[tekno_geek911]

Bought a 12" PowerBook from him,seemed like a nice guy to deal with...Finally the PB arrives and its not perfect as described in his thread,didnt even come with a box.First I notice this badge on the top of the notebook that says "STOP: Security Tracking Of Office Property.Ownership Permanently Monitored Police Traceable Tattoo Beneath"
Then I notice the "wobble" I put it on the desk and it wobbles side to side...
If spuchee fixes it I will edit this post,this is obviously not my fault and its definately bad even if he was unaware of the problem.

[DinoG4]

Hey tekno, sorry about your issue, Can I ask how you paid? Was it paypal? if so, they have a buyer/seller protection and CAN back out a payment from a seller...Im assuming you paid this way because of how fast payment was sent to him....Good luck pal...Im sure its described as you say..DIno.

[irnbrumike]

Hey--
Just wanted to cut in with info on Pay Pal--I just went through a NIGHTMARE eBay transaction with a guy who sold me the AE edition of the Adobe CS Suite. He seemed to have "forgotten" to add the item description that this was the AE edition, and said it was "my fault" for not asking (which is totally bogus)

Anyways, to make a long story short, I went to Pay Pal, to see how they could help me get my money back, and get this: they claimed they ONLY cover you if you recieve NOTHING from the seller--in other words, as long as you received ANYTHING in the mail, they can't help you. I'm serious, too.

In the end, I did get my money back through my credit card company, which led to other issues, but I think it's all settled now.

Just an FYI. It's made me turn away from pay Pal. Perhaps you can call Apple, give them the serial number, see if the item is stolen, and then go from there (once the police are involved, then it's a no-brainer to get your money back from a credit card comapny)?

The credit card company can't do anything unless it's stolen, or if it's 100% non-functional, and that the seller refuses to work something out for a refund. They also instist you ship the product back FIRST. Call them--they can help you out. My Visa compnay helped me out with everything.

mg.

[irnbrumike]

Let me also state that I'm not insinuating this is stolen property, though. I don't know anything about the seller or the product....

[Eriamjh]

http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.p...hreadid=205186

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by irnbrumike:
...

Just an FYI. It's made me turn away from pay Pal. Perhaps you can call Apple, give them the serial number, see if the item is stolen, and then go from there (once the police are involved, then it's a no-brainer to get your money back from a credit card comapny)?

The credit card company can't do anything unless it's stolen, or if it's 100% non-functional, and that the seller refuses to work something out for a refund. They also instist you ship the product back FIRST. Call them--they can help you out. My Visa compnay helped me out with everything.

mg.

Yeah, I had the same problem with Paypal a couple of years ago, only I was the seller with a crooked buyer, Paypal did nothing but take my money and offer no recourse (even though they violated their own TOS in doing so, but that's a long story). After that I opened my own merchant account with a bank and never looked back.

As far as Apple having a stolen serial number database, they don't. Well not in the sense you probably think they should. I had a powerbook stolen through fraud a couple of years ago and it took me a solid week to actually get a straight answer about reporting the serial number as stolen. There is a branch in Apple Security that will take your serial, but they are not reported to anyone (including Apple Service), and law enforcement does not routinely report serials to them. The guy I talked to basically told me even though they had been asking for changes in the system for years it essentially serves as a confirmation mechanism for law enforcement doing merchandise recovery. It only works, though, if the original buyer bothered to go through the labyrinthine process of actually reporting the serial. I was dumbfounded that someone can steal a computer and get warranty service on it without any flags ever going off (or for that matter the flags even existing). So, chances are, even if a computer is stolen (which I'm certainly not encouraging anyone to come to that conclusion in this matter, since this looks like a simple case of miscommunication), more than likely it will get a clean bill of health from Apple.

my $.02,
eric

[tekno_geek911]

Originally posted by DinoG4:
Hey tekno, sorry about your issue, Can I ask how you paid? Was it paypal? if so, they have a buyer/seller protection and CAN back out a payment from a seller...Im assuming you paid this way because of how fast payment was sent to him....Good luck pal...Im sure its described as you say..DIno.

Yes I paid with PayPal, I filed a complaint with them when the laptop first arrived but I dont know how much good that will do. All I ask from the guy is the warranty information so I can see if Apple will replace it,hope he fixes this problem.

[tekno_geek911]

Originally posted by irnbrumike:
Hey--
Just wanted to cut in with info on Pay Pal--I just went through a NIGHTMARE eBay transaction with a guy who sold me the AE edition of the Adobe CS Suite. He seemed to have "forgotten" to add the item description that this was the AE edition, and said it was "my fault" for not asking (which is totally bogus)

Anyways, to make a long story short, I went to Pay Pal, to see how they could help me get my money back, and get this: they claimed they ONLY cover you if you recieve NOTHING from the seller--in other words, as long as you received ANYTHING in the mail, they can't help you. I'm serious, too.

