Could this be a fake listing ?

[CriSis_]

I was recently browsing through an app called "Nextdoor" which is a local neighbours app for selling items, news and lost property and came across a guy selling a 2017 max pro 13" 2.3 GHz  i5 , 8GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640. He has it listed for £200 or £215 for shipped and the cosmetic condition of it, based off of the photos provided, seems quite good. He also has the box and charger in the photo too. Along with these items he is also selling an apple watch series 4 for £165 and a dell 5520 (still under 20month warranty) for £300. 

 

Is this not cheap for a Mac Pro? While the specs are underwhelming macs even from 2010 tend to go for a significant amount more. 

 

Ive attached the photos of the mac along with the PM's and the listing, I was looking to buy it to then sell it on for a profit (to help purchase my new system for my A levels), is it worth it? 

 

Many thanks,

Lex

[Fasauceome]

for a 2017 mac of any kind that's a pretty darn good price. 

 

Isn't nextdoor for local stuff? why have it shipped?

[Dedayog]

Nextdoor can't be fake, it's literally a site for your neighbors around you.  

 

You can probably walk over to his house!

 

 

[CriSis_]

1 minute ago, jstudrawa said:

Nextdoor can't be fake, it's literally a site for your neighbors around you.  

 

You can probably walk over to his house!

 

 

Hes 15 miles away  and moving to Bournemouth for uni (according to the my PM's ), I'm in London so probs wouldn't be able to see the item in person and would have to get him to list it on ebay so there was some form of buyer protection 

[CriSis_]

5 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

for a 2017 mac of any kind that's a pretty darn good price

That's what worries me

[Retrodex Gaming]

Seems too convenient to me that they've gone back to Bournemouth. Where is the original listing based? I would be very very wary here! That price is about a 1/3 of what I would expect for a 2017 model. Even my i5 Air would get more than that!

[The Torrent]

just pay via paypal and u have 180 days to pull the money if it doesnt work.

a lot of people want quick cash to go blow.

or might be back of the truck - just get the serial number and run it through apple.

 

good luck

[FakeCIA]

I would not trust this. I have used NextDoor, and it is just as sketchy as any other buy and sell site. A price like this definitely means that this guy is trying to screw you over in some way. I would expect a 2017 Mac, due to the fact that the hardware is still good, to be closer to the 500$ to 700$ range. Also, if you do decide to get this, do not give this guy your real address. Have it shipped to a post office.

[aisle9]

8 minutes ago, Alexander Underwood said:

Hes 15 miles away  and moving to Bournemouth for uni (according to the my PM's ), I'm in London so probs wouldn't be able to see the item in person and would have to get him to list it on ebay so there was some form of buyer protection 

So there's no way for you to get to him? Never, never, never, never ship something from Nextdoor, Craigslist, Letgo, Kijiji, any of that. There's zero protection.

 

If you can find a way, either via friend's car, public transit, whatever, to go check it out, that's a great price, but given the many and varied issues with 2017s--especially the keyboard--I would never buy one without testing it out at length first.

[VersuS]

At that price it's worth the travelling to go and see imo... would meet somewhere public though, maybe with a friend.

[Curious Pineapple]

If you need to ask the question, then the chance is that it is.

[CriSis_]

6 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

So there's no way for you to get to him? Never, never, never, never ship something from Nextdoor, Craigslist, Letgo, Kijiji, any of that. There's zero protection.

 

If you can find a way, either via friend's car, public transit, whatever, to go check it out, that's a great price, but given the many and varied issues with 2017s--especially the keyboard--I would never buy one without testing it out at length first.

Not a way that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, I figured I would get him to list it on ebay as there is buyer protection. He did offer for me to come a view it but due to distance and expense it just isnt possible 

[CriSis_]

1 minute ago, Curious Pineapple said:

If you need to ask the question, then the chance is that it is.

More or less what I figured xD, thought I might put it up on here to see what everybody else thought  

[CriSis_]

18 minutes ago, Retrodex Gaming said:

Seems too convenient to me that they've gone back to Bournemouth. Where is the original listing based? I would be very very wary here! That price is about a 1/3 of what I would expect for a 2017 model. Even my i5 Air would get more than that!

