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Thoughts on selling MBP online with iCloud Lock, then supplying buyer with password upon receipt?

maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
kevcube said:
just only accept payment with PayPal goods & services if you're so worried

/thread
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Maybe I'm missing something but its my understanding that the OP is worried that he'll sell his laptop, the buyer claims he never got it, forces a chargeback with paypal and the OP is out of a computer and the money.

All of the power is in the buyer's hands, so I understand the OP trying to limit his risk. How is accepting PayPal goods and services protecting the seller from such actions?
 
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james2538

james2538

macrumors 6502a
Jul 11, 2008
580
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If you track the item eBay will protect the seller from claims it wasn't delivered. Insure it as well and you're fully covered from any shenanigans. I've sold thousands of items over the years and I've only dealt with a non-delivery dispute once. It was decided in my favor when I provided tracking with signature.

(Note that items selling above $600 require a signature during delivery to be covered under seller protection)

If you don't want to deal with that sell it locally on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and require cash upon meeting.
 
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maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
james2538 said:
If you track the item eBay will protect the seller from claims it wasn't delivered.
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What happens if the buyer puts bricks in the box, takes a picture and claims that's what he received. I've seen stories of people buying Xboxs and that happening
 
CalMin

CalMin

Contributor
Nov 8, 2007
1,890
3,696
gpat said:
Just sell it to a local for cash. Incredible how much effort some people would put towards making their life more difficult.
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This is the way.

Face to face, cash-only transactions daytime in a public place (Starbucks, library, bank lobby etc... ). I mostly use Craigslist for this, but recently did a transaction on Facebook marketplace and it went very smoothly (if you don't mind Zuck knowing about your business). And - you won't have to deal with transaction fees or shipping.
 
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james2538

james2538

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Jul 11, 2008
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maflynn said:
What happens if the buyer puts bricks in the box, takes a picture and claims that's what he received. I've seen stories of people buying Xboxs and that happening
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You can take a video of yourself boxing it up if you want to be triple sure. In that situation though I imagine it comes down to reputation. If the buyer has zero feedback they're likely to side with the seller who has been selling without issue for years. If it was the opposite, it could go the other way.

Also if the item is insured you would then make a claim against the shipping company.

At the end of the day there is always some risk with selling stuff. Online you could be scammed, in-person you could be robbed. I've done this for 20 years doing both and never run into that many issues. Most people are generally good and not looking to screw you.
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
gpat said:
Just sell it to a local for cash. Incredible how much effort some people would put towards making their life more difficult.
Click to expand...
That's basically what I do now, though selling on craigslist and/or facebook seem to present its own challenges.
 
C

Choco Taco

Suspended
Nov 23, 2022
615
1,065
CalMin said:
This is the way.

Face to face, cash-only transactions daytime in a public place (Starbucks, library, bank lobby etc... ). I mostly use Craigslist for this, but recently did a transaction on Facebook marketplace and it went very smoothly (if you don't mind Zuck knowing about your business). And - you won't have to deal with transaction fees or shipping.
Click to expand...
I usually meet in a police station lobby if I'm doing it in person.
 
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laptech

laptech

macrumors 601
Apr 26, 2013
4,135
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Earth
Having an item tracked and signed for as proof of delivery to satisfy ebay's terms and conditions or a couriers terms and conditions of proof of delivery does not work because a company I know has recently been scammed 3 times with regards to items that were claimed to have been sent back due to either allegedly being faulty or not as described. Each item had a tracking number and had to be signed for but in each package the scammer had put in part empty food items just to show that each package had some weight too it.

The scammer can usually get away with it because they claim that they sent the item back but the company is trying to scam them by taking the item out and replacing it with something else and then take photo's of it saying this is what was inside the package, ebay/courier believes the buyer and gives the scammer their money back.

The boss has told the employees who receive the postal packages that they if they believe one of the packages is suspect then they are to video themselves opening the package which prevents the scammer from claiming the company swapped the item for something else.