In the end, I did get my money back through my credit card company, which led to other issues, but I think it's all settled now.

Just an FYI. It's made me turn away from pay Pal. Perhaps you can call Apple, give them the serial number, see if the item is stolen, and then go from there (once the police are involved, then it's a no-brainer to get your money back from a credit card comapny)?

The credit card company can't do anything unless it's stolen, or if it's 100% non-functional, and that the seller refuses to work something out for a refund. They also instist you ship the product back FIRST. Call them--they can help you out. My Visa compnay helped me out with everything.

mg.

Oh that sucks man...I think I have no other choice but to wait it out,I didnt use my credit card I paid with PayPal funds.

[tekno_geek911]

Originally posted by keltorsori:
Yeah, I had the same problem with Paypal a couple of years ago, only I was the seller with a crooked buyer, Paypal did nothing but take my money and offer no recourse (even though they violated their own TOS in doing so, but that's a long story). After that I opened my own merchant account with a bank and never looked back.

As far as Apple having a stolen serial number database, they don't. Well not in the sense you probably think they should. I had a powerbook stolen through fraud a couple of years ago and it took me a solid week to actually get a straight answer about reporting the serial number as stolen. There is a branch in Apple Security that will take your serial, but they are not reported to anyone (including Apple Service), and law enforcement does not routinely report serials to them. The guy I talked to basically told me even though they had been asking for changes in the system for years it essentially serves as a confirmation mechanism for law enforcement doing merchandise recovery. It only works, though, if the original buyer bothered to go through the labyrinthine process of actually reporting the serial. I was dumbfounded that someone can steal a computer and get warranty service on it without any flags ever going off (or for that matter the flags even existing). So, chances are, even if a computer is stolen (which I'm certainly not encouraging anyone to come to that conclusion in this matter, since this looks like a simple case of miscommunication), more than likely it will get a clean bill of health from Apple.

my $.02,
eric

I called the security company yesterday and asked them about the metal badge,they said spuchee was the rightful owner..So im glad its not stolen. But it does still have damage so I really hope he fixes it,I wont give up.

Thank you all for your advice and concern.

[spuchee]

Hi all, I'm just a college student who sold his only computer in order to help pay for tuition. I sold a working computer with NO knowledge of any defects. Any concern or problem you should certainly contact me.

I should've mentioned the sticker indeed. However, it's unnecessary to jump the gun and insinuate that I purposely tried to manipulate and mislead.

There's absolutely no need to start a smear campaign on this forum!

I'm trying my absolute best to make the transaction go as smoothly as possible, so please don't jump to any drastic conclusions. Thank you!

P.S. It's alarming that unknown people are sending me offensive and threatening emails about this situation.

[tekno_geek911]

I never said you were a scammer,I just said this was misleading. I too am a college student that sold his only computer to buy this computer. You did help with the warranty and I thank you for that.Apple is gonna repair or replace it.

[irnbrumike]

Spuchee--
Seriously, I wasn't trying to insinuate anything about the transaction. I was really chiming in to bash Pay Pal for their odd "buyer safety" policies.... the idea that if you receive any type of package, no matter what's in it, then they won't cover you is ridiculous.
sounds like you two figured this all out, though, which is cool.
mg.

[Maflynn]

Originally posted by spuchee:

However, it's both disheartening and unfair to insinuate that I'm some sort of scam artist out to defraud people. There's absolutely no need to start a smear campaign on this forum.

I haven't seen anything in this thread or the other one that accused you of fraud.

imo you were wrong not to mention the wobble or the stickers. Clearly when someone is buying a Mac part of that reason is its design, and when that design is defective (wobble + sticker) the seller has an obligation to be forthright. Remember the Goldren rule, you wouldn't like it if you purchased a computer that had somthing wrong with it.

Mike

[spuchee]

Hi all, I've already conceded that I didn't mention the sticker.

However, I really didn't see any wobbling or warping before shipping, else I would've repaired it with Apple long beforehand. After all, the computer is within warranty, so I've no reason to hide any defect.

The truth is that neither of us foresaw the problem.

Anyhow, Tekno and I have reached an amicable conclusion.

P.S. It's alarming that unknown people have sent me offensive and threatening emails about this situation. I'm glad they stopped.

[Maflynn]

I think everyone is happy (including you two) that it has worked out.

Ok now group hug

Mike

[milhouse]

Feel the Love....

[tekno_geek911]

Thanks again for everyones help....I really hope Apple will replace the whole casing or send a new/refurb. If not im willing to buy a new top casing.