Good deal for a macbook pro?

i just won this acution on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=270390889983

is it a good deal?
£1040 for a used macbook pro with a few light scratches on the bottom and 3 year apple care till oct 2011.

could i get one, say its broken and get a refurb from apple?

should i pay for this item and is it a good deal?

 

You are legally bound to pay for it; that's what hitting the confirm button is all about on eBay.

Surely you are also not suggesting you'd send it back to Apple and try to make out you bought it direct from them? I believe you'd not be able to do so - they'd be able to check records and find out that you never bought it from them.

EDIT: Just seen the auction; I don't think you'd be able to get a replacement from Apple unless there was actually something wrong with it - I doubt the scratches count as something being wrong with it but you could give it a go.

Personally, I think you got yourself a good deal there. Live with the scratches

 

that's a good price.

 

You're not legally bound. For a legally binding contract, you have to physically sign your name. A place like ebay is not binding, the most they can do is suspend or delete your account.

 

Applecare does not warrant a repair or replacement for cosmetic issues. Unless its a manufactures defect like with the old white macbook palm discoloration.

 

Not true I'm afraid. Take for example the last loan I took out with my bank. Completed entirely online. Never signed anything. Never had to sign any paperwork either.

However, that was still a legally binding contract that I had digitally signed by ticking a box.

Looking into the laws surrounding auctions:

For auctions by bidding there seem to be three legal ways of interpreting the formation of the agreement

1) The sale is an auction (conducted by the seller, not eBay). Each bid is a bid in an auction and, under section 57 of the Sale of Goods Act, can be withdrawn prior to the end of the sale
2) The sale is not an auction. The page on eBay is an 'invitation to treat', each bid is an offer and at the end of the sale the seller accepts the highest offer (or not if they have good reason to). In contract law, an offer can be withdrawn from at any time prior to acceptance
3) The sale is not an auction. The page on eBay is a conditional offer, and each bid is a conditional acceptance. Therefore, each bid forms a legally binding contract. The conditions of the contract is that it only binding on the seller if at the end of the sale, the buyer is the highest bidder. The buyer is unconditionally bound.

In any case, once the auction has ended, if you've not retracted your bid then you are legally bound to it. What would happen is the item would go to auction again, and the original winner would have to pay the difference, plus any fees. In truth most of the time the seller simply claims back the seller fees and it goes through the eBay system of non-paid strikes. But it is legally binding in a technical sense, this has been tested and proven many many times via small claims courts.

 

You can enter a legally bound contract online when you start your phone carrier service. Try cancelling that they will charge you a hefty cancellation fee for the breach of contract.

 

You aren't legally bound, but it will negatively affect your EBay status if you don't complete the transaction. It's a decent deal, the only issue being the 'light scratches' and the fact he didn't post photos of those scratches.

Also since he hasn't posted ANY photos of the actual item, I would be very suspect of this particular auction. I would request the photos of the scratches as proof he actually has the item. If he can't then you are definantly not obligated to complete.

 

Please read my post. You are legally bound once the auction completes; just the majority of sellers do not take legal action. They have every right to do so if they could be bothered to; as I said this has been done MANY MANY times with success via small claims courts.

However, your point about pictures of scratches is very very valid. Make sure you do this before you send any money. Also, use Paypal or a credit card for the extra protection against fraudulent sellers.

 

Well, there are technicalities that could be fought in court (if you find a good enough lawyer ). As I understood it, without actually signing on "the dotted line", no contract can be upheld in court. But I'm no lawyer.

 

Contracts can be upheld in court if it can be proven that both parties entered into the contract knowingly. This is achieved via accepting the user agreement eBay makes everyone agree to when signing up. There are a few cases where you'd be able to break the contract; but this is not the case for the op I suspect.

Anyway, we digress; shall we leave this argument here as it's going slightly off topic.

Answer to your post. Yes it's a good deal, yes you should pay, but obtain proof that the seller actually owns the product. Pay via Paypal or credit card for added security.

 

iv bought it so this doesnt matter tbh.
and my mate didnt pay for an item on ebay and nothing happened.

the seller has been registered for under 1 year and has sold 113 out of which a lot were highh valued and has good feedback (100%)

i dont mind light scratches on the bottom as i dont look at it. also, iv asked for pictures.

other then all of that, is the laptop instead a good deal?

also, if i find a fault could i call apple and ask for a refurb?
if my laptop breaks, do apple do onsite support or collect and return?

 

i just talked to a apple chat rep and she said that i cant change the HDD or i will void my warranty????????????????????????????????????????????????????

so i cant install a SSD if i what or my 3 year apple care will be gone?

 

You can't do it by yourself, but you can have them or someone working in partnership with them to change it. it will not void your warranty in this case.

 

huh? i didn't know that. I thought that these were user replaceable and apple would cover the warranty unless the user broke something while upgrading.