This why people selling items need to have evidence of packing up the item they are selling and also videoing themselves opening packages where the buyer has said they have returned the item.
 
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clueless88

macrumors regular
Aug 23, 2020
249
153
maflynn said:
Maybe I'm missing something but its my understanding that the OP is worried that he'll sell his laptop, the buyer claims he never got it, forces a chargeback with paypal and the OP is out of a computer and the money.

All of the power is in the buyer's hands, so I understand the OP trying to limit his risk. How is accepting PayPal goods and services protecting the seller from such actions?
Click to expand...
Paying/receiving money with PayPal goods and services is different than PayPal friends transactions LINK . With PayPal Goods and Services, PayPal extracts money from the seller, so the seller receives less money than the buyer paid. One of the benefits of Goods and Services is that there is seller protection included--specifically if a buyer claims that the item was never received and the item is eligible for seller protection, after submitting the requisite paperwork and if favorably reviewed, PayPal will make the seller whole.

With PayPal friends transaction there is no protection for the selling party.
 
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xraydoc

xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
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Rationalizations aside, I wouldn't buy from someone promising the unlock password after receipt of the item. I usually pay first anyway, so why would I want another step.

Besides, as morbid as it sounds, what happens if the seller dies on his way home from shipping the laptop? I'd never get the password and I'd have to go through the hassle of shipping an item back to a person who is no longer there and attempting to get my money back. No thanks.

Pay for working item, receive working item.

If the person you're selling to is that sketchy, I'd just as soon sell it to someone else.
 
M

mrbrown

macrumors 6502a
Mar 27, 2004
566
241
Springfield, Missouri
What's the point behind doing this? The only somewhat reasonable explanation I could see is that you're afraid you might get scammed by a buyer, or that the device might get lost in shipment, so you're agreeable to provide the password to the device upon receipt.

Neither one of those scenarios are really founded in fact, though. If it gets lost in shipment, that's what insurance is for (and if you're too cheap to pay the extra $3 or whatever it is, that's on you), and if you're worried about getting scammed, use PayPal or another payment processor that provides seller protection and follow those terms to a T.
 
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Choco Taco

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Nov 23, 2022
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Larsvonhier said:
"a perverted fear of violence choked the smile on every face".
- Chris Rea ("Road to hell")
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When you actually have something dangerous happen to you in person from a Craigslist meet up, get back to me. Until then, don't comment with silly and irrelevant quotes.
 
K

kevcube

macrumors 6502
Nov 16, 2020
447
621
maflynn said:
Maybe I'm missing something but its my understanding that the OP is worried that he'll sell his laptop, the buyer claims he never got it, forces a chargeback with paypal and the OP is out of a computer and the money.

All of the power is in the buyer's hands, so I understand the OP trying to limit his risk. How is accepting PayPal goods and services protecting the seller from such actions?
Click to expand...
PayPal goods and services has chargeback protection and will manage a case based on shipment tracking number etc. OP should probably ship with signature for more certainty and also manage the entire shipping process thru PayPal as much as he can.
 
I

ignatius345

macrumors 604
Aug 20, 2015
7,626
13,047
james2538 said:
If you don't want to deal with that sell it locally on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace and require cash upon meeting.
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And meet in a public place, for the love of god. Some off-duty cop here in NYC just got shot in the head in a Facebook Marketplace robbery scam.

Not saying that's gonna happen to you, but it would sure be easy for a couple of goons to show up and just take off with your MacBook.
 
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T

TechnoMonk

macrumors 68030
Oct 15, 2022
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If I am buying a macbook off criaigslist, I usually meet at an apple store. I have bought few over the years(last one was in 2015). I ask the seller to send me serial number, check for Apple care eligibility, meet at Apple store. Walk out with MacBook and apple care.
 
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T

TechnoMonk

macrumors 68030
Oct 15, 2022
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LiemTa said:
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.
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I wouldnt bother reading your listing with icloud lock, let alone buying. Selling icloud lock apple gear is literally one of the shadiest thing.
 
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