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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Macs on EBay

doicomehereoftn - Nov 2, 2007 - 4:03 pm

First off, thanks for taking my question!

Now, I've been looking around at different options for getting a second Mac. I've found some on different EBay stores that are VERY inexpensive, however the OS is not installed. This kind of raised a red flag for me, but I'm still interested. What are some questions I should ask the seller to make sure I don't get a lemon? Also, do you know if OS 10.5 should work for an install on one of these, even though it sounds like a complete wipe of the system was done?

Thanks!
Jeremy

vinko - Nov 3, 2007 - 2:49 am

Dear Jeremy,

My name is Vinko and I will attempt to assist you.

First of all I personally would not and would never recommend others to purchase used Macs from eBay.

If I was to purchase a used Mac I will go to a physical Mac reseller that has used Macs. Failing that I would check out the "Refurbished Macs" that Apple offers on their Apple US Online Store. In almost all cases these refurbished Macs are just as good as the brand new ones from Apple. The only difference is that they may have been opened in front of the customer or some how returned back to Apple after the Mac was sold.

The other alternative is to check your local Mac User Group or Forums. Why this is much better than eBay and alike sites is that you can actually test drive the Mac in question before you pay the Seller.

You need to make sure the Mac you purchase is not damaged internally. The CD and/or DVD burner works. The DVD Player's zone restrictions had not been exceeded. You may also want to run the Hardware Diagnostic CD from the set of original CD/DVD that came with the Mac in question. The test you need to concern with is the RAM, ports and hard drive.

As you can tell there are much you need to test and it is hard to do so remotely and trust the Seller on these points. Also, these are not things you can do fairly quickly, therefore, it is much more convenient for the Mac to be backed by a brick-and-mortar store while you test drive your new Mac at home. Most of the problems, if any, will appear after only hours of use.

Depending on whether it is a notebook or a desktop you will have to make sure the screen's brightness is consistent. LCD screens normally experience brightness degradation after long period of use.

As for your question about OS, it is normal practice to wipe the drive clean and reinstall the Mac with either the original Mac OS that came with the Mac or a newer version.

No matter want you definitely need to make sure you receive both of the CD/DVD that came with the Mac.

Leopard (Mac OS 10.5) will install on most of the newer Macs. Please see Apple's web page for details of its system requirements.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

-- Vinko

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