buying computers off ebay

[isubeatle]

has anyone done this or have any advice on it? i'm looking for a new iMac and would love to get one of the 24" models, but they are a bit pricey for me.

i've been looking at them on ebay and it looks like you can get em for between 2-300 bucks less then buying a new one.

am i risking getting burned if i buy one of ebay?

thx

 

[HILLCYD]

I would have to wonder why they are being sold. I would spend the extra $200 and know what I am getting.

 

[IcSyU]

am i risking getting burned if i buy one of ebay?

You are risking getting burned buying anything off eBay...

 

[jumbopackage]

Spend the extra money and buy one new. Apple stuff has stupid high resale. If you want to save a few bucks, buy a certified refurbished one from Apple.

Or just buy a PC and get substance over style and save yourself a ton of money...

 

[MNclone]

If you are looking to buy a Mac, you are already throwing your money away, so Ebay is probably as good as any place to do that.

Sorry, couldn't resist.
I know a few people who have purchased computers on eBay. Lessons learned; don't buy from anyone overseas, only pay with Paypal, and confirm that the computer is new, not used or refurbished.

 

[Land Grant]

i bought a 6 mo. old mac powerbook on ebay. the seller was a technology buff who wanted to upgrade to mac's newest release. Essentially, i bought a like new computer for less than half the cost of new.

knowing that i was buying a used computer, i spent a lot of time emailing with the seller. i even looked at his personal website. basically, i wanted to be sure that he was who/what he said he was.

there are many sellers on ebay that just looked fishy to me. but like buying anything, a little research goes a long way.

 

[isubeatle]

sry to the pc people but macs are way better. besides i'm a graphic designer and i use a mac at work and can get the entire adobe line for free.


and i'm tired of windows machines dying on me. haven't tried linux yet, but i'll never go to Vista.

 

[huntt26]

If you're going with an apple, i would highly HIGHLY suggest their refurbished store on apple.com

Great prices, and great support.

 

[jumbopackage]

sry to the pc people but macs are way better. besides i'm a graphic designer and i use a mac at work and can get the entire adobe line for free.


and i'm tired of windows machines dying on me. haven't tried linux yet, but i'll never go to Vista.

Vista is no worse than XP. In fact, if you sat down at a vista machine with most of the eye candy turned off, I doubt you'd notice you weren't using XP. I notice literally no difference between my Vista laptop, XP desktop and XP computer at work.

And why do you think there are "refurb" powerbooks available in the first place?

Apple hardware is certainly better than most PC hardware, but it comes at an insane premium compared to what you actually get.

Apple == hype, largely. You're paying for an image and marketing, not substance. It's like paying extra for monster cable.

 

[HGPuck]

I won't get into the Apple v PC debate. All I know is from my personal experience with both and I know which I prefer. Your best bet to get an iMac cheaper is through Apple itself as a refurb or if you know anyone that is a student or teacher and you can get an education discount if they buy it, probably $100 on a 24".

 

[Go2Guy]

You are risking getting burned buying anything off eBay...

Gulp; I spent $1,700 on a great deal for a 50" Sony Bravia.

I recommend going through a business wholesaler instead of buying it from an individual.

And use Pay Pal.

 

[IcSyU]

Gulp; I spent $1,700 on a great deal for a 50" Sony Bravia.

I recommend going through a business wholesaler instead of buying it from an individual.

And use Pay Pal.

Good or bad experience?

 

[Go2Guy]

Good or bad experience?

I'm very happy; it's been almost a year.

 

[Cyclone42]

When ebay started out about 12 years ago or so, it almost entirely consisted of computer geeks selling computer hardware. It obviously isn't that way any more, but computer stuff still makes up a large amount of their business. Basically, as a buyer you are competing against a lot of people when you try to buy computer stuff off ebay. Bargains mostly consist of specialized hardware (I found a good deal on an auto adapter for a notebook last week).

The big thing about ebay is that you always pay shipping, and often get really gipped on shipping. People on ebay love to put a really high price on shipping. Whereas, with many online merchants (such as newegg), you can often find short-term deals with free shipping. For example, about a month ago I bought an Acer Aspire One "netbook" from newegg for $330, with free shipping. I just checked ebay, and a typical price for the same item is $350-$400, with $20 or more for shipping.

 

[drmwevr08]

Perhaps if you are planning on spending more there are more deals to be had. I am in the market for a fairly basic laptop and have missed a couple of 500 deals or better but mostly I could go about anywhere and get what I need for 550-650 and see absolutely nothing better on ebay. The difference is on ebay you are running some risk. I definitely wont end up buying on ebay this time around.

For the record I have bought a number of things on ebay but the one significant electronic purchase (a digital cam) went only marginally. I bought from a private seller and the cam was ok, and still is, but the warranty that supposedly came with it would have cost me $50 to 'transfer'. I didnt bother (would have killed the savings I had hoped for) and luckily I havent had any issues.

 

[Psyclone]

sry to the pc people but macs are way better. besides i'm a graphic designer and i use a mac at work and can get the entire adobe line for free.


and i'm tired of windows machines dying on me. haven't tried linux yet, but i'll never go to Vista.

I'd never get an Apple, because I'm born to tinker and the PC wastes endless hours as I tinker with free applications, Linux and all sorts of stuff; most of which I delete after my exploration. But having said that, I'm out in California visiting my brother and he uses both. He uses the Apple for creating advertising for newspapers, and the PC for everything else. In addition to a loyal following, Apple has a niche where it serves a valuable purpose. Not that you couldn't do the same thing on a PC, but either because the software is provided free, or it's just easier to use for some people, it finds it's place.

We spend some time while I was visiting by brother hooking up a wireless router and trying to get an older camera to work on his PC. It was incompatible with the Apple, which is fairly typical of a lot of things, but some of the stuff you have to do to get this kind of stuff setup it's just too much for people that just want the PC to work. So with the Apple it was just a non-starter. With the PC, there was lots of opportunities to ***** about the complexity of the setup procedure. But we did have success when we figured out the camera only supported WEP wireless security so we had to back off to WEP to get it to work.

 

[CYdTracked]

Make sure you read the terms of the auction carefully and factor in the shipping too. If you know what you want, how much you want to pay for it, and research the seller to make sure they have good reputation and are legit then Ebay can be a great place to find deals.

 

[jbhtexas]

Bargains mostly consist of specialized hardware (I found a good deal on an auto adapter for a notebook last week).

Another "bargain" area can exist with computers coming off lease, particularly Dell PCs. If you need cheap basic computing, you can find some real bargain prices.

The big thing about ebay is that you always pay shipping, and often get really gipped on shipping. People on ebay love to put a really high price on shipping.

Agreed...you just have to take it into account when bidding, and let the item pass on by when the item+shipping cost gets ridiculous...

I've bought over a dozen computers and loads of other computer stuff on ebay, and never really had a problem.

 

[drmwevr08]

On a barely related note - if anyone comes across another 20% off dell outlet coupon drop me a PM. I got one this weekend but it was apparently only good last Friday. Missed it by that much...

 

[isuforlife]

Go to the Apple Store, they will give you the best buy