Dodgy super cheap local macbook seller?

[purejimcn]

hey guys found this link while i was browding around...

http://www.plum.co.za/buy/apple-123/south_africa

the prices are ridiculously cheap, which makes me seriously doubt how legit this is... prices come in at way lower than US retail prices. didn bother to contact them but if anyone is desperate for a cheap macbook u can try giv them a call, jus be very careful though:erm:

another things is if those macbooks are real then there is probably no way they are from the local supplier, it would either be stolen or stolen or maybe extremely cheap imports from china? so would any1 in sa honour the warranty?

by the way one of the contact people's names are mr garfield...

 

[Ou grote]

They're 2nd hand

 

[Synaesthesia]

Some of them are 2nd hand, but one guy is selling newacbooks
for insanely cheap. Looks too good to be true, so it probably is. I saw a similar deal on bidorbuy a while ago, but the seller just dissapeared.

 

[therock]

did you watch cart blanche on sunday?

 

[purejimcn]

some are definitely 2nd hand and seem to be old models but the prices for the brand new stuff are pretty low... also they seem to be in different places but sounds like the same guy.

the "God bless u" part sounds like those standard spam emails where the people have inherited millions and want to giv it to u... so ya i think its truly dodgy... if any1 is thinking of giving them a try, be extra careful...

@therock what was on carte blanche?

 

[Synaesthesia]

did you watch cart blanche on sunday?

Nope, what happened?

 

[broken1]

There are many people selling super cheap macbooks, but the age old saying still holds:
"If it's too good to be true...it probably isn't"

The cheapest Macbooks would be if someone was getting them at dealer cost from Apple (so a reseller in the US) and then carrying them here in a suitcase and not declaring them to customs. Problem is you would have no proof of purchase, and hence no warranty.

 

[PeterCH]

There are many people selling super cheap macbooks, but the age old saying still holds:
"If it's too good to be true...it probably isn't"

The cheapest Macbooks would be if someone was getting them at dealer cost from Apple (so a reseller in the US) and then carrying them here in a suitcase and not declaring them to customs. Problem is you would have no proof of purchase, and hence no warranty.

I agree about the fraud thing but I disagree about the significance of warranties.

It's always NICE to have a warranty but those usually last a year or max of 2. From my personal experience, and sure this is as anecdotal as it gets, brand name equipment usually outlasts warranty periods. Take for example the ATI1900XT Graphic Card in my Mac Pro - it lasted well for 2 years, now is showing signs of memory corruption - an issue with these cards because they tend to overheat so I'll be replacing it soon - a warranty did not help me. An old HP SVGA projector, worked well for a long time, I put it away for about a year, now it shows a blank white screen - the HP guys are saying its a firmware issue and needs to be reflashed in JHB, warranty did not help me. Another example, Acer TravelMate 8104, no warranty unless I took it back to Singapore - it lasted for 2 years - then the chassis started to crack and last year the LCD died (inverter). I saved R10K by buying this thing in SG but a warranty still wouldn't have helped me. I can go back - old National VCR, Akai Hifi Stereo VCR, old Philips CRT TV, NAD amplifier, NAD CD player, old Samsung CRT screen from 1998 etc - all developed issues after warranty periods expired. In fact I was only about to make use of the warranty for the NAD CD player and Samsung monitor once - but not the second time.

For branded goods from reputable companies - its worthwhile to take the gamble and import the item yourself or buy GREY. You'll save lots of money. Of course in this case, be weary of fraudulent sellers.

 

[therock]

Nope, what happened?

there was a scam run by some dude from cape town selling cheap cars.

 

[broken1]

I agree about the fraud thing but I disagree about the significance of warranties.

It's always NICE to have a warranty but those usually last a year or max of 2. From my personal experience, and sure this is as anecdotal as it gets, brand name equipment usually outlasts warranty periods. Take for example the ATI1900XT Graphic Card in my Mac Pro - it lasted well for 2 years, now is showing signs of memory corruption - an issue with these cards because they tend to overheat so I'll be replacing it soon - a warranty did not help me. An old HP SVGA projector, worked well for a long time, I put it away for about a year, now it shows a blank white screen - the HP guys are saying its a firmware issue and needs to be reflashed in JHB, warranty did not help me. Another example, Acer TravelMate 8104, no warranty unless I took it back to Singapore - it lasted for 2 years - then the chassis started to crack and last year the LCD died (inverter). I saved R10K by buying this thing in SG but a warranty still wouldn't have helped me. I can go back - old National VCR, Akai Hifi Stereo VCR, old Philips CRT TV, NAD amplifier, NAD CD player, old Samsung CRT screen from 1998 etc - all developed issues after warranty periods expired. In fact I was only about to make use of the warranty for the NAD CD player and Samsung monitor once - but not the second time.

For branded goods from reputable companies - its worthwhile to take the gamble and import the item yourself or buy GREY. You'll save lots of money. Of course in this case, be weary of fraudulent sellers.

