I Bought a $200 MacBook Pro on Ebay and It Went VERY Wrong
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 มี.ค. 2024
- This was definitely a very interesting video for me. I wanted to share what some of my online computer shopping experiences have been like. This unfortunately happens to be the weirdest encounter in 2 years for me. Like I said this video is a PSA for people to be carful when buying online. This video is not meant to bash.
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Sorry that this happened to you. There are a lot of scumbags out there and this seller is one of them. Once I saw that he never logged out and his information and password were still on there I would’ve sent the thing back straight away. That clearly shows that the laptop was non-functional for its intended purposes. That should have been enough for a no question asked refund from eBay right there.
This model can be erased (wiped) without previous owner’s password. iCloud lock will gone too. This model does not have a touchid or T2 chip, so it is not required for previous owner to wipe it.
Scams won’t work if you know how eBay works.
Sorry that happened to you. Its important to leave reviews and you should list what happened in your case. This may save another buyer.
i was able to reset a encrypted ssd
Wrong doing. Don’t even mess with it. Immediately open a not as described case and send it back. You are covered by eBay 100% money back guarantee.
From experience I guess. Test before tampering with.
Some sellers are scammers and some buyers are scammers I’ve ran into both it’s very frustrating,,looks like you had a great outcome.
This happened to me 3 times from eBay and Amazon, the best thing to do is take pictures and videos like you did. The worst is when the buyers are trying to scam you, I had this happen to a $5,000 item, where the customer fiddled around with it and broke it 'by taking parts out of it', returned it, and then tried sending messages that they would like to buy it back at a severely discounted price. The only thing you should have not done is replace the battery, just leave it in the same condition as you got it and return it.
Yeah it really sucks. Sorry about what happened! That’s crazy. People are insane. In the video I just put the original one back in. I only took it out to test it.
@@JaydonWalteryou do not seem to have any knowledge about electronics. The screen is broken this has nothing to do with GPU. Oh my gosh I'm cringing at this point.
Dude I had the same situation but as a seller. I sold a VR headset back in 2019 as "Poor condition for parts" like it worked but not that well. It was clearly damaged, had cracks and everything. The buyer forcefully sent the package back to me, opened a case with ebay and I never even got a single email from ebay or the buyer stating they even returned the item. The buyer complained that the item was damaged and I was like "well obviously I listed it as for parts and that it was damaged". And before they sent it back they cut the hdmi cable so it would never be able to be used again. So forcefully out of my paypal account was way more than what the buyer paid for the item. I sold it for 60, ebay took 184 dollars. So left me in debt on my paypal account that I've since abandoned. Never selling on ebay again.
Keep in mind that in 2019 I was a minor and it was the first thing I ever listed on ebay.
Buying used stuff is always a gamble. Some time ago I bought a used HP ProBook from an classified ad, that was stated to be in good condition and in fully working order. It was technically working, but instead of cleanly shutting down the fan would stay on at maximum rpm. After disassembling the laptop it turned out that it had liquid damage, which the seller didn't disclose.
For someone who also refurbishes macbooks, there are a lot of unscrupulous people out there but surprised this is the first time you have encountered this behaviour. It’s good that ebay supported you in all this. I have received macbooks that are marked water damaged, but then have oil on them. Macs where the cpu has been fried and screens that are ‘unfixable’. I have taken these as learning experiences. Learning how to diagnose and fix some of these issues has been the way to go for me. From replacing components on the logic board to performing my first lcd panel replacement, its all a great learning experience. My goal is to make them better and often means replacing components from a second machine to make one good one. So parts are valuable too.
Youre too nice for hidng their identiy. If I was you , I would expose these scammers to the world so nobody else buys from them...
I thought about it but I figured I would lay low in this scenario
The seller and the previous laptop owner could be a different persons.
@@VladislavBaglaiTrue. Especially since it shipped from another state. Bought something on eBay where the seller was in California and it shipped from New York. I didn't mind as I had it in 2 instead of 5 days. Another time, I bought some through Amazon and the package arrived from Walmart. Now I check other sites and reviews carefully.
the moral of the story, take picture before and after to protect yourself always!
