How can people sell "new" Macbook Pros on eBay for hundreds less?

I've bought more then a dozen macbook pro's on ebay in the last 6 months for friends and family. All were brand new and sealed in the box and cost hundreds less then even a student or EPP/Gov't discount, and no tax! That comes to at least 400-500 saving on the higher end models. I've only purchased from high feedback sellers with lots of previous macbook sales in their feedback and have not had any issues.

I would like to know where they're getting them from too!

You say you have been on ebay a lot so I am sure you know that your seller needs to have a LOT of feedback before you make a big purchase like a MBP from him?

Whenever I have found deals that I know cannot be true I like to have some fun and ask the seller some very specific questions. Tell him your zip code and ask exactly what will be the final bill above the winning bid price and exactly when will the postmark show that the unit has shipped. Note how you will not get those questions answered in a direct way, if at all.

At any rate, don't buy it. Nobody is out there trying to give you a good deal. Nobody, save your mother or spouse, is trying to make you happy by giving you hundreds of dollars.

I also am a long time ebay buyer an seller and have never been burned except for one deal where I was the seller and the kid found a loophole and claimed I never shipped the item. He go all of his money back from me too. I checked is feedback in later deals. Seems this was his MO. Buy an item them claim it never arrived. He was in Canada and the sellers were in the US.

A seller is not always required to collect sales taxes, although individuals are always required to pay them (most don't bother, but it is still required in most states).

You might also be looking at developer or student machines, since those are discounted.

I was tempted to buy one off eBay myself. The problem i didnt end up doing this due to not being able to find a 2.8 with AntiGlare. I also am very picky and would rather just get it where i supposed to rather then get reamed later with fine print :P.

I through of every which way to either not pay tax OR to use some sorta discount program.

There are several options I've found.

1. Order from Amazon.com. I'm in NY and when i went through the checkout process, it wasn't taxed.

2. Drive down to Delaware and by it from one of the stores. Delaware doesn't have an Apple store, they only have resellers. You can find them using the apple store finder thing. (Delaware has no sales tax. Also, im not being a tard, if it wasn't for the discount program, this is what i would have done.)

3. Google random Mac resellers. There are tons, some will charge you sales tax, others wont. They are very easy to find, just have to register for their site and try to go through the checkout process.

4. Best Buy VERY RARELY will have a sale on MBP's. The store i used to work at would sell them at cost during a sale (Same price as student discount) and try to make up the loss via services / accessories. Check out their site every now and then.

I ended up going through the State/Local Gov discount program. I am fortunate to have a state employee in my family 😀

My intention was to not pay sales tax, i don't believe in it. So it was either pay 200$ less with apple and pay sales tax, or not get a discount but not pay tax. Was the same price either way.

how people can offer these deals. Where are they getting these units?

Off the back of a truck or straight from a contact in China, perhaps? Obviously not from the Apple Store. In fact, I wonder if any of the money you're giving them finds its way back to Apple for this product.

I guess I was lucky.

I recently sold my MBP 2.8 antiglare on ebay.
I never tried to sell before, so I had zero feedback.

I'm hoping things go smoothly as it was in new condition, no marks or problems.

Wanted to get the new imac 27", but now I hear lots of problems.

Oh, well... have yto wait it out.

I don't know the market conditions today. I worked for several authorized retailers of name-brand 'Personal Computers' in the 1980's and 1990's. Back then, authorized computer resellers had to meet rigid sales quotas in dollars or units, or both, to keep their 'authorized dealer' status.

Many dealers also used to 'floorplan' inventory. The dealer would finance the inventory via a firm, such as General Electric Capital. Instead of tying up money in inventory, a dealer could pay a small percentage of the dealer cost to GE Capital for several months, in anticipation of selling the unit before the full amount was due, in 60 or 90 days. Some manufacturers offered dealers 'free' floorplan for 60 to 90 days, so the authorized dealer would have demo units of the latest models in the showroom at no cost.

If a dealer had a large inventory of unsold units (economic downturn, client cancels a large order, competitor introduces newer model) near the end of the floorplan period, the dealer might sell units through what was then known as the 'gray market', to independent (unauthorized) dealers, to individuals, via blind newspaper ads or mail-order -- IN CLEAR VIOLATION OF EXCLUSIVE DEALER AGREEMENTS -- because this was essentially before the commercial internet, AT or BELOW 'dealer cost', in order to keep inventory down and sales numbers up, and to generate the needed cash to pay the bill for the inventory, and keep meeting monthly and yearly sales quotas.

I'm using my MBP that I bought on ebay. It was a pretty good bargain. I have no doubt that it was a brand new factory sealed unit. When I checked to see if I actually had the promised 1 year warrantee on Apples website I was surprised to find that I had 3 years of Applecare. No regrets.

I just got the new 21.5" & 27" iMAC and haven't had a single issue with either. Admit with the 21.5" they sent a wired keyboard vs. the wireless but one call and I have the wireless en route and am keeping the wired at no cost as a back up.

Think --
+Drive down to Delaware and by it from one of the stores. Delaware doesn't have an Apple store, they only have resellers. You can find them using the apple store finder thing. (Delaware has no sales tax.+

Delaware does have an Apple Store just outside Wilmington in the Christiana Mall.

I'm just sayin . . .

what is that Bing cash back i keep hearing about? Bing is an MS thing, no? They give discounts on MS products? LOL