Apple's 'secret' eBay store undercuts company's own refurb store by $100

Posted:
in General Discussion edited October 2022
Apple's somewhat unofficial eBay store has begun undercutting the company's own refurbished prices, offering MacBooks for up to $100 less, and savings of up to $50 on iPads and iPods.

eBay


Apple's Refurbished Outlet eBay store, where the company sells Macs, iPads and other products at significant discount. Currently, shoppers can find the following deals: AppleInsider has been tracking Apple's "secret" eBay store and has witnessed the company adding more inventory on a daily basis as of late. The company's somewhat unconventional approach to selling inventory is in addition to across-the-board price cuts the company instituted on its MacBook Pro with Retina display models last month.

Aggressive deals on Apple's MacBook lineup continued throughout the month of February, when resellers began offering discounts of as much as $350 off of the company's premium laptop lineup.

Apple's changes come after the company saw a 17 percent year over year drop in Mac sales in the December quarter. The company largely attributed that reduction to limited availability of its latest iMac models, but also admitted that cannibalization from the company's own iPad may have played a role.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    godriflegodrifle Posts: 267member
    Another questionable move by Apple CEO Tim Cook: fundamentally changing the openness and honesty of Apple's dealings with customers.
  • Reply 2 of 30
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by godrifle View Post

    Another questionable move by Apple CEO Tim Cook: fundamentally changing the openness and honesty of Apple's dealings with customers.


     


    Yeah, nice try.


     


    1. Do we know that this is actually "Apple's" store?


    2. If you read the last article on it, this has been in existence for years. Pre-Cook. So if it is directly owned by Apple, that completely destroys your little bit of FUD.

  • Reply 3 of 30
    65c81665c816 Posts: 136member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by godrifle View Post



    Another questionable move by Apple CEO Tim Cook: fundamentally changing the openness and honesty of Apple's dealings with customers.


    They also have another store where they discount hardware, sometimes by up to 10%!!!  And even throw in free iPod Touch (when I bought mine)!!!


     


    So unfair and definitely not honest of them to offer an educational discount...


     


    Are you seriously on crack or something?  Every major electronics company has an ebay store.  

  • Reply 4 of 30
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    Wish AI would stop going on about the 17% drop as if all of Apples changes are related to it.

    The reason for the drop was the monumental cockup of the iMac refresh & nothing else.

    Everything is now business as usual for them & they should be comfortably back to shipment growth this quarter.
  • Reply 5 of 30

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post





    Originally Posted by godrifle View Post

    Another questionable move by Apple CEO Tim Cook: fundamentally changing the openness and honesty of Apple's dealings with customers.


     


    Yeah, nice try.


     


    1. Do we know that this is actually "Apple's" store?


    2. If you read the last article on it, this has been in existence for years. Pre-Cook. So if it is directly owned by Apple, that completely destroys your little bit of FUD.



     


    Not to mention that under Steve Jobs, new Apple iPods were sold on Overstock.com -- they had to come from somewhere, and AFAIK, Apple is the only company that makes Apple iPods,

  • Reply 6 of 30
    negafoxnegafox Posts: 480member


    Slightly off-topic, but I do not see why most people avoid buying refurbished just so they can be the first to crack open a new product.  I am completely okay with buying a refurbished current-gen product just to save some money.  I bought a refurbished 15" retina MacBook Pro for 15% off the retail price a little while back and it did not even have a scratch on it.  Same warranty as retail, I believe, in case there is anything wrong with it.

  • Reply 7 of 30
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    Yeah, nice try.


     


    1. Do we know that this is actually "Apple's" store?



     


    Given that you can add a GeekSquad warranty to most products there (as opposed to AppleCare), it seems unlikely.

  • Reply 8 of 30
    mugzymugzy Posts: 38member


    This "seller" has only been on eBay since October, 2012

  • Reply 9 of 30
    If you don't purchase from an authorized Apple reseller, Apple can deny you any warranty service. I wouldn't be buying anything that expensive without having warranty guarantee.
  • Reply 10 of 30


    Wasn't this already talked about in a recent thread?


     


    "refurbished_outlet" has 34 neutrals and 36 negatives in the last six months;  everything from buyers never receiving shipments to receiving broken merchandise.


     


    I don't buy from eBay sellers with feedback like this.

  • Reply 11 of 30
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    Is this really an official Apple ebay store run by Apple?


     


    I'm asking because how come they offer third party warranties? That seems very strange. Why would I pay for an extra warranty from Geek Squad or Square Trade when buying a new Apple product?

  • Reply 12 of 30
    godriflegodrifle Posts: 267member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    Yeah, nice try.