I bought the same type of MacBook and it was said as advertised but a few days later I was cleaning the screen and when it turned back on it was the same screen cracked and turns out there was likely a crack behind the bezel so if there’s damage to the body then be VERY careful when cleaning it.
I always check the reviews. I bought a 2015 i7 MacBook Air 2 years ago in pristine condition for 220 bucks. His reviews were top ranked and everything matched what he said.
I usually do that too but it seems as if they never sold anything before. No reviews but it said 3 items sold
I wonder how this video showed up in my recommendation (within 5 hours of its release and with only 44 views) and also I clicked it and also watched it without skipping.
Same here lol. Also I completely watched it.
Me too
Same here.
It's great that you took video evidence. I always take photos of a package when it arrives from eBay just in case but I'll be switching to video from now on too.
NAL. I recommend to record as much as you can, all in one unedited session. This includes the unopened box, the condition of the box, the opening, the condition after opening, and testing out the purchase. I would also verbalize anything you see as a concern.
Saw this in my recommendations, watched all the way to the end liked the video and was shocked to see you have less thab a 1k subscribers, please keep up the good work you are destined to blow ❤
Sorry it happened to you. Tip for a future: do not purchase a “working” laptop without pictures showing it actually turns on.
The issue with the display caused by physical damage in the bottom right corner of the display (where the display bezel is cracked). It has nothing to do with battery, you are right. The seller is just a liar.
According to “APFS file system” and system reset. On this model you can do it easily just from recovery mode (Cmd + R on startup). No admin password needed. The only issue you can face is EFI password (which btw can be erased easily with a proper programmer), if previous owner set it.
Yes, it’s very simple to reset however, it requires an administrator password to get access to disk utility. Typically I only buy them with photos of them working. However, this time I was sort a desperate and just trusted the seller. I shouldn’t have
@@JaydonWalter you can choose “Erase this Mac” when administrator password is requested in recovery. Laptop will reboot and stay some time on a black screen. Then boot into Recovery mode again and you can use Disk utility to format SSD and reinstall MacOS.
@@VladislavBaglai This is correct, had the same thing happen to me, weirdly the laptop wasn't iCloud locked but still had their user account and a password on it. I just clicked "Erase this mac" and went through the setup process, expecting it to come to an iCloud lock screen, amazingly it didn't.
Thanks for the heads up.😊
this video with proof and evidence can be used to show ebay that the seller is the one lying ... hoping at least ebay steps up (still watching FTR) and give you a FULL refund
12:25 ... YEAH ... total scam ... (still watching as i type) i'd contact ebay full refund or not so (the scummy seller probably has tons of accounts) can get blacklisted or something
eBay should have a money back guarantee on every purchase. If the item gets returned to the seller, and they don’t refund you or you don’t agree upon something, eBay will give you your money back after a few days of opening a case with eBay. They take the money from either the sellers funds or the sellers bank account, (if both don’t have all the funds they will use eBay’s money)
From the moment they pulled that bullcrap with "it is the battery" but the display is clearly damaged, you should've returned it no questions asked. There are problems that will eventually happen, when you're not exactly tech savvy, people will try to profit.
You sealed it up better than you received it.
i just got this video recommended to me, i watched it all the way through and i subscribed at 580 subs. i honestly enjoyed the video! i was not expecting to see what the seller attempted to pull, thats a new one for me.
I just pooped 💩
When you powered up the computer first time, it seemed to me there was an issue with the display for sure. Regardless the problem was there before the seller shipped out the computer or it got damaged in the shipment, I would contact the seller right away and opened up a case with eBay because the computer is not as described. I wouldn’t open up the computer to connect a new battery. It is good enough to tell whether there is a display problem by connecting the external power supply.
Anyway no foul from you in my opinion, and hope you got your refund.
This. Don't try to fix or replace parts. Immediate photo and make the claim. If you try to open, then the seller has a legitimate concerned that you broke it.
You were very professional handling all of this. Sorry about your experience. I would chalk this up to the law of large numbers. It’s not if you get something that isn’t right when you are buying and selling a lot it’s just when. Thanks for sharing with us.
