Buying BNIB from Private Sellers

[a ronin]

I know we all like to save a few bucks when ever possible and buying through private sellers is a good way to do that, but how would one be able to tell if something is new or used despite what the ads will lead you to believe?

I've seen some big savings on MBP 15 and 17", in some cases beating the Student Discount by $200-300 and no tax!

Did Apple shrink wrap their boxes? Notebook unit itself? I'm almost certain the power cords and miscellaneous things inside are, but I'm more concerned with the MBP itself.

I'm so anal-rententive when it comes to buying used. The thought of someone touching it with their icky fingers, playing with it for a few weeks then deciding they didn't like it so they try to sell it as BNIB, makes me nauseous.

 

[CEpeep]

I know we all like to save a few bucks when ever possible and buying through private sellers is a good way to do that, but how would one be able to tell if something is new or used despite what the ads will lead you to believe?

I've seen some big savings on MBP 15 and 17", in some cases beating the Student Discount by $200-300 and no tax!

Did Apple shrink wrap their boxes? Notebook unit itself? I'm almost certain the power cords and miscellaneous things inside are, but I'm more concerned with the MBP itself.

I'm so anal-rententive when it comes to buying used. The thought of someone touching it with their icky fingers, playing with it for a few weeks then deciding they didn't like it so they try to sell it as BNIB, makes me nauseous.

Buy it from a trustworthy seller, someone who's on Apple's official resellers list. Honestly though, I ended up buying a "refurbished" MacBook Pro from MacConnection for $1450, and it was pristine. It had undergone an 8-point inspection, but it looked brand new. I couldn't tell that anyone had ever touched it, and if it weren't for the missing plastic seal and stickers on the box, you could have passed it off as new.

 

[a ronin]

Plastic seal and stickers? So they do come with a shrink wrap around the box? Is this what I'm understanding to be true?

 

[swatbat]

Plastic seal and stickers? So they do come with a shrink wrap around the box? Is this what I'm understanding to be true?

No they do not but they have a circle of tape that seals the box over the flap.

 

[emailthatguy]

refurbs from apple come w/ the FULL warranty a new mac comes with. all the same parts, all the same guarantees.

btw apple student discounts are generally 100 bucks. only time i believe they are more is if youre a registered student developer, which costs 100 bucks to become one and you have to give all your univeristy info to them.

 

[bahula03]

apple student discounts range from $20 to $200 depending upon the cpu.

all apple cpu's come pretty clearly sealed, usually one end folded/glued shut and the other end with a sticker seal that's easy to see if it's been tampered with.