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mousehouse · Jun 16, 2003, 07:26 AM

there are obvious frauds and there are real frauds...

the obvious ones you should be able to spot... the real frauds are very, very hard to find. i was ripped out of a _helluvalotof_ money. it was a realistic buy, a fair price... i talked to them on the phone, got track & trace and i don't know what...

in the end i lost nearly $4000 half a year ago.... i called my bank for credit and bought a new one at the apple store right away. now i've filed charges for fraud together with other victims, i hope they pay off and that these people burn in h*ll forever.

my personal lesson is to never, ever buy anything online for more than $100... and for apple stuff... i'd rather wait 6 months to afford a new one rather than go through what i had to again.

wilsonX · Jun 16, 2003, 01:24 PM

Originally posted by iWrite:
First it's Bank of America. Now it's "QChex."

You need to tell him this:

"Jason, you have 7 days to get my refund to me. If it is not here I am filing a federal complaint against you using my United States Postal Service money order."

You need to send the same notification in an overnight letter to him. (Don't send Certified mail because he can refuse it and he won't suspect overnight express mail -- plus it's legally admissable in a court of law.)

I wouldn't trust this "QChex" business. Tell him you want your refund in the same way it arrived at his location: United States Postal Service money order.

Don't BS around with him anymore. You have the federal government on your side and you'll get your money back. Be nice but be firm.

Okay so its been 7 business days since I asked him for my refund. No refund yet. Got a message from qchex saying it was mailed today and should be here in 3-5 days. This is complete crap. The guy has one excuse after another for not living up to what he has previously stated. With the check thing he says that Bank of America told him he was "above current maximum threshold". So instead of using them he went to qchex. I told him I was reporting him to the FTC and US Postal Service if I did not receive my refund today.

j0nkatz · Jun 16, 2003, 02:17 PM

What is a good way for a seller to sell a Powerbook? I'm wanting to put my 12" PB for sale soon, but don't want to get ripped off.

DimeTech · Jun 16, 2003, 09:09 PM

hey wilson...calm down and read my comments a couple posts back. you are the one I wouldn't want to do business with. I got my refund and everything is fine. just chill out.

iWrite · Jun 16, 2003, 09:32 PM

dimetech:

He's got a right to be upset.

This guy has had his funds for, like, a month and a half when all is said and done.

Why don't I borrow $2K from, like, 30 people and just invest it for 6 weeks?

What is going on just is not right and he has other people's money and I feel bad, but who wants to make a wager that the next person we see arrested or indicted for fraud is this Jason guy? Because, I distinctly have the impression that he's in a downward spiral and he's using funds from new customers to pay off old ones -- like wilsonx.

This is the long slippery slope that the presellers fall prey to...courtesy of eBay. Sometimes rules and laws are there to protect ourselves from ruining our own lives. In this case Jason has got to watch himself because he's pushing his luck.

wilsonX · 10:36 PM

Originally posted by DimeTech:
hey wilson...calm down and read my comments a couple posts back. you are the one I wouldn't want to do business with. I got my refund and everything is fine. just chill out.

I appreciate your feedback. It'll be a lot easier to calm down when I have my $2915.00 back. He seemed like a good ebayer but he has yet to do anything he claims to have done. He has one excuse after another... On the other hand, I won the auction, I paid him the money, he has my money, I have no computer, and I have no refund. His last claim, to have sent me the money last Sunday is yet another example of how he has not done what he told me he would do. So let me clarify further. He said he "submitted it for payment" to Bank of America last Sunday, yet I got an email this last Friday saying Qchex (not affiliated with Bank of America) would send my money and to expect it to arrive in 3-5 days. Well today, I get another email from Qchex saying I should expect the check in 3-5 days from TODAY?! What am I supposed to believe? I have a hard time believing what he says anymore. I can list a lot more examples... Your comment is only slightly reasurring as I have seen other news reports that say some auctions have gone smoothly and then a ton of fraud occurs. So when the money arrives, and it is actually worth what is owed to me, I will calm down.

wilsonX · Jun 16, 2003, 09:53 PM

Originally posted by iWrite:
dimetech:

He's got a right to be upset.

This guy has had his funds for, like, a month and a half when all is said and done.

Why don't I borrow $2K from, like, 30 people and just invest it for 6 weeks?