And never ever ever buy something you don’t see in on state unless you are willing to perhaps get even temp burned. Thankfully eBay really did have your back. I never thought of filming packaging, excellent idea. I’m sorry that happened.
damn ebay is a my go to just have to make sure to look at the sellers reputation, ratings, reviews and how long they have been in the platform before picking up a good deal that may seem to good to be true
thats an unfortunate situation sorry you had to go through that, the seller was honestly not trying to give that money up.
Like the Final Cut Express box! i have dish software❤
Wow dude, what a terrible experience. I bought an old Dell Latitude laptop years ago from eBay, and thankfully everything was legit, but you just never know! Hope you never encounter this again!
there is no way a battery can affect the screen in any way shape of form, I would've done the research before hand because those butterfly macs has an issue with the flex cable and there is no way you can replace the flex cable since it's soldered on to the screen its self. I would at least get a 2019 one as this model came with Quad Core processors in the 13inch and fixed most of the issues. But still nothing can beat apple silicon CPUs
Yes, I will say the least reliable Mac has to be that butterfly Mac’s
@@JaydonWalter agreed not only those macs are slow to today’s standards, but they overhead had screen issues keyboard issues and in some cases they would just die for no reason.
Congratulations, you ran into scammers, keep up the good work!
Ugh. This is a great example of why I only buy used from reputable stores. Especially when the newer AppleID Find My is not signed out and you cannot attach it to your ID. Always screenshot auctions you win. Before and after the win.
Thank God, you were recording it or you would’ve been screwed out of $200
Too many sellers (and buyers) on ebay do try and scam you. Good thing you had that video evidence!
Something similar happened to me recently. I purchased a used smartphone on eBay and it was listed as working and stuff. Got it yesterday and while inspecting it I noticed that there was some corrosion in the charging port that was not specified. I am returning it (the seller just went straight to full refund or partial). I also had another case where I purchased a phone on eBay and when I got it the phone was liquid damaged. There was no mention of that ANYWHERE in the listing and the seller has not responded to any of my messages about it. Sent that one back and am waiting for a refund on that. eBay can be a good place to buy from and sometimes can be a bad place. Just have to really look and read.
Incidentally I'm in the UK and I just bought one of these exact models, arriving tomorrow, from eBay to repair. I paid £143 including postage and it's in apparently excellent condition overall. The battery is showing "Service recommended" and apparently it randomly powers off on battery and also when connected to USB C but less often. I have bought a replacement battery already which wasn't cheap (£66).
Also having restore and fixed multiple macbooks in the past, I'm pretty sure you can get around the password by simply using a Bootable USB Mac installer and erasing the SSD and re-installing a fresh OS. Alternatively if that doesn't work surely you can swap the SSD out for another one, and if it's not the apple type SSD then you can use an adapter which you can buy for about $10 or less.
Yeah typically you can get around that but when the SSD is APFS encrypted then it requires the user password to access the utilities menu. Which is unfortunate.
@@JaydonWalter Update.
Arrived today, battery replacement was straightforward except the battery information ribbon cable connector was difficult to fully insert, had to wiggle it side to side for it to fully insert, initially it was showing as a cross through the battery symbol and would only turn on when plugged in before I got the ribbon cable properly seated. Booted up and works like a charm.
Transpires the original battery only had 25% of it's original capacity (around 1,250mah) despiter only have 242 cycles on it.
Now i've got it working, I could stick it on eBay for a profit, I paid £201 including a brand new battery so could get £80-£120 profit from it, but contrary to a lot of the comments I actually quite like it. I own an M3 Macbook M3 Pro chip but this compliments it quite well as a smaller and lighter model.
Also I just checked the seller you bought the item from - sold on Tuesday 12th March at 5:54PM, sure enough as you mentioned it was listed for $200 but it shows a best offer was accepted. The seller only has 2 feedback currently and to me that would be a red flag to treat the listing with extra caution.
You got your money back. On Ebay that is a win. Move on. In my experience, it is always a crap shoot to buy used computers on Ebay. I only buy from highly rated sellers and even then I hold my breath when buying.
