| This entry is my personal experience I wanted to | | | | these people come up with a different place?!) |
| share with all the Apple laptop fans who would like to | | | | About a week after listing was posted my laptop sold... |
| upgrade their MacBook or MacBook Pro with a newer | | | | to a person with "0" feedback. Googling the address |
| model and lower the damage this upgrade will do to | | | | on profile showed Turkish Embassy in Malta (?!) No |
| their wallets. | | | | email, no payment, no replies to my inquiries. |
| Toward the end of the year I found myself dying to | | | | EBay refunds your final value fees 8 days after filing |
| get this 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo 13" MacBook | | | | unpaid item dispute, but there's no refund of your listing |
| Unibody that came out last October. It is not a | | | | fees. If you used any listing upgrades - you're screwed. |
| particularly new model, yet a significant upgrade from | | | | A $70 Featured First upgrade will get you lots of |
| my old 13" MacBook that would satisfy all my photo/ | | | | views and potential buyers, but if one of "Nigerians" or |
| video editing, internet browsing and other needs. Plus, I | | | | "Turkish diplomats" does the purchase - your loss. |
| really like the new design. | | | | |
| Price tag on this Unibody model is still around | | | | Second time around laptop was sold the buyer was |
| $800-$1000 depending on the place you go to buy it. I | | | | offering to send a money order for $2000 and was |
| did not want to spend more than $600, though. | | | | asking to send the laptop along with the price |
| Unfortunately, Apple still doesn't offer any "trade in" | | | | difference. I believe nowadays everyone has heard of |
| programs. So, I needed to sell my old MacBook to | | | | this one as well. |
| raise the rest of the cash. | | | | |
| | | | | Third time: buyer paid from hacked paypal account. |
| I decided to check internet for ideas. All the forums are | | | | Had I shipped the laptop same day - I would have lost |
| filled with posts advising eBay and Craigslist. (Come | | | | it. The owner of the account opened the unauthorized |
| to think of it, these two come up every time you face | | | | transaction claim the next morning. |
| the need to sell something.) | | | | |
| | | | | I still think eBay is great place to BUY things, but it sure |
| Craigslist | | | | isn't the place to sell. |
| | | | |
| Idea: | | | | The best place I found to sell my MacBook on-line |
| | | | | was surprised with a detailed classification of ALL |
| | | | | APPLE LAPTOP models. To my satisfaction they |
| | | | | offered $420 for my model and (I just had to check) |
| | | | | $365 for the 1.83GHz Core Duo model. |
| | | | | |
| | | | | Since my goal was $400 to begin with I stopped to |
| | | | | check further. I didn't find any hidden fine print fees or |
| | | | | 20pages long vague disclaimers. |
| | | | | |
| - List your MacBook locally | | | | Procedure is very straightforward: describe your |
| - Get the buyer pick it up and hand you the desired | | | | laptop, they give you cash offer for it. If you are happy |
| cash | | | | with it - fill out quick contact form and submit it. You |
| - No fees, no shipping and, seemingly, no hassle | | | | receive confirmation email. Best part: THEY PAY |
| Reality: | | | | FOR SHIPPING. They even send you special box |
| - You get tons of calls from people offering to help | | | | designed for shipping laptops, so, you know it won't get |
| you sell your macbook for a "small and reasonable" | | | | damaged. Once you get the box - pack your laptop |
| fee | | | | and drop the box off at any FedEx or Kinko's. As |
| - You receive calls with offers that are ridiculously | | | | soon as your laptop arrives LaptopsIntoCash sends |
| lower than what you asked for | | | | you check or paypal payment. You can track the |
| - You have to repost your ad every couple of days | | | | package through FedEx site at any time. |
| so it doesn't get lost among all the new posts published | | | | Being paranoid after eBay failures I called the number |
| every hour. Reposting is tricky, too: you need to modify | | | | listed: 1-888-880-8283. A friendly lady (not a machine) |
| your ad each time, so Craigslist's software sees it as | | | | picked up: "Laptops Into Cash. How can I help you?..." |
| new, otherwise it will be blocked as being too similar to | | | | She walked me through the process again, added they |
| your older ones.eBay | | | | offer $5 extra for all laptops sent back within 3 days |
| Idea: | | | | of the date the box is received by customer. I was |
| - List your MacBook (or any other laptop, desktop, car | | | | also told that they are legally bound to wipe any hard |
| etc) for a small fee. | | | | drives before processing laptop any further (So, folks, |
| - Get it sold (small fee again), get paid (if you use | | | | 2 things: 1. Don't waste your time like I did reinstalling |
| paypal- which is now mandatory- pay another fee) | | | | OS. 2. Don't be paranoid if you can't find a way to |
| - Ship laptop to your buyer (find proper packing | | | | erase your hard drive - they will do it, because it's the |
| materials, pay postage and don't forget to get your | | | | law) |
| shipment insured) | | | | I went for it. Submitted my quote and shipping address. |
| Reality | | | | Received confirmation email: "Your quote has been |
| - Fees are not small at all: between eBay and paypal | | | | received and confirmed. We will be sending you the |
| it's about 15%-20% of the price you get. So, if I asked | | | | protective packaging within 24 hours. / Box arrived |
| $410 for my MacBook, I would walk away with | | | | within 3 days. Inside: prepaid return shipping label. I |
| $320-$340 | | | | packed my MacBook up and dropped it off at our |
| - To get top dollar for your used MacBook (or any | | | | Kinko's. 3days later compny sent me a confirmation |
| other laptop / pc) it has to be in top condition, with | | | | email - laptop arrived and has been inspected. I |
| bunch of installed software, with all original manuals | | | | requested a check versus paypal (paypal takes 3-4% |
| (not everybody keeps original manuals and packaging) | | | | fee for money received). I received my check within a |
| - There's always a threat of ebayscam | | | | few days. The whole process took 12days. |
| I did not save the original box or manuals. I found the | | | | |
| recovery disks and used them to reformat the hard | | | | To sum up: |
| drive and do fresh install, so the new owner wouldn't | | | | 1. Craigslist - waste of time (unless you really get |
| inherit all my personal stuff: REALLY time consuming | | | | contacted by a decent person who really likes your |
| process. | | | | laptop) |
| | | | | 2. EBay - waste of time AND MONEY. Sell your kid's |
| I posted my MacBook on eBay for $600. I figured that | | | | toys, your vintage records, but not laptops. |
| would cover all possible fees, insurance and packing | | | | Unfortunately this company trying to lure more buyers |
| shipping costs and leave me with around $450. | | | | closes eyes on all sort of crooks and it will charge you |
| Exactly what I was aiming for considering my | | | | for their screw ups. |
| MacBook has seen better days, though, still operating | | | | 3. way to go. Offered highest cash amount for my |
| without issues. | | | | used MacBook. Communication was prompt and |
| EBay results | | | | courteous. Service was quick with no hick ups. I got |
| I received about 4 or 5 emails from "traveling | | | | exactly what was quoted plus $5 bonus. AND I got |
| businessmen" asking if I could ship to Nigeria (can't | | | | my new Unibody to prove it. |