What is going on just is not right and he has other people's money and I feel bad, but who wants to make a wager that the next person we see arrested or indicted for fraud is this Jason guy? Because, I distinctly have the impression that he's in a downward spiral and he's using funds from new customers to pay off old ones -- like wilsonx.

This is the long slippery slope that the presellers fall prey to...courtesy of eBay. Sometimes rules and laws are there to protect ourselves from ruining our own lives. In this case Jason has got to watch himself because he's pushing his luck.

As usual, sage comments from the wise one. Thanks for your suggestions and comments. I appreciate them.

Mastrap · Jun 17, 2003, 02:43 AM

Originally posted by j0nkatz:
What is a good way for a seller to sell a Powerbook? I'm wanting to put my 12" PB for sale soon, but don't want to get ripped off.

I still use ebay for selling stuff. I make sure to state that the buyer is welcome to pick the item up in person. I also give my home number to serious bidders to build trust.

DimeTech · Jun 17, 2003, 02:44 AM

Right on wilson. I feel what youre saying. I thought the same thing. I got all those emails too, then got the check a couple days later. Youll feel happy when you notice that it is more than you paid. hence the 103% refund. maybe that little extra 3% is because it can be frustrating sometimes.

wilsonX · Jun 17, 2003, 11:24 AM

Originally posted by DimeTech:
Right on wilson. I feel what youre saying. I thought the same thing. I got all those emails too, then got the check a couple days later. Youll feel happy when you notice that it is more than you paid. hence the 103% refund. maybe that little extra 3% is because it can be frustrating sometimes.

Except that if I'm to believe his last email, the amount is not equal to 103% as he had promised. He has an excuse for that too.

DimeTech · Jun 17, 2003, 01:04 PM

really? wow, I checked mine when I got it and it was like 60 bucks more than I paid.

prodigy1387 · Jun 17, 2003, 02:07 PM

Also, pictures of the actual machine and equipment are reassuring i think

iWrite · Jun 17, 2003, 02:15 PM

really? wow, I checked mine when I got it and it was like 60 bucks more than I paid.

It's called "hush money" or in other words, a "Be Quiet Bribe."

wilsonX · Jun 20, 2003, 11:03 AM

Well, I received the check from "Qchex" Took it to the bank for deposit. We'll see if its backed by money... Dimetech...It's not for 103% as the original auction provided for when failure to deliver within 29 days (it was 34 days when I cancelled and asked for a refund...).

NYCgroove · Jul 5, 2003, 01:27 PM

I was just checking out eBay to see who may have listed a G5 yet. Even though they arent shipping yet, I wanted to keep tabs on the action. I came across two from the same seller. Each Buy it now $2999 with the following specs:

Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5
8GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 8x1GB
2x250GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
Apple Cinema HD Display (23" flat panel)
Apple Cinema HD Display (23" flat panel) + Apple DVI to ADC Adapter
AirPort Extreme Card
Bluetooth Module
56k V.92 internal modem
SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
Fibre Channel PCI Card
Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
Mac OS X - U.S. English
iPod - 30GB
Logitech Z-680 THX 5.1 Speakers & Monster 2-meter Cable
AirPort Extreme Base Station (with modem and antenna port)
.Mac Promotional Bundle
APP for Power Mac (w/ or w/o display) - Enrollment Kit

Sounds like a $13,000 computer to me. Not to my surprise the auction became invalid and no longer on eBays database. So I figured it couldn't hurt to email the seller to see if I'd get a response. Much to my surprise I did get a response, and he has been quick to respond to further e-mails. He has now e-mailed me all of the specs again, and am waiting for an e-mail with specifics such as contact info and such. This absolutly must be a fraud, but what happens if he gives me legit contact info and is gotten a hold of on the telephone? What can and should be done to stop this person?

What does everyone think???

Adios,
NYCgroove

milhouse · Jul 5, 2003, 05:41 PM

Originally posted by wilsonX:
... I paid via US Postal Service money order...Does that give me any protection?

If you are defrauded then the perpetrator may be guilty of both mail and wire fraud.

I'd contact the postmaster general in addition to the "regular authorities" if you need to go that route.

I've had my eBay account info stolen in the past. Since the cost to me for paypal and ebay scams has been zero I suppose i've been lucky.

good luck.

milhouse · Jul 5, 2003, 05:49 PM

Originally posted by j0nkatz:
What is a good way for a seller to sell a Powerbook? I'm wanting to put my 12" PB for sale soon, but don't want to get ripped off.

