forgetting to remove it beforehand.
 

Choco Taco

Suspended
Nov 23, 2022
615
1,065
Good luck finding anyone to buy from you. I would never buy anything from anyone with those terms because it sounds shady as fluff.
 
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Eso

macrumors 68020
Aug 14, 2008
2,043
973
Not worth it. Anyone looking to scam you can just claim it arrived damaged/wrong item/etc. The best you can hope for is that it will sell for half of what it would have.
 
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