Discount AppleCare On eBay
I’m rarely one to buy into extended warranties. I worked at Best Buy (I was young and stupid, cut me some slack) long ago, and swore I would never waste money on those coverage plans. All that being said, I recommend all my friends cover their Mac with AppleCare — it can be expensive (depending on the model you buy) but in my own experience, has almost always paid for itself. But how do you swallow that hefty warranty price tag after dropping some serious coin on a shiny new computer? An interesting post at Wisebread may have the answer.
One of my favorite blogs about being frugal, Wisebread, has taken the dive and purchased AppleCare protection via eBay. Doing so saved $158 off the extended warranty for a Mac Pro — not shabby at all! Registering the code online went off without a hitch, so no immediate red flags at least. Writer Torley acknowledges no issues to test the coverage with as of yet, but there have been no communications from Apple to believe otherwise.
Despite some people around the web sounding a battle cry against AppleCare, I’ve yet to have a bad experience. I’ve had screens replaced for bad pixels, multiple logic boards on a single machine replaced, the machine finally replaced, and so on. (The question of Apple’s quality slowly degrading opposite their rise in popularity is probably a different post altogether…) But I do indeed swear by the coverage, not to mention that it can up the resale value if you try to trade up before the 3 years are up. Oh, and if you don’t have the extra cash on hand at the time you purchase your new slice of heaven, you can add AppleCare protection up to 1 year from the original purchase date.
Have you used eBay, or some other discount ‘provider’ of AppleCare for your Mac? If so, please share the good, bad, and ugly experiences you may have had!
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I just bought AppleCare for my 1st generation Macbook Air, which has already had a LCD failure and replacement. $200 on Amazon vs $250 + tax from Apple.
You’re probably OK if it’s in an unopened retail box bought from a reputable seller. But BEWARE if all you’re getting is the registration code. I just bought Applecare and when I tried to register it, Apple required me to provide (a) the serial number on the bottom of the retail box and (b) a proof of purchase in addition to the registration code. Without that information my Applecare would have been worthless. Be warned – Apple does check for legitimate purchases.
Er, so you’re buying a product that’s only made *and sold* by a single company, and rarely, if ever, sells it for more than a 10% discount. So how is it ending up on ebay for well under half of the normal price?
This sounds a lot like the discounted iTunes, etc. cards that show up on ebay. Some of them are fradulent, but a lot of them are really just credit-card theft money laundering schemes. They use a stolen CC to buy stored-value cards, and then flip them on ebay for a fraction of the face value. The buyer gets a discount, the seller gets relatively untracable money, and the CC owner is left without an easy way to track down who stole their money. Sure, some of the cards for sale are peole who received them as gifts or as part of a promotion or something, but they’re almost certainly a small minority of the total volume on ebay.
I bought Apple Care for my Mac Pro for $58 on eBay. It is usually something like $250. I also got Apple Care for my 30″ Cinema Display for about the same. That is usually $99. I think I made out pretty good. They were both unopened retail boxes.
I bought it for my macbook pro in October 2007.In May 2008 my aluminium casing eroded(!) and was replaced GRATIS! In November 2008 my logic board need replacement. No Problem – replacement GRATIS (!). Subsequently I had a whole bunch of problems. The manager called me and offered me a BRAND new Unibody MacBook Pro GRATIS (!) My applecare was worth every penny.
i bought it off ebay for my MBP that was close to a year old at the time. i live in the UK and got it from a US vendor, and subsequently paid around half the local price for it.
i then travelled to australia late last year, when the MBP was well outside it’s original cover, and had issues reading blank dvd’s, took it into the new Sydney Apple store (very nice by the way) and they swapped the drive over in a matter of hours. the ebay purchased cover was 100% legit, and i had no problems whatsoever.
i’d take the ebay option again without a doubt.
I have to second what Scott said above–some of these transactions have to be questioned. As a former employee of an Apple Retail store, I can tell you from experience that the boxes of AppleCare, MobileMe/dotMac, and other really small items would walk out of the store in bulk–especially during the busy holiday seasons. These items, along with ipods, all tend to get bulk-stacked for display, so grabbing 5 or ten at a time is pretty easy. They can then end up on auction sites for pennies on the dollar and the seller is still making money.