You can also require payment via postal money order.
Also track the shipment and take pictures as it's being packed up. A video camera can come in handy here. Perhaps footage of it booting,being shut down, packed and sealed in the box.

Not foolproof but speaks volumes.

I don't allow bidders with negative or zero feedback to buy from me.

webb3201 · Jul 5, 2003, 06:44 PM

One suggestion. Don't use the Buy It Now options. I always used them in the past, but the last two auctions I ran (for Macs) were ended by jokers with no feedback rating using the Buy It Now.

If you let the auction run for a week, you should have some legit bidders you can email if the winner is bogus. I am very concerned about Ebay and Apple products. T

yg17 · Jul 5, 2003, 11:42 PM

I read something on a forum a few weeks ago regarding seller fraud. If interested in something, ask the seller to take a picture of the product with a piece of paper taped to it with your name written on that. If they refuse to do that, it's almost definitley a fraud. Sounds like a pretty good idea to me. Not foolproof and if they can provide that, there is still more research to do, but if they can't give you that, then don't bid

wwiiol · Jul 8, 2003, 05:59 AM

I bought a presale Tibook (60 gig hd, superdrive, 512 ram) on Ebay from this person several months back.

It took a few days longer than the initial 30 but she upgraded my shipping to next day air. It came brand new, factory sealed.

What was weird though was that the receipt came from some music store in NYC.

p.s. I paid about $2150 for it too.

radarbob · Jul 8, 2003, 09:09 AM

I was just checking out eBay to see who may have listed a G5 yet. Even though they arent shipping yet, I wanted to keep tabs on the action. I came across two from the same seller. Each Buy it now $2999 with the following specs:
...
Much to my surprise I did get a response, and he has been quick to respond to further e-mails.
...
What does everyone think???

I've bought many things over the internet but this thread has scared the eBay customer out of me!

The problem with practiced liers is that they are particularly good at it. There is no sure-fire way to guarantee you are not dealing with a con artist. Mix in that most of us are honest, add a helping of "we want to believe" (make that a double helping), top off with a heaping helping of naivete about "eBay gone Wild" and there ya go! It's shocking to think there are folks out there who would steal their invalid grandmother's oxygen and then scam eBay customers with it - but they're out there.

OTOH there have beem millions of legit eBay auctions. I expect, hope, pray that by refusing to particpate in an auction at the *least* suspicion that you reduce your risk significantly.

Like what suspicions? ANYTHING that gives you pause. eBay is so big and anonymous - it's a petre dish of deceptive scamming... "buy now" on an item that's not even shipping from the manufacturer (yeah, if you're not a mac-mavin like us, who'd know)? Poor grammar or spelling. Odd payment arrangements. Foreign addresses. Even the slightest tingling of your spidey-sense no matter what the reason. And...

Selling something they don't have - by another name, preselling. That's just suspicious. Look at it this way.. Would you sell - no *give* - a $2,000 item to someone who promised "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today" deal? That is, someone who told you he can't pay you? Heck NO! Then why would you "gladly pay NOW for a hamburger on Tuesday"? Even "legitimate" presellers *MUST* be selling on a thin margin, a prayer and a promise, the finely-tuned timing of a double-transaction. It's amazing. They tell you they don't have the merchandise, insist on payment up front, and we still go for the deal. Caveat Emptor. It's as old as Human history.

Drakino · Jul 9, 2003, 03:25 PM

Random tidbit, saw a few auctions last night for a 14.1 inch iBook, combo drive, 256 RAM, and 1GHz G3.

Seems the scammers need to do their research on what actual machines are out at the time. Auctions are gone now.

vinster · Jul 9, 2003, 04:43 PM

Originally posted by radarbob:
I've bought many things over the internet but this thread has scared the eBay customer out of me!
...
eBay is so big and anonymous - it's a petre dish of deceptive scamming...
...
Look at it this way.. Would you sell - no *give* - a $2,000 item to someone who promised "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today" deal? ... Then why would you "gladly pay NOW for a hamburger on Tuesday"?

Well stated radarbob! This should be sent to eBay's board of directors.

BTW: There are a lot of scams going for high-end digital SLR cameras. Just do a search for 'Canon EOS' and you'll find many obvious cons.

Like many others, I'll only ever buy inexpensive items like mobile phone covers via eBay and that's only if I can't find the same design from another online retailer with their own site.

IMHO, eBay needs to do some serious work to fully cover buyers and sellers against fraud and then heavily promote this to their members or I can see them becoming a rummage sale that no one wants to go to because the neighbourhood's so bad.