Granted...but my HP Laptop developed a problem after 5 months. Sent it in, motherboard replaced and all under warranty. Also, my Airport Express. One month in, stopped working - took it back to apple...some fighting and a few weeks later and it was replaced.

I do agree with you that if there is a big savings to be considered, it's worth the risk...but warranty does count for something in that circumstance when the **** breaks.

In my honest oppinion though, nothing should come with less than a 3 year warranty...but this is a topic for another day.

 

[purejimcn]

i agree with both peterCH and broken1

sadly none of my windows laptops lasted more than 2 years without needing repairs but by then its always past the warranty, hope it will be third time lucky for me with a macbook pro...

on the other hand one of my friends took back his ipod 3 times and got a new one each time, but that was a few years back, 2006 if i remember correctly... hope the quality standards hav improved since then...

 

[PeterCH]

i agree with both peterCH and broken1

sadly none of my windows laptops lasted more than 2 years without needing repairs but by then its always past the warranty, hope it will be third time lucky for me with a macbook pro...

on the other hand one of my friends took back his ipod 3 times and got a new one each time, but that was a few years back, 2006 if i remember correctly... hope the quality standards hav improved since then...

I think it's always important to qualify how the user used his equipment. I hear of peoples' HDDs crashing all the time. And yes even I had a crash once - but it was once, on a Maxtor 40GB way past it's 3-5 years - I bought it in 2001 and it died on me in 2007. I've also had a LaCie Big Disk Extreme 500GB die out of the box - ok forgot that one - it was replaced and then after 2-3 years of shelf standing and usage again it lost its data again - its a raid model with known issues with the Oxford controller. However, none of my MP3 players hade ever had an issue - 1st Gen Nomad in 2000, iPod 3rd Gen in 2003, second iPod 3G in 2003 (bought for a relative), Creative Zen Vision in 2005, Cowon A3, Sharp WX-T92 mobile phone, laptop HDDs, etc - I tend to treat my stuff very carefully though - you know - not move my laptops unnecessarily while powered on, leave the portable drives (USB powered ones) alone etc - so perhaps that's why I'm so lucky. Every device above except for the Nomad was imported.

So perhaps it's important to qualify factory faults and out of box failures vs abusive usage - where people jog with harddrive based Mp3 players, keep them in backpockets which get tight or sit on them etc.

 

[purejimcn]

I think it's always important to qualify how the user used his equipment. I hear of peoples' HDDs crashing all the time. And yes even I had a crash once - but it was once, on a Maxtor 40GB way past it's 3-5 years - I bought it in 2001 and it died on me in 2007. I've also had a LaCie Big Disk Extreme 500GB die out of the box - ok forgot that one - it was replaced and then after 2-3 years of shelf standing and usage again it lost its data again - its a raid model with known issues with the Oxford controller. However, none of my MP3 players hade ever had an issue - 1st Gen Nomad in 2000, iPod 3rd Gen in 2003, second iPod 3G in 2003 (bought for a relative), Creative Zen Vision in 2005, Cowon A3, Sharp WX-T92 mobile phone, laptop HDDs, etc - I tend to treat my stuff very carefully though - you know - not move my laptops unnecessarily while powered on, leave the portable drives (USB powered ones) alone etc - so perhaps that's why I'm so lucky. Every device above except for the Nomad was imported.

So perhaps it's important to qualify factory faults and out of box failures vs abusive usage - where people jog with harddrive based Mp3 players, keep them in backpockets which get tight or sit on them etc.

good point, never thought bout that, wil try take care of my stuff from now on

 

[phiber]

I think it's always important to qualify how the user used his equipment. I hear of peoples' HDDs crashing all the time. And yes even I had a crash once - but it was once, on a Maxtor 40GB way past it's 3-5 years - I bought it in 2001 and it died on me in 2007. I've also had a LaCie Big Disk Extreme 500GB die out of the box - ok forgot that one - it was replaced and then after 2-3 years of shelf standing and usage again it lost its data again - its a raid model with known issues with the Oxford controller. However, none of my MP3 players hade ever had an issue - 1st Gen Nomad in 2000, iPod 3rd Gen in 2003, second iPod 3G in 2003 (bought for a relative), Creative Zen Vision in 2005, Cowon A3, Sharp WX-T92 mobile phone, laptop HDDs, etc - I tend to treat my stuff very carefully though - you know - not move my laptops unnecessarily while powered on, leave the portable drives (USB powered ones) alone etc - so perhaps that's why I'm so lucky. Every device above except for the Nomad was imported.

So perhaps it's important to qualify factory faults and out of box failures vs abusive usage - where people jog with harddrive based Mp3 players, keep them in backpockets which get tight or sit on them etc.

Very true. Things also just break, the manufacturing process is not perfect I've seen guys put ipods thru hell, and then i have seen okes with the same ipods look after them sooo carefully, and the ones looked after break.

But yea, as PeterCH says, LOOK AFTER YOUR STUFF, especially if you going to sell it to someone else when its outta warranty

 

[StbA]

Always insure, then claim if it breaks, especially on high end gear like Apple.