I know other small items are just as susceptible…cds, dvds, blue ray…all are painfully simple to smuggle out in bulk and virtually untraceable in the second-hand market (ask anybody who works in a retail location that has a used cd store near by).
I know it is hard to pass up these incredible bargains but sometimes a deal is too good to be true.
There is no bad or ugly, if you shop smart. We all know that adage, “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is”. But we all also know about buyer’s remorse. And (stroking our own egos here), we expect that *we* can shop better than the next guy.
So, let’s put it all together: If someone with 10 or fewer feedbacks is selling something on ebay (regardless of what it is), and has been a member since 2006 – don’t buy from him. If someone has 10,000 sales on ebay, but a feedback of 175…he’s been “buying” his own stuff and giving himself positive feedback…don’t buy from him. Okay I realize ebay has protections in place against that stuff, and those examples are extreme). Basic rule number one: Caveat Emptor (Buyer beware).
However, coming back to buyer’s remorse… A certain percentage of the people who buy a complete setup from the apple store, buy Applecare without valuing it for what it is, and regret the purchase when they get home. I’ll assert that they buy MobileMe and Applecare for the right reasons while in the store, and then simply choose to forget, or freak out at the credit card bill coming in twenty days.
So… Applecare and MobileMe (both) are the perfect product to buy on ebay, if you can trust the seller at first glance. I’ve only bought Applecare for my machines directly from Apple twice. Every machine I own (including iPods) always has Applecare on it before the first year is up. I always buy it from ebay at close to fifty percent off…
I never buy insurance unless I legally have to (it’s bitten me in the ass a couple of times, but I’d like to think I’m making an overall profit), but AppleCare is one thing I will always have on my laptops, just because they seem to care more about the fact that the customer’s happy than they do about squeezing every last penny out of you.
I had a problem with my MBP after about a year, and the geniuses couldn’t find a fix for it so, after swapping out nearly all of the internals, they replaced. Then when the replacement had the yellow screen issue, I had a replacement screen. Can’t argue with that at all, and it encapsulates one of the main reasons I will be an Apple customer for the foreseeable future – their after sales is excellent.
Thanks for the many good comments.
@Scott – It’s like listening to Joe Pesci in Lethal Weapon 2. All kidding aside, thank you for the detailed explanation that many of us may not have thought of before.
@Christopher – Your comments obviously come with some great insight that most of us may not be as privy to, so thank you for that peek inside the Apple Retail experience. I’m sure we’re all aware of shrinkage issues (not those of Seinfeld fame) to some extent, but when seizing a fantastic bargain, probably choose to ignore the potentially obvious reality that may be behind the deal.
I have one of those protection plans for iPhone saved on my eBay page. I have been waiting for you guys or another apple blog to post some horror story but after this I guess I’ll go ahead and buy it.
If it works with no issues, I’ll be buying the same thing for my MacBook Pro I just got. $350 for a macbook pro is a steal considering the LED housing is $800 to repair and logic board could be $500 but it’s a lot to spend for a “maybe” it’ll break.
thanks for the blog post.
I recently bought a Protection Plan for my MacBook. I got it for 126$, payed via PayPal, received the code 30 minutes later and registered online at Apple. The confirmation came shortly after and I have now three years without worries. I checked in forums if anyone had experience with the seller and he came with recommendations. If you succeed in registering the product, the code`s been valid and the warranty in place. If not, PayPal is your friend.
Hey Paul do you have these details? please email me.
What I’ve been waiting to see is if there are folks that have been denied repairs by Apple for using numbers obtained from Ebay. So far I haven’t read any, but if you’ve had this kind of experience I (and probably a lot of others) would love to hear it. Vice versa, as well.
i wish i would’ve bout it form eBay, b/c i actually spent 250 for mine (mac pro 2008) and now i looked some up on eBay ant apple care is going for 50-70 bucks. OMG! :- i dont even know what to do. but for future macs i’m going eBay, near future do you think apple will have policies that prevent others from selling apple care?
I’ve bought Apple Care for my Apple iPod Touch on ebay… it’s valid too.. you just have to do some research so you don’t get scammed.