My 2�.

slffl · Jul 10, 2003, 11:49 AM

Speaking of fraud, I had my Paypal account broken into a few months ago. One night I'm looking at my bank account online and notice my savings is cut in half. It's an ACH withdrawal from Paypal!

I login to Paypal and see that there's a payment made to some guy for $1900! It even has a note saying "nice doing business with you". Luckily Paypal caught it and I finally got it all back a month later.

Some advice (and I know I was stupid to do it in the first place), don't setup Paypal to be able to ACH from your main bank account.

Eriamjh · Jul 10, 2003, 12:36 PM

I use the rule of retail: If the retail price on a new Apple item is significantly higher than the starting bid or "buy-it-now" price, then the auction is a scam.

Nobody, not even the resellers themselves can get more than 20% discounts on Apple hardware when new.

All bets are off when the model is discontinued or used. Those are probably legit unless it is right after a new model is announced.

The other thing to do is assume it is a scam, but if you want to take a chance, use a method of payment that protects you. Always check into the sellers escrow service.

Ebay does not care. They are so big. They claim "Less than 1% of auctions are scams". I wonder how much as a percentage of bidding revenue? A $5 scam isn't likely. A $2000 17" powerbook is likely to be a scam. It takes 40 $5 auctions to raise $2000. 1/40th is 2.5%.

I wonder what ebay's average, non-scam auction goes for? I wonder what its average scam auction is?

Mithras · Jul 10, 2003, 03:06 PM

Does anyone have any advice on Ebay auctions for older Powerbooks?

I'll be in the market for a ~$1400 powerbook, which looks like it will get me an original 500Mhz G4, or maybe a 667 with combo drive if I'm lucky.

Are these auctions of older items more likely to be legitimate? The ideal purchase is some powerbook that only went to the market on Sundays, but the majority of sellers seem to be people that buy and sell lots of computers, not individual owners...

tia,
mithras

yg17 · Jul 10, 2003, 03:28 PM

Why not save $200 more and get a brand new 12 inch PB, or use that money and get a combo drive iBook? Buying it from Apple means it's not a scam and it's brand new and in perfect condition, and if anything is wrong with it, Apple will take care of it.

Since EBCDIC · Nov 18, 2004, 03:45 PM

ESCROW ESCROW ESCROW ESCROW ESCROW

If you buy something for more than you're willing to lose without using an escrow service then you deserve what you get.

You're not smart enough to out-clever a determined scammer. It's too easy to get stolen credit crad numbers to open one-use auction accounts. The good news is that you don't have to be clever. Nor do you have to worry about auctions which sound too good to be true.

Pick an escrow service with which you're comfortable and tell sellers that's how you'll buy. Scammers drop out instantly.

A few months after the Titanium PowerBooks were available from Apple I spotted one on our favorite on-line auctioneer. New In Box, great price, etc. I introduced the seller to the concept of escrow, won the auction, paid escrow.com (now an eBay company), got the PowerBook - exactly as described - and released the payment.

If I had been clever I would have passed on this low-feedback relatively new user. I suspect he turned around a new machine bought with a student discount. Good beer money for him.

So, my advice to y'all?

ESCROW ESCROW ESCROW ESCROW ESCROW

(Actually, I wish eBay would automagically offer escrow for any auction win price of more than $300. Make it really hard on scammers.)

Eug Wanker · Nov 19, 2004, 12:04 AM

I just sold a camera and a lens, and am currently selling my iPod. (I want the 6 GB mini when it comes out.)

Those aren't cheap items, but the most expensive item was still less than US$350. I'm a bit worried about what to do when it comes time to sell my TiBook 1 GHz. It should fetch a good chunk of change, but people may be getting gun shy since there are too many PowerBook scams these days.

The items I sold have given me a good rating, but still, 5 or 10 good ratings just doesn't impress some people.

shabbasuraj · Nov 19, 2004, 12:39 AM

ebay = scambay

PayPal = FraudFoe

urrl78 · Nov 19, 2004, 06:41 AM

Interesting link on how one person tracked down the scammer here:

http://www.mannequin3d.com/powerbook/

If you have already read about the funny P-P-P-Powerbook story dont click on the link.

Since EBCDIC · Nov 20, 2004, 02:19 AM

I'm a bit worried about what to do when it comes time to sell my TiBook 1 GHz.