It sounds like a scam. The guy was trying to scam you. He knew that the computer didn’t work and try to sell it as if it wasn’t working and then lied to Ebay.
In this case, it was necessary to return the product immediately and not disassemble and try to repair it! The seller is absolutely right.
wowww that was the lowest of the low!! people suckkk anything for a quick buck. in your case a few HUNDRED
I guess it's been a month but I just saw this video. That's an lcd problem not a battery problem. I have done a few lcd fixes on windows computers which I know it's not a Mac but it's the same thing when a screen is broken. I just uploaded a screen replacement on my gaming computer this week as a matter of fact. The first one I broke myself, by accident.
same thing happened to me today, faulty logic board got sent and it caused the keyboard and trackpad not to work + ic lock
I've been looking on eBay to update from my 2015 MacBook Pro. Man, I tell you. I'm not even sure about ordering a MacBook Pro on eBay unless it is brand new. I don't trust the used ones. I get a sick feeling in my stomach every time I think about purchased a used one or a refurbished one. I don't think I will though. Sorry about what happened with your purchase. That sucks.
i bought my first macbook on amazon refurbished and the macbook looked new in terms of the screen and outside but the keyboard has keys that fell off and are loose. i did order “like new”
If you don't get what's described, Paypal dispute ASAP.
I bought a 2015 MacBook Air from Best Buy and it works GREAT ! The Apple Logo still lites up :) Its fast and cant say anything bad.
A red flag is if the product image is a generic image, such as an iPad image from Google Images or the Apple site, likely it’s a scam. It happened a few years ago and reduced price iPad Pro M1 was a used, bent 2018 model. The seller nagged the buyer several times to unlock the iCloud account. Of course they lied (someone didn’t reset the device and they seller didn’t check to ensure it was factory reset, assuming the buyer turned it on and setup the iCloud-impossible.) Got half a refund and the escalation got the other half. Even if a seller says they’re reputable, usually they are, but in general buying Apple devices on eBay is risky. Cameras, that’s fine. No problems so far.
I bought a Ryzen 5900x for $200 USD used open box, to my surprise the processor would not boot pass windows loading screen. I contacted ebay and they help me to get a full refund, I was contacted by the seller a month after to return the CPU since it was refunded. I laughed and still have it in my collection, I am going to try it again when I get new MOBO but I doubt it will work.
I got scammed by someone selling a laptop... turned out they never had it and had to go rounds getting my money back through eBay.
They refused to pay me because apparently he got scammed but forwarded that scam to get his money back.
Wow. That’s weird!
MacBook Pro 2017 base non touch bar has been selling online like anything nowadays.
I wonder why. Even in EU, they are selling this "newly arrived" model. I got one for €500 with one year gurentee no question return, I know I paid alot, but that was all the money I had, M1 MBA would cost €850 here.
500 euros?
I literally bought a "for spares or repair" 2016 A1708 MacBook Pro yesterday from eBay UK - the seller had it up for £129 but I offered £100 and they accepted. What was wrong with it? The computer had no OS installed and the seller was not technically minded, stating "You can either take it to a service provider or an apple genius to get an OS installed" as if nobody else has ever been able to install OS onto a Mac themselves.
Low and behold I did install OS Ventura and it runs fine. Only other slight glitch was the "Enter" key was broken and the butterfly clip and actuator was broken too, so I've bought a "lower palmrest" (bottom half of the MacBook) for £40 in great condition and will fit that. Already sold the 2016 MacBook Pro for £190. Had it not been for the dodgy keyboard enter key, it would have been £90 profit for simply spending 25 minutes installing an OS.
Also bought a 2017 one for £140, fitted a new battery for £66. Great condition and fully working with new battery fitted by myself for a total of £206. Sold it on eBay for £245.
Bought another 2017 model - lower half of the MacBook - won on auction for £44. Bought a second "Faulty" MacBook for £92 including postage and took the screen off of that to fit to the other one. Now have a 2017 MacBook Pro working.