I was thinking of buying it off ebay but I see that none of the sellers want to send you the box. After doing a lot of research it would look like some of these sellers are claiming refunds for the Applecare that they have sold. What happens is they sell it to you and you register and all seems fine. You then leave positive feedback for them. Then sometime later they claim a refund as they have the box and proof of purchase. You then are not covered and more than likely won’t ever know! What a scam!
I’ve bought three different applecare plans for macs off of ebay. Two just sent codes via email, one sent a retail box. Each of the three computers had to go back to apple at some point for a repair, never had a problem with the applecare plans whatsoever. I was a little skeptical about ebaying it, but it worked fine with Apple. Most computer people agrree, applecare is the *one* extended warranty you actually *should* buy. it has saved me thousands.
Hi Mike, could you tell me the ebayer where did you buy Apple Care ? I’ve looked for people having trouble with Apple products and using their AppleCare extension successfully !!
Many thanks.
Laptops definitely need warranties! I was thinking about covering my Macbook with Applecare too but it’s really expensive! I ended up choosing Squaretrade instead to cover my laptop. It’s a much better deal with even better coverage as it covers accidental spills or drops or water damage..
here’s a link in case you need it: http://www.squaretrade.com/laptop
i sell apple care !!!! for macbook macbook pro imac and mac pro so just feel free to email used! maxmillyon@yahoo.ca
we do really good price ! and your computer will be 100% covered! after paypal payment i will send the apple care activation code!
I’m travelling in India on work at the moment, and I just bought a Macbook Pro here. I’d prefer to buy AppleCare from ebay, but will buying from an american seller pose any problem?
Also, if I take the laptop to Apple for warranty, won’t I need a sales receipt for the AppleCare?
–
John
I can tell you if you buy it from me you will have no problem! and when you take your laptop to the apple store for repair you will have no problem at all. I have sold hundreds of apple cares and all my customers had no problems. and my macbook pro and mac pro and imac are all covered and i have been in a few times and never had a problem with my apple care!
MaxMillyon,
Will you send the sealed box? Or will you only email the code?
i will email the code! but i can promise you that you will not have any problem and once its like to your mac not one should be able to claim refunds on it but you! so i dont know why people would do that but i dont do that because its just out right wrong to sell someone apple care and then try to claim refund on it. just keep my contact information and pay with paypal because they would take your money back if i was too do anything like that! and just to make it clear i would not do that too you or any other customer. and if i give you go product and good customer service then you would tell your friends so that would be good for me! and selling you something and them claiming it back would make you tell no one good things about me so that would not be good!
So why won’t you send the sealed box?
because i didn’t save the boxes! i bought a bundle of apple care from liquidation over 500 pies and to save space i had too take them out of the boxes and just save the codes
I’ll give you credit that’s the best one I’ve heard yet.
Well all i can do is tell you the true! to be perfectly honest i understand that they are a lot of people out there selling bad apple cares! because most of the people that buy from me tell me that they try before with some else and they got nothing. I hope if you buy a apple care that you get what you paid for and no scam like some people of there doing! all i can tell you is im the real think so if you need me just let me know!
@MaxMillyon Is your name Ade from Nigeria? Blatantly a scammer, poor english, like he has used an online translator. Avoid
Anyone that tells you paypal is on your side or that they did not keep the box is a liar.
You need the box because it have the serial number.
Apple will register with just the activation code but look at their terms of service. You need the receipt and/or the serial number.
So by the time you go to use the warranty…you dont have the box, a receipt from a valid reseller, a serial number. You are out the cost of the warranty and the cost of the repair which you now have to pay for. Paypals claim time has past (45 days) and so you are SOL.
This is why these activation code sellers rarely have negative feedback….by the time you know it bad…its way too late to do anything.
Do some people get their repairs….yes….but apple is now wise to the situation and I have heard they are demanding the receipt before doing repairs….EVEN IF YOU HAVE A WARRANTY ACTIVATION CONFIRMATION FROM THEM.
I just read the applecare terms of service, this is not true, they require receipt for the COMPUTER not for the applecare. Also, they need the computer’s serial number.