Original listing is based in Runnymede. Does seem a little odd that he is going back to Bournemouth. I believe that is where he plans to ship it from too 

[CriSis_]

17 minutes ago, The Torrent said:

just pay via paypal and u have 180 days to pull the money if it doesnt work.

a lot of people want quick cash to go blow.

or might be back of the truck - just get the serial number and run it through apple.

 

good luck

Was one of the first things I thought about xD, still, just seems a little shady 

 

[CriSis_]

6 minutes ago, VersuS said:

At that price it's worth the travelling to go and see imo... would meet somewhere public though, maybe with a friend.

Its worth the travel assuming the item is in the condition the listing suggested, otherwise I really could do with keeping the money as I have been planning on building a pc for a while both for myself and one for my mother.  

[FakeCIA]

1 hour ago, aisle9 said:

So there's no way for you to get to him? Never, never, never, never ship something from Nextdoor, Craigslist, Letgo, Kijiji, any of that. There's zero protection.

 

If you can find a way, either via friend's car, public transit, whatever, to go check it out, that's a great price, but given the many and varied issues with 2017s--especially the keyboard--I would never buy one without testing it out at length first.

Sort of to expand on your point of shipping, I'll reference a case I oversaw while being an intern for the WSP. While I'm sure what you are saying is that the best that will happen is that the computer gets lost in the mail, far worse things can happen and have happened if you give an address to the wrong person. The case I oversaw involved a young woman shipping a high value item to an address across the city to an older male. The older male had created a profile pretending to be a young female close to the same age as female #1. After some messages were sent across regarding shipping, female #1 then decided to meet in person with what they thought was female #2. Female #1 was asked to come alone and they complied. To end the story off for the general audience here, she was not in good shape when picked up by law enforcement later that night. Her example is just one of many, and surprisingly, is just one of the "light" ones.

[CriSis_]

3 minutes ago, FakeCIA said:

Sort of to expand on your point of shipping, I'll reference a case I oversaw while being an intern for the WSP. While I'm sure what you are saying is that the best that will happen is that the computer gets lost in the mail, far worse things can happen and have happened if you give an address to the wrong person. The case I oversaw involved a young woman shipping a high value item to an address across the city to an older male. The older male had created a profile pretending to be a young female close to the same age as female #1. After some messages were sent across regarding shipping, female #1 then decided to meet in person with what they thought was female #2. Female #1 was asked to come alone and they complied. To end the story off for the general audience here, she was not in good shape when picked up by law enforcement later that night. Her example is just on of many, and surprisingly, is just one of the "light" ones.

I would have the item delivered to an ebay collection point (I have one somewhat local) as I would have him list it on ebay for buyer protection etc. Still seems kinda shady to me, I probs wont go through with it

[Dedayog]

11 minutes ago, Alexander Underwood said:

Not a way that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, I figured I would get him to list it on ebay as there is buyer protection. He did offer for me to come a view it but due to distance and expense it just isnt possible 

15 miles away is an obstacle for expense and distance?

 

I travel 15 miles to work and back. 

 

I'm confused.

[CriSis_]

3 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

15 miles away is an obstacle for expense and distance?

 

I travel 15 miles to work and back. 

 

I'm confused.

Unfortunately I dont drive atm and due to living in London train fairs (unless booked a few months in advance) cost upwards of a £150 return to the location in question. If I arrive at the location and it turns out that the Mac is in bad shape, is suffering from some of the issues that 2017 macs have done in the past, or that it outright doesnt work I would be at quite a loss considering the whole point of this is to buy and sell it at a profit in order to assist in funding two desktops that I am building (one for myself for cad / a levels and one for my mother / brothers)

 

if I drove, I wouldnt hesitate to drive and check the mac in person as its a mere 1h 30m drive. 

 

In short - London travel is god damn expensive

[FakeCIA]

1 hour ago, Alexander Underwood said:

I would have the item delivered to an ebay collection point (I have one somewhat local) as I would have him list it on ebay for buyer protection etc. Still seems kinda shady to me, I probs wont go through with it

Just remember that Ebay won't protect you if this guy turns out to be violent or disruptive in any way. Do not meet with him in person at all. One thing I do for my safety, if I do allow an in-person meeting, is meet at my local police department. Local police are always willing to help facilitate a trade and some actually prefer it. You can use their non-emergency number to call ahead and ask how busy they are.