Don't be worried.

At the top of your auction say:

Yes, there have been a lot of fraud in on-line PowerBook sales. That's why I'll say up-front that we'll use an escrow service. We'll split the cost; it'll be $x for every $y you pay for this PowerBook. I won't get your money until you're satisfied with your purchase. That having been said, let me describe this really nifty 1 GHz TiPB...

Eug Wanker · Nov 20, 2004, 03:42 AM

Originally posted by Since EBCDIC:
Don't be worried.

At the top of your auction say:

Yes, there have been a lot of fraud in on-line PowerBook sales. That's why I'll say up-front that we'll use an escrow service. We'll split the cost; it'll be $x for every $y you pay for this PowerBook. I won't get your money until you're satisfied with your purchase. That having been said, let me describe this really nifty 1 GHz TiPB...

Who in Canada has used an escrow? I have no experience with this, and would like some tips, esp. from Canadians.

l008com · Nov 20, 2004, 01:49 PM

I was ripped off once, only for about $50 though. I bought a firewire case, that had several problems, I told him it was defective, he had me mail it to him, then he checked it out and said it was fine, I explained it was far from fine, he said he had to ship it back to the manufacturer, then he waited, then he was moving office so he'd have to wait longer. Turns out that after one month and two months, you can no longer do ANYTHING against being ripped off on ebay or paypal. They both said it has been too long sorry. So beware of sellers who stretch **** out like that, they are specifically waiting past the month limit so you have no recourse and this guy kept my money and the broken firewire case that I'm sure he sold to someone else. I really haven't been using ebay much at all for buying, I go to amazon and newegg mostly now. I use ebay to sell computers when I upgrade but thats about it.

atomic101 · Nov 20, 2004, 08:43 PM

Yesterday after weeks of searching for a good-deal Tibook I bought what I though was a good deal on ebay but having logged on here and read the thread i'm freaked out

aaaaaaaarrrrrggggggghhhhh

There's a 1000 dollars of my hard-earned cash that could be .......

aaaaaaaarrrrrggggggghhhhh

I paid via paypal and,,,,

.

mrmister · Nov 20, 2004, 10:39 PM

Good Lord. ESCROW ESCROW ESCROW. How hard is that to figure out?

atomic101 · Nov 20, 2004, 10:55 PM

The seller has 558 transactions with 98.5% approval and a 'power seller' status with ebay.

The page had an original photo of the machine, and the specs were plausible.

So far communication is ok. - about a day after purchase....

l008com · Nov 21, 2004, 02:30 AM

I hate dealing with powersellers because they are all about volume selling and making money, so they don't care if they have a bad feedback or two, so if you happen to get a defective item, you are screwed.

urrl78 · Nov 21, 2004, 02:32 AM

By "origional" I hope you mean a personal photo and not a manufacturer photo. I am in thr midst of a reseller snag myself. Bought a watch from watchzone.com. and received a used one instead of new and the timer was not working. I however am ready to dispute the charge if it is not replaced within 3 days since I used a credit card with no other charges on it. A replacement is on the way, they say, but I had to pay for it. They will drop the charge of the first watch after I send it back. I will keep close with my card company to not let the dispute date go overlimit. This should be interesting to see how much power a credit card customer can have. Don't mean to hijack this thread so maybe I will post the results in an appropriate section of the Macnn forum, unless you guys don't mind. Too bad the world is so full of dishonest folk.

For checking out the credibility of online stores try:

www.reselleratings.com

The truth is out there.

atomic101 · Nov 21, 2004, 04:21 PM

Yes it was an original photo not a PR image .. I could post the link to the ebay page but the seller has done nothing wrong yet... so I don't want to start accusations just yet....

wait and see i suppose is all i can do

I emailed the seller today to ask about estimated delivery times and dates and have not received a response yet - but it is Sunday so...

mgehman · Nov 21, 2004, 09:31 PM

Originally posted by atomic101:
Yes it was an original photo not a PR image .. I could post the link to the ebay page but the seller has done nothing wrong yet... so I don't want to start accusations just yet....

wait and see i suppose is all i can do

I emailed the seller today to ask about estimated delivery times and dates and have not received a response yet - but it is Sunday so...

Relax! Don't Panic.
I have purchased 3 powerbooks on eBay and sold 2. Never had a problem. The guy you bought from sounds like a real seller.
It is true that many times power sellers take a while to ship, but you almost always get it. The product is usually as advertised, because all these guys have is there name. Take a deep breath and have a beer. You will get it.

atomic101 · Nov 26, 2004, 06:20 PM

Thanks for the re-assuring thoughts ! They are appreciated.