I have been finding this stuff on the internet, so I just called Applecare directly as advised by one site. They told me in absolutely no uncertain terms that if the code works to get the coverage certificate, it is a good code. I specifically asked about fake codes, key gens and the like, he stated unequivocally that these do not exist. He said that “someone would need do get into our system” to be able to get fake codes generated. Now, I do not know that this is absolutely true, but I believe that it is worth a call to Apple before making these unsubstantiated claims. I have yet to hear from ANYONE on one of these forums who actually had a problem with their own coverage. All that is out there is friends of friends who have “heard” about people having problems.
That said, I don’t know where the codes come from and it is pretty strange that they can be sold at a profit for so little.
Has anyone bought anything from http://www.gozila.co.uk penny auction?
Whats the deal, is it like ebay?
Thanks
The ability to buy AppleCare Warranty protection for your MacPro on ebay for less than half the original price is very appealing. The disheartening ethical implications, or course are potentially buying the product from a thief. However, thievery and piracy always exist on the outskirts of Apple. Specifically, before iTunes became so popular, songs were downloaded for much cheaper (free actually) from Napster.
you do need to have and keep a receipt for the item covered by the applecare AND THE RECEIPT OF THE APPLECARE itself. Apple TOS states you have to buy FROM AN APPLE AUTHORIZED RESELLER.
Don’t buy applecares on ebay, or at least ask if they are an authorized apple reseller.
I did this some time ago, but after realizing these facts I got in touch with paypal, got a refund, and ebay closed the store….
William et al
I bought a very well priced applecare policy for my Macbook pro off ebay today (€70 = approx $100). Seller has been selling for over 6 months and has over 1000 positive feedback. All I received was a product code. It registered fine on the Apple website and I’m now showing 3 years cover.
After reading some of the scaremongering above I thought I’d phone Apple to check it wasn’t a scam……it isn’t! Product confirmed as valid. The nice lady confirmed that when making a claim or phoning for tech support all you need is the serial number of the machine. They can see the rest.
My shiny new machine is itself a warranty replacement. When I took the faulty machine to the shop all they did was check the serial number. I was definitely NOT asked for any receipts whatsoever.
Hope that helps.
For those of you who think just by calling Apple to confirm they bought a legitimate Applecare code are covered, think again. Some of the scams involve stealing activation codes, or reselling codes after an initial wait period. When you first activate the code it all checks out with Apple. They don’t care as long as your serial and Applecare numbers matchup after registering. The problems arise much later when someone else tries to register the same number, or the original seller lays claim to the number (so they can resell it again). Then when you go to get Applecare service, you will be required to PROVE that you are the owner of the Applecare warranty. How do you provide proof? By showing the receipt and barcode from the box. If you can’t prove it, your screwed. No box or receipt from an authorized reseller? Uh-oh, good luck making your claim. And to make matters worse, you can’t buy another (legitimate) Applecare because your original warranty has probably expired by then. If you buy a bad warranty that registers okay, you’ll be fine as long as no one lays claim to the number later, or if you wind up not needing service. Buying Applecare without a box off ebay is a time bomb waiting to go off.
呵呵，有意思，路过，来顶下！
I can’t understand the last word :)
I’m not going to claim to know a lot about all this, as i’m just considering purchasing the applecare off ebay myself. I’ve been doing lots of research on it, and from what I can gather, receipts are not necessary as warranty details are stored on the serial number of the laptop…
I’d HIGHLY recommend reading this webpage. Certainly food for thought when contemplating the ebay applecare programs! http://reviews.ebay.com/FAKE-APPLECARE-APPLE-CARE-A-warning-to-buyers_W0QQugidZ10000000011731235
It astounds me how people continue to convince themselves that eBay AppleCare is a great deal despite the stories of stolen codes, denied coverage, etc. As an Authorised Apple Reseller, I can assure you that there is no such thing as cheap AppleCare. Cheaper yes, but not like the prices you’re seeing on eBay. I completely understand the temptation to save money on something you may never need. We recently had a number of Macbooks obtained from us with fraudulent credit cards. Like stolen AppleCare, the serial numbers of these machines are on a watch list, the unsuspecting buyers are happily using their shiny new Macbook and the minute they try and register it on Apple or take it in for a repair, the machine will be seized and they risk being charged with accepting stolen goods. Life’s to short to be looking over your shoulder. Buy from an Authorised Reseller, get your box with a serial number, file away your receipt and relax. You’re a Mac user. Act like one.