The lower half from the "faulty" unit I took the screen from it transpired did actually work but it was just stuck in some sort of boot loop and doing an NVRAM/PRAM reset sorted it, clean install of the OS and now I'm using it plugged into a monitor since I nicked the screen off of it for the other one.
I own a 2023 14 inch M3 Pro chip MacBook Pro but having a smaller 13 inch MacBook Pro which is lighter and smaller really compliments the larger M3 model.
In the UK a 2017 13 inch MBP with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD typically sells for £200-£250 tops. If you have to pay 500 euros that is majorly expensive. Surely it's cheaper to buy one from the UK, and import it.... would still be cheaper?
Its cheaper and more confident to buy a flexGate A1707 for the same price, usually sellers just do not want to bother with the repair and just sell and upgrade, these "fully functional" guys with no working screen on photos are much riskier.
I’ve been looking into getting a late model MacBook, because I’ve not used MacOS since the Bondi blue days. Can you send me a link to your eBay listings?
macs now feel the same as they did in 2007
i'd avoid apple entirely
Too many scammers on eBay I got scammed on I bought iPhone 11 Pro it turned out seller took my money never sent me iPhone I had contact eBay and they sort it out for me and I got full refund,
Please read the reviews before buying from any seller on eBay this was my biggest mistake I did not read sellers feedback,
Great video thank you helping everybody on TH-cam for putting this video up 😊 /peace😊
A scammer probably, been through same type of sellers.
2017-2018 was kind of a bad couple years for MacBook reliability, on top of the fact you got scammed on this one. Battery causing screen issues of this nature doesn’t make any kind of sense as a diagnostic, even if they had disclosed that information to you up front.
I hate resellers they inflate prices 🤬
Agreed
Luckily I don’t do that. I sell locally and actually set my prices lower than most business and individuals in my area. I tend to buy cheaper devices that need work.
Pretend you are driving a car, Dash cam saves lives. Body cam saves you from legal issues too, If someone accuses you of sending another laptop for example, Body cam will record everything, So you have your own lawyer working for free for you. Trust me always record everything.
I would not buy used electronics. I'd be afraid it might contain bed bugs.
the seller likely got banned for scamming
As an experienced reseller, did you ask if the seller has the administrator password? Did you ask for a photo showing the battery recharge cycles? Why would you buy a computer without a photo of a working display? Do you check for remote management of the laptop? Do you check if there is group access to the laptop? I think you should look at this as a learning experience. The problems with the MacBook were not only on the hardware side. Beware reselling a hacked MacBook..
Yes, typically I check all those things. The seller said they would wipe it remotely. Which they never did. Nor have I heard of wiping a Mac remotely. I guess I just took their word for it. Since I asked if there was any issues besides the battery. Yes, I always test and look through every device I get before selling. I have been doing this since late 2021 and I’m fairly experienced in the Mac world. However, this was the first time I got a device that was this bad. I was also in desperate need for a 2017 model but I guess I should have waited and not have jumped on it so quick.
If the laptop doesn't come with a fresh installation of the MacOS and a wiped drive, I would assume there is something wrong.
Scammers on the Internet. You always run the risk of this on eBay
Sucks this happened to you. Still, good video. Keep up
This why I don't do eBay anymore.
Did you give him a negative review
Welcome to eBay, as a 20 year seller I’ve seen this all before. Also, never pack a return better and waste money on packing material for a bad return on this.
eBay has turned into a shithole. It was once a place to make good deals, both as a seller and buyer. I am also selling and buying on eBay as a commercial user. It's a nightmare. That is what happens when corporate greed paired with criminal energy run a platform instead of an online shop.
Sad it happened but this is the real world when this woman is trying to scam you.
dont send EVIDENCE to seller. send it to EBAY
You were suppose to ask the seller about icloud lock
If I were You I'd stick to selling Pop in Your Garden .. You couldn't flip a pancake
I have been doing it for years.
Pretty good at it 🥱 selling cheap items is very hard and doesn’t work for me.