 

thats what i thought.
i called another 2 reps and they both said that you can change it yourself and your warranty will be fine unless the laptop breaks while upgradeing or because of the hard drive itself.

what im going to do it put a SSD in soon and if my apple does break, il swap my old old in

i think its a good deal as from apple, the same laptop would cost £1,221.30 using the education discount. it cost me £1020 which is £200 less. otherside on the normal price, i save around £600+

 

the scratches are clearly visible and hes lieing.
although i got the serial and it has 3 years of apple care and for £1020 i cant complain.
il try to find a problem and see if i get a refurb.
how the hell did he manage to get all those scratches?







crap, those images are very big. you can zoom out to see fully.

 

Will they even give you a refurbished though? I would think that if there was a hardware defect, they would just fix/replace that then give you a refurb system given the amount of scratches and cosmetic defects on their already.

 

those back covers cost apple next to nothing im guess so i dont think they would be too fussed, as hardware costs them more.
the top does seem perfectly fine.
if i do find any faults, i will try to get a refurb anyway.

the stratches are mild id say, they look worse as they have a sharp cam on them focused in light.
is it really worth £1000 with all those small scratches?

 

do you have to pay taxes on that to when you recieve it?

 

I did say that most sellers simply claim the seller fees back through eBay; but that they have the right to chase via the courts if they wanted, and would likely win. Most simply do not though.

Are those scratches only on the bottom? If so, is it really worth worrying about particularly?

 

^ What he said.
People would rarely see the underside of the case. Now if the scratches were ontop then I'd be hesitant about buying it

 

no, there are no taxes on £1020.

 

Honestly, I think you got a great deal. If you were really keen on getting getting a less-scratched machine, you could always purchase a replacement battery cover and bottom case assembly. The installation is quite simple and I don't think the replacement parts would cost you more than 200 dollars (see http://www.ifixit.com/Products/MBP-Unibody-15-Inch/Case-Components/16/161)

Or, if you ask nicely and get a cool genius, they might just replace it for you for free. If you have a loose battery cover like some of the uMBPs did, you should have an even better chance of getting it fixed for free.

 

BTW, to those who asked where the scratches could have come from, I think the those scratches are the result of the MBP being dragged across a coarse surface, or from putting it in and removing it from a laptop bag (i.e. the abrasive zipper teeth could have caused it).

 

mine is scratch and dent free since i got it in end of november last year.

 

Some of us are just clumsy

I know that I always seem to scratch up notebooks.

 

How often do you see the back of your laptop really when you use it ?
Why people are so disturbed about few scratches they will almost never see?

 

An Ebay Auction Is A Legally Binding Contract. We Are Offering Our Items And The Bidder Is Unequivocally Accepting The Mirrored Terms Of Our Offer By Bidding. This Is A Bilateral Contract The Consideration Is A Promise To Buy By The Offeree And A Forbearance To Sell The Item To Anyone But The Offeree By The Offeror. Anyone Breaching Their Contract With Us (for Any Excuse And We've Heard Them All) Will Be Sued For Liquidated Damages Of $1000.00 Or 10% Of The Purchase Price Of The Item And All Attorney Fees Private Investigation Fees Airline Tickets Hotel Accommodations Will All Be Attached To The Law Suit. Do Yourself A Favor And Be Absolutely Certain Of Your Actions Before Entering Into A Contract With Us.

 

Last I checked while there is a contract to buy when you bid or buy on ebay its not legally binding, you can get bad rep, or have paypal get involved but there is no actual law broken or legal action that can be taken.

As far as mac deals I saw what looked like good deals to me from macmall.com

 

the education store deal is quite nice. at least for the uk

 

the education discount was still too much at £1220 with the warranty which i needed.
paying £200 ($300) less for a 5 month old laptop with a few scratches on the bottom isnt too bad i guess.

 

why would apple do this and then make the HDD more easily accessable and easier to access then the ram which is mean to be user changeable.


Also, how to you switch between gpu's in os x/windows?

 

In OS X, it takes you 3 click.
In Windows, you can't. You have to do it in OS X.

 

I'm sure the next version of bootcamp will solve this problem.

 

The HD is user changeable in the Unibody macbook pros. Its just in the last gen (silver key) macbook pros that the HD will void your warranty. And Apple probably made the HD more accesible in the Unibody MBP because more likely than not people will be charging the HD alot more than the ram.

 

The fact though that they are telling people that it will void their warranty, even if it is from the last generation, is stupid. A hard drive is so easy to change out, it shouldn't even be considered something that will void a warranty.

 

I have read the manual and it doesn't state anywhere that upgrading the ram or hard drive voids the warranty. In fact, why would they show us how to upgrade these if it would void the warranty. It's just plain incoherent.

 

Well upgrading the HD is a bit more complicated in the last gen MBP. You have also have to take into account that the knowledge that most of us have here on the Apple NBR forums far exceeds than that of a regular user. So if you have a "noob" with hardware try and change the warranty in the last gen MBP they would probably me more likely to mess something up in the process.

 

True they probably would, but the same would go with messing up when you change RAM. It is easy to change, but if a person who doesnt know how to change that, they can still mess up the computer.