MacSeller-
Your joking right? How can apple seize a computer this way. You look like a fool, and probably are one. Buy it register it and forget it.
Apple Authorised Repairers have lists of stolen serial numbers. If a Mac comes in bearing one of these serial numbers, they are legally obliged to report it to police. You sound like a scammer.
I am pretty sure there is such a thing as cheap AppleCare. Many companies (including my previous employer, HP) get special deals like 6% off at the Apple Store, and 50% off AppleCare, and all we have to do is flash our work badge or business cards!
I’ll bet people are grabbing AppleCare with their employee discounts and reselling them at a profit.
Pat. Good information. I see no issue with cheap AppleCare from Apple. I see an issue with cheap digital downloads from eBay. I’m aware of the 6% but I’m almost certain that you would only get 50% off AppleCare if you also bought a new Mac.
I tried to stop those illegal Applecare Warranty protection Plan codes. Basically you have to buy code and register through Apple web site, but the code is easy to crack down because it goes by pattern like 12345.
This might be the watch those eBay sellers get Applecare codes.
1. Go to Link to get in the register page and because the code is random by a certain pattern. So, the eBay sellers can use the codes with unfinished register process to provide them to eBay customers. Moreover, the site lets people try to put the codes as many time as they like. As a result, you will get one that it will be recognized by code available sign.
2. After registering the code, anyways Apple website automatically send the confirm e-mail to customers who registered the codes without checking code valid.
3. Applecare coverage can be checked by the month of expiration date warranty ( Link ) which is very weired.
To find a serial Apple computer serial hardware, those sellers just go to the Apple store and flip Apple computers to get serials, then they have serials for Macbook Pro 15/17, Mac book Air 13, Apple Imac. The serials Apple computer serials use for matching with certain types of Applecare Warranty code.
Since the eBay sellers get Applecare warranty codes for free, they just give money back whenever buyers use invalid codes or question about the boxes and serials. If my scenario is right, those eBay Applecare Warranty sellers get millions in profit without investing a cent.
I’m pretty sure for those eBay sellers who sell Applecare warranty codes without boxes will use this method to get Applecare Warranty codes for all Apple products.
I’m just thinking how much money do app.holdings, isellimac, macman812, geng7892001, coastal_computing, and more and other eBay Applecare Warranty sellers make if they get it for free?
I love Apple!!!!! And hopefully Apple does something to keep this codes safe!!!!
If anyone used common sense it’s obvious that there is no reason to sell ‘codes only’ for a seller – unless it is fraudulent. Apple is relatively lax when it comes to updating security for itunes and applecare codes – really, really stupid
Let’s remember who is getting scammed here – the buyers of AC, not Apple. Apple has no financial reason to track down the fraudulent AC sellers – the only thing they have to do is refuse to cover an item and put the proof of purchase on the individual trying to make the claim.
An individual buying a fraudulent code has only 60 days to make a claim against the code seller (via paypal/ebay). In most cases, the person who was scammed doesn’t discover the scam until long after the claim period.
There is not real proof for those eBay Applecare sellers. They can say whatever they want to. I am just wondering how they drang down $350+tax products to 150$-eBay 10% fees.Even Amazon, a biggest online store, sells Applecare Warranty with boxes and serial codes. Normally electronic products are very high margin cost. Moreover, people only think it is safe to count on eBay sellers’ feedback.
Best Regards
Apple Lover
Apple Lover, you are just scaremongering. You have spammed this nonsense on other message boards (see here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=857390).
Another user said above that they called Apple, and the Apple representative said that codes cannot be found this way, and that anyone scamming would have to have access to their system.
Don’t you think Apple would notice someone trying multiple incorrect AppleCare codes at once, enough to gain a list of codes to sell? Don’t you think Apple would take their IP and track them down?
Apple has confirmed that as long as the code registers, it is fine in their system. Sometimes they randomly ask for receipts/serial numbers to verify a purchase, but it doesn’t happen every time.