THIS IS WHY YOU DONT BUY USED ELECTRONICS FROM EBAYYYYYY!!!!!!!
that's because ebay is a shit. it happened a similar thing to me but I was the seller, they received the product and told they didn't and ebay even refound them. so i'm here without the money and without the product
How much would have this gotten you in profit being that it’s an old Mac.
About $80-$100
Why buy 2017 and risk butterfly keyboard and screen delaminating issues? Better off going with early 2015
Early 2015’s have more screen delaminations than the 2017’s. Really any Mac that’s a retina 2012 and up has the delamination issue. Never had issues with the butterfly keyboard either
My issues have always and only been from an Asian sellers…
Where is the touchbar????😭
There were two MacBook Pro models of 2017. One was the more expensive version with the touch bar and the other was the cheaper one without the Touch Bar
i bought 2011 MacBook pro for $200 in my city to
Don’t use E-Bay … they usually just help the sellers 👎
im watching this on a mac book pro 2017 13'
Scammers everywhere buddy.
lol seeing the seller's fake pictures I see why they scammed you, they probably stole that macbook too
be careful look at feedback and how old a seller profile is. I've seen some sweet 'deals' coming from brand new accounts and they are just scams
11:23 this girl was trying to play you
Seller was clearly some punk young female trying it and upset you caught them out , she backed down once you presented video evidence , eBay generally is quite good and siding with buyers for this trick
hahahah $200+ for mac that has flexgate , ssd that die , butterfly keyboard and a lot more issues
its worse Mac apple made ever
this thing offered to me for $100 and i said Nope
will never touch this trash
I haven’t had a model in yet with the flex gate issue nor one that had a bad SSD. Never seen issues with the butterfly keyboard either. But it is definitely the most problematic Mac out there.
I am getting into hacking bc of these ppl. Scam the scammers 😉 and you wont feel any guilt.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Honestly you could have gone further into fixing this before returning or take the lost
Not really. It would have needed a new display and that’s too expensive
I just buy a MacBook Pro 2018 touch
for 180 euro only battery is dead
Hi Jayden it’s Alrich Hotz from elementary school how’ve you been
Hi Alrich! I was thinking about you not that long ago! I have been great. How about you?
@@JaydonWalter I've been quit well I recently joined a new soccer club and found out a month later that I was playing a D1 soccer team so my soccer career has really taken off this past year.
I was actually watching your video after my soccer practice to see what you've been up to cuz last time I saw one of your vids was when you were destroying the tv
@@picklecat9503awesome! Glad to hear all is well. Yes I haven’t posted in a long time! Haha
post office here in uk would never accept a shipment freely moving inside a box of this size. i assume any logical person in usps too. i don't know if either party's evidence counts but judgement on ebay side was quite easy. you did not harass them. it was a lie, simple. an amateur wannabe thief.
by the way, probably there was something in between screen and keyboard sandwiched that caused the screen failure.
Harassing seller 😐😐😐
Yeah eBay didnt believe their side and refunded you. That's what happened.
Well buying 2017 Intel Macbook is well… not very wise. Fine getting 2015 for somebody who has not enough money but still. I would not buy anything Intel these days.
With the new M chips out those definitely make a difference. However, most Mac’s are Intel to this day and are definitely a lot cheaper. You get all the features that would get in an M chip MacBook. Accept you just get a device that’s a little bit slower and has a fan 🤷
I really don’t know why you bothered to carry on. You should simply have raised the issue with eBay and got your money back. It was obviously a pile of shit.
Never buy used.
bro doesn't know how to erase a mac 🤔
Super easy. Don’t know why they didn’t do it before hand
Check reviews plus how many reviews low ones be carful
Typically I do! However this person was just some individual with no reviews. 3 items sold and had been on eBay since 2017. I figured it was just a normal person selling their used computer 🤦
They tried to scam you.
No need to be disingenuous they did not send a completely destroyed device as you say and it does not render completely useless to what you do because you even said it was worth $100 so get your story straight
I said it renders completely useless because the display is broken! It cannot be used and there is a password on the device. Therefore, I’m locked out of a broken computer. The laptop at most is worth $100. I paid over $200. They sent it to me knowing it has that issue and refused to give me a refund.