[CriSis_]

3 minutes ago, FakeCIA said:

Just remember that Ebay won't protect you if this guy turns out to be violent or disruptive in any way. Do not meet with him in person at all. One thing I do for my safety, if I do allow an in-person meeting, is meet at my local police department. Local police are always willing to help facilitate a trade and some actually prefer it. You can use their non-emergency number to call ahead and ask how busy they are.

Many thanks, I had already planed this in case of an in person transaction , however due to travel no personal information or in person meetings shall take place  

 

 

[aisle9]

1 hour ago, FakeCIA said:

Just remember that Ebay won't protect you if this guy turns out to be violent or disruptive in any way. Do not meet with him in person at all. One thing I do for my safety, if I do allow an in-person meeting, is meet at my local police department. Local police are always willing to help facilitate a trade and some actually prefer it. You can use their non-emergency number to call ahead and ask how busy they are.

I always thought that was excessive. My rule was a public place, like a coffee shop or fast food place. I avoided convenience stores or gas stations because those were just way too easy, way too exposed points for bad things to happen.

 

Police stations are actually not a great idea anyway, at least not in the US. If it's after hours (think 7pm, not 1am) and the lobby's closed, you're making that deal in the parking lot, which is much less safe than being in the deli seating at the local grocery store, surrounded by people.

[FakeCIA]

1 hour ago, aisle9 said:

I always thought that was excessive. My rule was a public place, like a coffee shop or fast food place. I avoided convenience stores or gas stations because those were just way too easy, way too exposed points for bad things to happen.

 

Police stations are actually not a great idea anyway, at least not in the US. If it's after hours (think 7pm, not 1am) and the lobby's closed, you're making that deal in the parking lot, which is much less safe than being in the deli seating at the local grocery store, surrounded by people.

True. But, why would you make that deal anyway after service hours in the dark? I'd much rather be in the parking lot or lobby of a police department than in a deli at night. Being surrounded by people is a good thing, but are any of them gonna do anything if something goes wrong?

[aisle9]

1 hour ago, FakeCIA said:

True. But, why would you make that deal anyway after service hours in the dark? I'd much rather be in the parking lot or lobby of a police department than in a deli at night. Being surrounded by people is a good thing, but are any of them gonna do anything if something goes wrong?

As someone who until very recently bought and sold parts, laptops, desktops and monitors locally via Craigslist and the apps, I wanted nothing to do with police stations. For one, the only police station in my city was a 15-minute drive away, and I rarely drove any further than the grocery store across the street. And two, it's just a hassle. I've heard from several other sellers who did agree to meet at police stations that about half the time, the buyer would look the item over, test it out, then get up, walk to the window and ask the police to check the serial number to see if it was stolen. Inspecting and testing, fair game. Adding half a goddamned hour to the process? No. Not fair. And now the seller has to stay around for that extra half hour, because if they get up, take their merchandise and leave after the serial number check is requested, they're drawing a nice big bullseye on themselves and will be detained to answer a few questions about why they were so anxious to bolt.

 

And that leads into a second issue: what if it is stolen? I was buying and selling upwards of ten items a week. If I saw a great deal on something, I messaged to meet first and asked questions later. I made a good faith effort to find out how these things were acquired and why they're being sold, and an inability or refusal to answer would be the end of things for me. Did I buy and sell stolen goods? Not intentionally, but absolutely yes. Now, let's say the buyer walks up to the window unannounced and asks for a serial number check, and that serial number was reported stolen. My buyer's gone, I'm in possession of stolen property at a police station with no better story to tell than, "I bought it from a guy on Craigslist." Now they're working on a search warrant for my home to see what other stolen goods my kingpin self is in possession of, and the next few months of my life are going to suck.

 

Don't think it happens? I know someone who had exactly that happen to them. They went to sell a PS4 that they'd bought off of Craigslist, the buyer insisted on a police station, the serial number came back stolen, they were detained and made the mistake of saying words other than, "I remain silent and request a lawyer," which gave the police something to write on the search warrant request, which was promptly approved, which led to police confiscating every piece of electronic equipment in their home (including their personal devices). It took almost three months for them to get everything back, and they were still fined out the ass for possession of the original PS4 because the police refused to accept that honest mistakes happen.

 

If police stations are your thing, more power to you, but it is definitely not something I would ever consider doing again. If someone thinks I'm trying to sell them stolen goods, I'd rather they buy from someone else anyway.