     


    1. Do we know that this is actually "Apple's" store?


    2. If you read the last article on it, this has been in existence for years. Pre-Cook. So if it is directly owned by Apple, that completely destroys your little bit of FUD.



     


    Wrong much?


     


    1. This article plainly states that it is owned by Apple in the second paragraph.


    2. Checking the date on the store (http://myworld.ebay.com/refurbished_outlet/) shows the account was created roughly 13 months after Cook took the reigns of CEO.

  • Reply 13 of 30
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    negafox wrote: »
    Slightly off-topic, but I do not see why most people avoid buying refurbished just so they can be the first to crack open a new product.  <span style="line-height:1.231;">I am completely okay with buying a refurbished current-gen product just to save some money.  I bought a refurbished 15" retina MacBook Pro for 15% off the retail price a little while back and it did not even have a scratch on it.  Same warranty as retail, I believe, in case there is anything wrong with it.</span>

    I will go further. I think sometimes buying a refurbished product is better than buying new because the refurbished product has been checked out. I might question buying a refurbished product from anybody other than Apple though.

    It is possible Apple distributes refurbished products through E-Bay that are not the same quality as the ones Apple issues directly.
  • Reply 14 of 30
    godriflegodrifle Posts: 267member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 65C816 View Post


    They also have another store where they discount hardware, sometimes by up to 10%!!!  And even throw in free iPod Touch (when I bought mine)!!!


     


    So unfair and definitely not honest of them to offer an educational discount...


     


    Are you seriously on crack or something?  Every major electronics company has an ebay store.  



     


    Yours is a silly comparison -- the Education Store is clearly and plainly identified as an Apple-owned store. This eBay store is not.


     


    All the major electronics manufacturers that I do business with also clearly identify their eBay stores, which I think is the moral thing to do. While there is probably no legal requirement to do so, I simply would like Apple to have a similar moral compass.

  • Reply 15 of 30
    pfisherpfisher Posts: 758member


    If this is Apple, I would assume they are trying to reach the bargain shoppers who would only buy something at a certain price and still market to the regular crowds who will pay regular prices.


     


    I have a Mitsubishi 73" plasma TV that I got for a song. I got it through Dell Home. However, if you look other places, you will pay more. Depends on where you look.


     


    P

     

  • Reply 16 of 30
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by godrifle View Post

    1. This article plainly states that it is owned by Apple in the second paragraph.


     


    That makes it unerring fact¡ I prostrate myself before the almighty article, which plainly states whatever it states¡

  • Reply 17 of 30
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by godrifle View Post



    Another questionable move by Apple CEO Tim Cook: fundamentally changing the openness and honesty of Apple's dealings with customers.


     


    With people like you, when Tim Cook breathes it's a questionable fucking move.


     


    Seriously, you jump at shadows and really reach in order to validate your confirmation bias. There has been nothing but an INCREASE in openness and honesty, in numerous areas, since Cook took over- and anyone who sees the opposite is clearly not looking at the facts, but rather at a twisted reality they've invented because of their desire to hate. 

  • Reply 18 of 30
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    It's interesting how the reviews on eBay differ heavily from those on Amazon, the App Store and even Apple's own online store. They have a 99.7% positive feedback in the last 6 months with almost 11k items.


    Here is one negative review, there are only 36 for the entirety of the store) that stuck out:


    [IMG ALT=""]http://forums.appleinsider.com/content/type/61/id/21758/width/500/height/1000[/IMG]
  • Reply 19 of 30
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    It's interesting how the reviews on eBay differ heavily from those on Amazon, the App Store and even Apple's own online store. They have a 99.7% positive feedback in the last 6 months with almost 11k items.


    Here is one negative review, there are only 36 for the entirety of the store) that stuck out:


    1000

    Many of the 36 were resolved. In a couple of cases, the customer admitted that it was their mistake, not the store's. In others, it appears to have been a paperwork error (customer complains that they did not receive refund, store says that it was issued). Given the customers I've dealt with on eBay, it's not hard to believe that the customer was mistaken.

    In any event 99.7% satisfaction for over 10,000 transactions is pretty good.

    In any event, I don't know why it's an issue. There are all sorts of reasons to have different prices at different outlets and it's a legitimate business practice. For example, perhaps the ones sold on eBay don't have the correct packaging. Or perhaps Apple just wants to appeal to a different audience. It doesn't matter - they're free to have a sale any time they wish.

    Why is it that the people who whine that Apple is evil because they don't discount are the same ones who whine when Apple discounts?
  • Reply 20 of 30
    oneof52oneof52 Posts: 113member
    I've never been able to get the deal to work at MacMall. I click the link, enter the code, then select buy. The next screen that comes up is blank where the info should be and my cart is empty. Wonder if this would work over the phone.
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