Too good to be true?

[mariocapo]

Wasn't sure if I should put this here or buying tips, but chose this. Hope I'm in the right thread. Hello all. This is my first post but have read these forums for years.

Anyway, yesterday I stumbled across a Craigslist post for a Brand New Sealed MacBook Air 13.3 inch for $800. First thing I thought was it was a scam. I expected an email response that asked me to send my shipping info and that they were out of the country or something. But the guy responded and he was local. So I asked if I could turn it on and make sure it worked but that I had the cash and was serious about buying it. I met the guy opened it up, everything was legit. I've owed several new MacBooks throughout recent years and it all seemed right. The packaging was all new along with the Macbook being wrapped. He said he produces music and his production team bought it for him, I was skeptical if it was maybe hot before I found that out. He was also selling a sealed 32 GB iPad 3G for $425. So long story short, I took a shot, checked it out to cover my ass, and wound up getting a $1,300 dollar MacBook Air for $800. I've been loving it for almost a day now! I am crazy excited and thought I'd share a positive Craigslist sale.

I wasn't even sure if I'd get an Air even though I thought they were crazy cool. I thought they were a little pricey for what you get. Turns out this would even be worth full retail price lol. I only wish it was a model with 4GB RAM. Now I'm debating if I still am gonna use my iPad or not. Might sell it soon with a new release near imminent.

I could probably turn around in a year or so and sell it with a profit, huh?

 

[macnerd123]

Wow. That is really lucky. What city does this seller live in...maybe I would see what else he has...

 

[Dr McKay]

You lucky sod.

 

[vincenz]

The majority of people won't scam you on Craigslist. You just have to watch out, that's all. You'll never know if that Air was stolen or not, but you'll always know you got a heckuva deal

 

[Neolithium]

You lucky sod.

Amen to that.

 

[mariocapo]

Lol

Yea I think I really lucked out too. He was actually a pretty cool guy, I checked out his beats too, good stuff! I live in Vegas, maybe that's another thing in this town so many people lose money and need the cash, or maybe he needed holiday money. Who knows? Maybe it was the truth and he didn't even buy it himself. I didn't wanna ask and screw up the deal, lol.

 

[ECUpirate44]

Congrats on the great deal! I would just upgrade the ram to 4GB from OWC.

 

[mariocapo]

I wish

I would if I could. But I think the Airs aren't upgradeable. I think the RAM is soldered on or something. I may be wrong.

 

[ECUpirate44]

I would if I could. But I think the Airs aren't upgradeable. I think the RAM is soldered on or something. I may be wrong.

Oh wow, never knew that. That's unfortunate.

 

[kp98077]

Hmmmm

Well, I am in seattle and just read a very similar add and infact the price is $800 too!! It always is too good to be true IM afraid..Hope you got luck

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/sys/2127678314.html

 

[farmermac]

Did you meet the guy at his house?

It sounds suspicious, I would expect it to be stolen (not that I probably wouldn't buy it, though. )

 

[AF08]

Craigslist

I have gotten a few good deals on Craigslist...

Earlier this year I picked up loaded 15" MBP with 3.06 C2D, 8 GB of Ram for $1200.. It had AppleCare until June 2012. Closes one to those specs was going for $1800... Apple had a refurb with the same specs for 2k. Good deal IMO. Sold it for $1600
- The guy was a graphic designer in Hollywood, but I guess he didn't like the glossy display. So he bought one with the matte screen.

After I sold it, I purchased a i7 2.66 MBP for $1800. Also had AppleCare till August 2013. Purchased from an older guy who bought it thinking he could sell his 17" non-unibody MBP to offset the cost, but it wasn't selling, so he needed the money.

A few WEEKS I saw an ad for a guy who wanted to trade his i5 Quad iMac for a 15" 2.66 i7 MBP.. I emailed him, we met at his house, and we traded, he added $400 on top to do the trade

Most recently I purchased a white MacBook 2.13 C2D for $300, it had a messed up optical drive, and it was chipping by the palm rest.. Picked up, ran the serial number by Apple, and it turns it was under 1 year warranty until Jan, 24, 2011 Took it in to get the optical drive replaced and they ended up doing about $650 worth of repairs.. new keyboard, bezel around the screen, optical drive, and palm rest. I ended up giving it to my cousin for his bday.

 

[mariocapo]

Thank you everyone for the congrats! I love this forum. I'm looking forward to actually becoming involved instead of just reading through for tips and info.

To kp98077: Yea I had the same mindset but it doesn't hurt to try anyway. 9 times out of 10 its a scam from someone out of town trying to send it through the mail, and usually they're in the "military over seas". LOL. I totally expected this to be one of those but it all worked out in the end. I was even afraid it would be a sealed box with some rocks in it or something. I used to work at Circuit City and I remember a service desk employee catching a guy doing a return on something using that scheme. He actually posted a pic of the packaging and the outside sticker that had the specs and serial number.

To farmermac: No, I met him at a Fry's parking lot. I don't ever meet people at their or my own home. I'm too paranoid for that. LOL.

To AF08: Those are some really sweet deals. I've seen quite a few deals on craigslist like that with Core2Duo MacBooks and Pros. I just figured this one would be a good investment for an eventual resell since they are the latest models.

 

[iPhoneCollector]

Dude yoi got a reallyswear deal. I hope you aare happy with your new macbook. Merry christmas too

 

[mariocapo]

Dude yoi got a reallyswear deal. I hope you aare happy with your new macbook. Merry christmas too

Thank you very much! Merry christmas to you too! I am loving this thing and still can't get over how lucky I got. It's been a rough year or two so things like this are very much appreciated. Hope everyone is having a great Christmas this year!

 

[Jaro65]

I have gotten a few good deals on Craigslist...

Earlier this year I picked up loaded 15" MBP with 3.06 C2D, 8 GB of Ram for $1200.. It had AppleCare until June 2012. Closes one to those specs was going for $1800... Apple had a refurb with the same specs for 2k. Good deal IMO. Sold it for $1600
- The guy was a graphic designer in Hollywood, but I guess he didn't like the glossy display. So he bought one with the matte screen.

After I sold it, I purchased a i7 2.66 MBP for $1800. Also had AppleCare till August 2013. Purchased from an older guy who bought it thinking he could sell his 17" non-unibody MBP to offset the cost, but it wasn't selling, so he needed the money.

A few WEEKS I saw an ad for a guy who wanted to trade his i5 Quad iMac for a 15" 2.66 i7 MBP.. I emailed him, we met at his house, and we traded, he added $400 on top to do the trade

Most recently I purchased a white MacBook 2.13 C2D for $300, it had a messed up optical drive, and it was chipping by the palm rest.. Picked up, ran the serial number by Apple, and it turns it was under 1 year warranty until Jan, 24, 2011 Took it in to get the optical drive replaced and they ended up doing about $650 worth of repairs.. new keyboard, bezel around the screen, optical drive, and palm rest. I ended up giving it to my cousin for his bday.

You've done quite well!