Purchasing apple products from other stores/ online besides iStore

Hi zilu11,

No matter where you decide to purchase Apple products, make sure that they are brand new and unopened. This ensures that they aren't bricked by Activation Lock.

If you must purchase a used device, only the official Apple Store's Refurbished section is completely safe.

Well, Amazon itself is an authorized Apple reseller, but it also has a huge "marketplace" where anyone can sell their stuff. So, I have no clue about Takealot - it could be new or used or not properly prepared for sale. Personally, I would not trust any place that did not post specific information. I checked one item:

https://www.takealot.com/apple-macbook-pro-16-inch-apple-m1/PLID73507013

It says 1 year mfr limited warranty. Well, that is almost over - the description says October 2021 for that item. Apple starts the warranty when they first ship to the first owner/retailer, so the warranty on this one will expire in October.

You didn't say what country you're located in? The retailers you named seem to be based in South Africa, but that's just a guess based on a bit of research. iStore is a large international retailer with a presence in several countries, and possibly a name that is used by a variety of unrelated retailers in different countries selling primarily Apple products.

But assuming you're in South Africa, I couldn't find that store on Apple's list of resellers in South Africa. However, there are many retailers besides iStore that sell Macs.

We are not Apple as this is a user to user only forum. Here is a link to Apple Resellers. See if you can find this seller there --> https://locate.apple.com/