Weird attempt sale, anything they can do with my serial number

[1rottenapple]

Ok so I was trying to sell my 14 In MacBook Pro. Potential buyer was seeing the machine testing it. I think they look at the serial number. If they have my serial number what can they do to it? Is there anything that can happen. Needless to say I’ll keep the damn MacBook I’m not selling it at this point.

Anyway rest of the story is: All of a sudden she said she doesn’t have the full amount I’m selling for which she agreed: $1400 then said she can do half the amount and I’ll remove the activation lock, and then she’ll give the rest. What also gave me suspicion is she first said she had $1000 and will get the rest. Then she said she had 1/3 the amount but will get the rest.

I walk away… my spider sense and stories of people getting ripped got to my psyche. I don’t want to post here how I was robbed. Ended up driving 1hr in traffic just to waste my time on a Sunday late afternoon when I should be relaxing. Anyway, rant over but please let me know if anything bad to me can happen if they have my serial number.

 

[fatTribble]

They can enter it on the Apple site to see the trade-in value I think. But that wouldn’t harm you. That’s all I’m aware of. Glad you walked away from the deal and got home safely.

 

[1rottenapple]

Right? I can’t imagine. Anything they could do. My iCloud activation is still in the mac. Anyway that was such a weird encounter in all my years buying and reselling my personal iPhones and macs. Who can you meet up and not show up with the money? Never had an issue. Hell I sold my xr to this 12 yr old who handled the sale with with mom standing by. Way easier transaction than these two dumbasses.

 

[Pakaku]

What also gave me suspicion is she first said she had $1000 and will get the rest. Then she said she had 1/3 the amount but will get the rest.

And this is why walking away was the smart move

 

[1rottenapple]

And this is why walking away was the smart move

I know a family friend who tried to sell an iPhone 13 Pro in the Philippines. She removed the activation lock. Needless to say dude handled the phone ran. That was playing in the back of my head.


Anyway I’m walked out and got in my car and took photos of the two dummy.

 

[Eggtastic]

This is why I avoid selling in person. Swappa or trade in is worth the extra $$ it costs to ship. I did however successfully sell 2 macbooks and 2 iphones back when craigslist was the big "online yard sale" website. For safety reasons I would not attempt now.

 

[Jozone]

Well - there is one thing they can do (or at least used to). If you have an applecare agreement on the device (the fixed cost one) it used to be possible to ask for a pro-rated refund by contacting Applecare and asking for a refund in the form of a check mailed to you. Back in the day, I believe the only verification they needed was the serial. If I were you and had that agreement, it might be worth giving Applecare a call to confirm the process for this now to make sure they couldn't.

 

[neo_cs193p]

I always ask for the serial number when buying a 2nd hand MacBook, to check if it has a valid purchase date (i.e. not stolen).

 

[1rottenapple]

Well - there is one thing they can do (or at least used to). If you have an applecare agreement on the device (the fixed cost one) it used to be possible to ask for a pro-rated refund by contacting Applecare and asking for a refund in the form of a check mailed to you. Back in the day, I believe the only verification they needed was the serial. If I were you and had that agreement, it might be worth giving Applecare a call to confirm the process for this now to make sure they couldn't.

Oh good point. No apple care plus.