Stop scaring people with your nonsense that you can look at an AppleCare code, recognize a pattern, and crack it. What a joke.
maclover, let’s focus on this point: “Sometimes they randomly ask for receipts/serial numbers to verify a purchase, but it doesn’t happen every time……” . Ummm, why do they ask? Here is a fact. If you buy an AppleCare and the code has already been registered by someone who bought it off eBay, Apple WILL ask you for a proof of purchase. If you can supply a genuine invoice, you will have no issue. It is likely the code you tried to register will be voided and you will be supplied with a new code. The person who purchases the eBay AppleCare code will have their plan cancelled. They will then try to claim and complain when Apple shows their AppleCare as void. FACT.
Another fact: you sound like a scammer.
My14 months old Mac Pro died last week. Apple have denied my protection plan claim because the seller on Ebay have refunded the warranty in US.
In here, i can confirmed that Apple do ask for “proof of purchase” of the APP. Apple have no hestitation in shutting the door at you.
My question is, if Ebay has a dedicated page about APP scam., wouldn’t Apple have a duty of care to inform us? In my opinion, Apple had failed to do anything, despite knowing such a loophole exist.
The bottom end is, I have no more confident in Apple quality.
Idolx. Let me get this straight. You bought a Mac Pro. You then went and bought a digital downloaded registration code for AppleCare from eBay. No receipt. No Box, No serial number, No proof of purchase. You forgot to take note of the old saying, “If it’s too good to be true, it usually is”. So despite the risk, you did it anyway. You now think Apple should compensate you for your stupidity. You got scammed because you tried to save a few dollars. You should admit you did something stupid and take it on the chin. I hope your misfortune serves as a warning to others.
Next time, buy your AppleCare from an Authorised Apple Reseller.
Apple quality is fine. You screwed up.
Macseller, yes, I got scammed because I don’t know such loopholes exist. That’s why, I am here to tell other people don’t do stupid thing like me. Why are you so upset? You should be happy about it because more people will buy APP from you.
Apple should not compensate for my action but at least they have a duty of care to close this loopholes but did they? Ebay had a dedicated warning page but have Apple got one?
As an owner of 5 MBP and 2 Mac Pro. I have my right to voice my opinion about Apple’s quality issue.
Hi there ! Thank for information about this .
macseller I can tell you this apple only cares about themselves-nice they make a watch list for machines stolen from them but when my daughter had hers stolen and made a report to the police apple said they could do nothing. They said they would know if it were turned on for upgrade and all but they did not want to be involved because it could be a divorce or something even though this was a college student with receipt making out a police report. They have great products no doubt but when it comes to help with anything it’s always the same you have to buy another one! So the only time they would have some type of watch list is if it directly making corporate lose money.
We are Ebay suppliers of AppleCare Protection Plans.
I’ll be frank. We buy our AppleCare’s at auction in the UK. Some open, some not. Naturally, we take a flyer on the opened ones but check with Apple to see if they have previously been registered and, by and large, they haven’t.
I am searching for information on counterfeit AppleCare plans because I am sick to death of sellers located in Japan and USA who are screwing down our profits.
We sell them cheap and feel we have to compete with all these illegal sellers but we send the box out and can provide a valid UK VAT receipt also if requested.
Interestingly, we wasn’t aware of this until only the other week when a German customer told us that he had bought an AppleCare on Ebay which worked for 2 months then he received a phone call from Apple saying that his plan was no longer valid unless he could produce the retail box and registration number to them.
I’m quite sure he won’t be the only one.
I am trying to build up some evidence to force Ebay to remove these sellers of counterfeit products as it only serves to tarnish what would otherwise be a great marketplace.
I am a big Ebay fan as we have a good business going now but we remain wary. It irks me that counterfeiters and other forms of low life can so easily exist with their illegal activities.
The old adage, “You can’t make an honest living!” rings true.
I knew I was doing something wrong! Only joking. That’s why we struggle sometimes – we’re too straight and honest.
I bought one for my iPod, the seller was in Japan, the code worked and apple never said anything!^^
I bought applecare for my imac 27″ from ebay and since I had problem apple replaces me on site 2 logic ,power supply and ram with no charge, only 2 days after my call to support, great!
But some days ago I purchased another applecare from USA from ebay and apple refuses to register it asking me the proof of purchase, as I ask it to the seller he refunded me immediately without other communication…perhaps a fake?