Well here's an update

I got a reply from the seller saying that the item would be shipped out on tuesday evening. Via USPS.

A day later I emailed to ask about likely delivery times - he (/she?) didn't know but gave me a reference number - which I have checked and an item did ship as stated on Tuesday evening. It left the US. I should say here that I'm in Europe - Dublin, Ireland.

But as of Friday evening nothing has arrived - and the address I gave was my work address in central Dublin - not half way up a mountain ...

Unlike say Fedex the USPS provides more limited information - I have emailed them just now to ask how long on average NYC to Dublin shipments take - just on average how long - and am waiting a reply.

So something WAS posted, something DID leave the US but no updates yet could've swung south and disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle for all I know at the moment.

I could still get it and It could be a two ring binder with glud keys and marker drawn firewire ports...

hmmmm.......

What does Power Seller mean on ebay - is it a tag you get after so many trades or is it status with more to it than that?

atomic101 · Nov 27, 2004, 07:20 AM

USPS tracking update says parcel arrived in Germany on Thursday at 9.30pm.

Hopefully all is well, and it may be shipped on to Ireland over the weekend and I may have it on Monday... here's hoping anyway (fingers crossed tightly)

atomic101 · Nov 27, 2004, 12:31 PM

I got a reply from USPS saying "the item has reached its destination country" on thursday 25th but that they are unable to obtain information on the item without a 'confirmation number'...

I hope that by destination country they mean Ireland and not Germany ... if they do then it would have had to leave Germany (arrived 9.30pm) almost immediately to get to Ireland before midnight thursday (25th)...

now I'm worried again ! sigh this is NOT pleasant

USPS update info every evening so that means there's a slight delay in the information...

I'm assuming it then has to go through customs here in Ireland so that might account for Friday....

Hopefully I will get it Monday ...

I emailed the seller the and am awaiting a reply

atomic101 · Nov 29, 2004, 05:35 PM

Actually I learned today that all Europe-bound parcels from USPS go to a German hub. That USPS then lets it's agent handle them. The item is now in Britain, or it could have arrived in Ireland after leaving Britain but they'll send me a postcard when it arrives in Ireland. (!)

The USPS has made life very difficult for people in a number of European companies by dealing only with private distribution companies for parcels - who are so bad that the USPS doesn't intend dealing with them in the future....

These items don't arrive via our national post system... the USPS doesn't interact with it anymore for parcels or something ....

This just gets better.... in [ what's becoming a ] blog no-one can hear you SSSCCCRRRREEEEEEAAAAAMMM !!

;-) ;-( ;-)

atomic101 · Nov 29, 2004, 05:40 PM

oh yeah nearly forgot - But my credit card's working!!!!! - got my bill today ;-)

complete with NEW balance - joy !

atomic101 · Nov 29, 2004, 05:52 PM

Just checked with the USPS website tracking system and it says that the item has arrived in GREECE!

.......

polendo · Nov 29, 2004, 06:05 PM

this is material for a mexican soap opera haha! I bet you a cold Corona that on the least expected moment the guy from the parcel service will be there by your office.

mgehman · Nov 29, 2004, 06:14 PM

Originally posted by polendo:
this is material for a mexican soap opera haha! I bet you a cold Corona that on the least expected moment the guy from the parcel service will be there by your office.

Personally, I would see if you could collect the frequent flier miles that the PowerBook has put in.

atomic101 · Dec 7, 2004, 03:32 PM

Well I finally finally got the parcel today.

I have a problem though - the screen is not displaying anything other than a few narrow straight lines along the bottom of the screen.

I am getting the start up chime, any CDs I insert are ejecting but because the screen is white-out I am working blind.

I am going to get an adaptor to see if i can hook it up to another monitor but it's not looking good at the moment....

Was there a thread on MacNN before about Tibook display problems -soemthing about letting them sit at room temperature for a while to 'heat up" (code i think for dry out)

I did notice when I opened the parcel how cold the laptop was to touch - it's been in transit 14 days (!) so ..... is it possible that moisture could have built up?

Cosmetically the machine looks fine, I am getting the start up chime as i say and when I insert a CD the eject button works - I can't test anything else at the monent.....

Any thoughts much appreciated....