Questions about buying a Macbook through eBay

Factual Questions
1

I’m thinking about buying a Macbook Pro. This will be the first Apple product for me, so I’m wondering if there are things I need to be looking for. Plus I don’t want to spend Apple store prices, so I’m browsing through eBay.

All I need is the most basic, low-end Macbook Pro 13.3". Office is mandatory, but everything else is optional. Retail costs would be $1199 + $149.

I see a few listings on eBay for $750-$800 that are loaded with Office and don’t feel like ripoffs. Is this the reasonable bottom for a safe transaction or can I search lower listings? (I know I can get lucky, but I never am.) Should I fall back on a Buy It Now offer? Most of the good auctions have lots of bidders with a lot of time left.

Do I need to look for Lion or any other specifics? Anything to avoid? How old a machine is too old?

Any warning flags I need to watch out for? I’ve bought through eBay before so I’m not asking about feedback ratings or foreign sellers or that stuff. Just the descriptions themselves.

I realize I wouldn’t be getting the warranty. What kind of attention would I get from an Apple store if I have problems? Do they give free help to anybody who walks through the door or charge if you haven’t bought from them? Are their basic service and repair charges comparable to PC stores?

And most importantly: what do I need to know that I haven’t even thought of?

2

Those prices are better than anything Apple is offering but I should mention just in case you aren’t aware that Apple sells refurbished Macs on their website. It ends up being about $180 cheaper for a 13" MacBook Pro versus buying new.

Still won’t be $700-800 loaded with Office cheap, though. It does come with a 1-Year Warranty though, which has some genuine value.

3

You can get a refurbished MacBook Air from Apple.com for $750-950, if that’s an option.

I’ve heard their refurbished stock is high quality - usually returns that were never used.

4

I have bought several Macs off eBay and have been pretty pleased. My current MacBook, a 2009, was barely a year old and I got it for $540.

Now, some things to watch out for:
[ol]
[li]Read The Description Completely. If the auction price is absurdedly low, then it’s probably a broken MacBook being sold for parts or fixup.[/li][li]Look at the seller’s rating. You want a guy who’s higher than 97%, preferably over 50 transactions. Reputation is everything.[/li][li]As much as I am for international amity, I don’t buy from anybody outside my home country. Not for something this big.[/li][li]Once you get the MacBook, wipe the disk and re-install the OS. You don’t want spyware.[/li][/ol]

5

Do they normally come with disks to reinstall all the software, including Office and the other programs? Is that something I need to look for?

6

To address this issue:
The Mac Genius Bar in Apple Stores is free in terms of them looking at and diagnosing the problem. They will fix some problems for free, but not all. If they need to replace parts or the like, then you’ll pay extra (unless the warranty is there). They can also explain how to do a DIY fix if you want to try that.

I’ve had limited need for actual repairs, but both times involved the Apple Store mailing the computer to some central location, which then mailed it back to us. Very good work for reasonable prices.

(In fact, when we needed the keyboard replaced on my wife’s iBook, they also replaced three rubber feet that had fallen off the bottom of laptop over the years. No extra charge.)

7

When you buy a new one it will come with the disks for the OS and any original software that is preinstalled. You’ll need to check if they are included in the auction. Find out which versions too. The latest OS X Lion is $30 to download. I’ve never used Office so I don’t know what the deal is with upgrading or transferring ownership.