URGENT HELP NEEDED: is it safe to buy a powerbook from ebay?(thanks)

hikohtahikohta
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
do you guys and girls here at appleinsider condone or support buying a brand new powerbook G4 800 mhz from ebay? i mean, i know of course, the seller has to have a real good positive rating, but what do you guys suggest? should i fork over extra money from an official apple reseller or from my college store (about $2900 from Carnegie Mellon store), or save and use ebay? help PLEASE!!! thanks in advance!

btw, i wrote urgent because i need a laptop real soon, for most of the items on ebay are pre-sale auctions, so i have to wait a full month to get my stuff. so i need to know asap. thanks again!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    If you're inferring that by purchasing a laptop off of ebay, there is a good chance that it is stolen... then I think the seller's feedback rating should instill some confidence in you.



    There are some things that I will spend more on just to support local shops. First is my local camera shop. The guys that work there know me so well they'll take care of me if I'm in a pinch... and I doubt B&H would. Second is my local bike shop, for pretty much the same reasons. I spend a little extra, but it's worth it.



    Anyhow, buy the laptop the cheapest place you can find it. That's what I would do
  • Reply 2 of 10
    chychchych Posts: 860member
    Sure, get it from ebay ONLY if the guy accepts COD, or more preferably, an escrow serivce, or credit card (since you can cancel the charge). A lot of those acutions are scams.



    And cool, I'm going to be a CMU freshman very soon
  • Reply 3 of 10
    hikohtahikohta Posts: 41member
    thanks guys. anyone else? oh yea, i am going to be CMU freshman this september too. wat is your intended major?
  • Reply 4 of 10
    chychchych Posts: 860member
    Me, I'm aiming for a Mech + Biomedical Engineering double major... you?



    Oh, be sure to get an Airport card for the campus wide access...
  • Reply 5 of 10
    hikohtahikohta Posts: 41member
    bachelor of fine arts
  • Reply 6 of 10
    pyr3pyr3 Posts: 946member
    If you can afford it get the skyline card instead. It improves reception on TiBook over Airport. It's been posted in a couple recent threads in current hardware.



    DON'T get it (TiBook) through a money order, or bank transfer or such. Sellers that only offer those methods of payment are subject to suspicion.



    [ 07-25-2002: Message edited by: pyr3 ]</p>
  • Reply 7 of 10
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    do you have a link to the actual auction?



    if you do post it and then try to get murbot to take a look. he's got a gig checking on the legality of apple items for e-bay. if it's a scam, he's probably run into these guys before.



    -alcimedes
  • Reply 8 of 10
    pyr3pyr3 Posts: 946member
    [quote]Originally posted by alcimedes:

    <strong>do you have a link to the actual auction?



    if you do post it and then try to get murbot to take a look. he's got a gig checking on the legality of apple items for e-bay. if it's a scam, he's probably run into these guys before.



    -alcimedes</strong><hr></blockquote>



    I don't know if murbot already saw <a href="http://forums.appleinsider.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=7&t=001295"; target="_blank">this thread</a>. But there is a website and everything for this guy (although crappy and mostly ripped from apple.com), so he might want to look into it.
  • Reply 9 of 10
    thunderpoitthunderpoit Posts: 709member
    if that guy (eaten apple) i sthe one who has the auction, i would not go for it. he only accepts money orders/casheir checks/bank transfers, and the site looks like bullsh¡t to me. probally should change his name to rotten apple
  • Reply 10 of 10
    pyr3pyr3 Posts: 946member
    I think it's "eaten" apple because there isn't anything left for the rest of us. It's already 'eaten'.
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