This addresses “OSX-Year” & “pre-Retina” fuckers that make my price guide hell

Hey everyone, I’ve been wanting to make a video about Thinkpad Prices and Apple shit prices but I’ve never got around doing it… however I am making a video about annoying as fuck sellers on eBay when it comes to iMac and MacBooks. Because Apple names their iMac and Macbook models by year, and release an OSX version about each year, there has been a few ebay sellers who deceive you with this tactic.

3 Year Warranty Bullshit

Almost everyone is selling these with a 3 year warranty, hence the overpriced bullshit. I Don’t know why, but on some sellers there is a bit of negative feedback where the buyers aren’t getting a response from these dudes after a year of purchase. There is one scummy seller that actually talks about the bluff, that other sellers only warranty the parts they put in, RAM and HDD/SSD. But buying 3 year warranty has it’s caveats, some sellers are only accepting “full repair” for free within a year. After that you have to pay for the part & not the labor, but I’m not sure what those prices cost. 🙁

Seriously you’re better off buying a new laptop from Apple on credit & going off their Apple Care for repairs. I’m sure these sellers will give you the ass the same as Apple does.

30 day return policy – Dont buy into it

Just about everyone does it, so it’s not special at all! eBay forces sellers to comply to this, or don’t get that special “TOP RATED” shit on their descriptions. Even if they don’t, I believe you can still get a return within 30 days backed by ebay or paypal… yes the returns can work on the “as is” e-Waste sellers (i think). So them advertising the 30 day return policy, doesn’t really make much of a difference to their much more cheaper, & honest competitors. Consider this return policy has become the defacto standard on a lot of online platform retailers.

OSX-Year to Mislead the MacBook Year

For the most part, Apple names each MacBooks by the year and in the time of the year. Like Mid 2014 MacBook Pro 15, MacBook Pro Late 2013, MacBook Air, Early 2014, etc. EveryMac has a page listing each Mac (like 1999 & up) & which is their latest operating system they support. You know, Apple names their software releases like High Sierra, Yosemite, Snow Leopard, & they all have version names like OSX 10.7, macOS 10.15, OSX 10.11 etc. Before I remember this trend started happening, a lot of sellers on eBay would put on the title listing “El Capitan 10.11” or “Yosemite 10.10”, people would put the 10.x shit on about all listings, or say current OS. Sometimes people would put in the model year of the laptop, sometimes they put in the serial number (idk why people are afraid of that shit), and some wouldn’t put anything at all, like “used macbook good” or “nuevo mac book”. Anyways, instead these sellers are putting in “OSX-2019” or “OSX-2020”, “OSX-2016” which fucks me up looking for eBay prices….

Pre-Retina, because clickbait

Although they are lovely, Retina MacBooks get fucked too. if you put in “Retina Macbook” ebay will search for anything that has Retina in their name. SO THESE FUCKERS will let you know you’re not getting a retina laptop, they’ll put in “pre-retina” but STILL fucking not put what year it is and USE the fucking OSX year instead. The rMBP came out in in 2012, & Apple was still selling regular MBPs alongside them, because of dat price difference, some people didn’t get em. The easiest way to distinguish the difference of non-retina and rMBP is their size. rMBP do not have DVD drives and have a longer/wider battery that is shorter in thickness. So pre-retina macbooks have the CD drive on the right side (or front if some zealous sellers are selling the old as fuck ones).

• 2007 – 2009 MBP – OSX 10.11 El Capitan so ((( 2015 to 2018 Upgraded )))
• 2010 – 2012 MBP – OSX 10.11 High Sierra ((( 2017 to 2020 upgraded )))

Macbook non-Pros, but it’s a MBP

In Late 2009, Apple redesigned the look of the regular white macbook, gone is the sweet black color. There is also a Mid 2010 model as well, and an “education” model, which had lesser CPU specs. I actually love them, because we would get from 5 to 20 at a time at my old job and they just have their hard drives removed or dipshits would drive a hammer though the entire case to break the hdd… The 2009 and 2010 model can be upgraded to OSX 10.13 High Sierra which came out in 2017, and it is had support till today (october 2020). So guess what that means? Yup, these fuckers are selling “OSX-2017 MacBooks Pro” or “Upgraded to Current spec Macbook”, even one cunt put in Macbook Pro on the title, but in the description THEY FIXED THAT SHIT. fuck off

These things as parts are worth $20 to $60, you’ll most likely have to upgrade the HDD, RAM and put in a new battery. I would come across some of these and sell them for $70 to $130 depending on condition, w/ 4GB RAM and whatever HDD they had inside, with or without a charger. Basically the beaten up one I didn’t sell with a charger, nicer ones with. If you wanted to upgrade to max RAM, SSD and new battery, expect to pay up to $200 for all the upgrades. However there are a lot of sellers who sell these way too fuckin high with shit specs. I’m going to assume that most of these 500GB drives are 5400RPM ones, because thats how Apple did it.

Unibody MacBook that Looks like a MBP but isn’t but is still advertised as a MBP

The “unibody” MacBook is a design type that is still used today & some ultrabooks are like it too. Basically the palmrest, & keyboard bezel are all milled out of one piece of aluminum instead of having an internal subframe. This make the Macbook Pro much more sturdier than others, and didn’t have snapping hinges like the PowerBook design the MacBook Pros had. Gone is the metal subframe that everything connected to, the old classic design that a lot of laptops were based off of (RIP nuThinkpads). This actually made the MacBook Pros a bit tough… I know that’s like an oxymoron to say, but it can legit take a better roughhousing than the previous ones.

In 2008 Apple nicknames their MacBook Pros as Unibody, to distinguish themselves from the others. It is basically the Ultrabook design a lot of manufacturers copied. It was avialable in 13″, 15″ and 17″ form factors, and there was a non-pro version in 13″ size. These lacked the SD Card slot as like the previous Macbook, but the 2.0GHz version didn’t have a backlit keyboard, the 2.4GHz model did… These were sold only for one model year and dropped in June 2009. Yeah there’s the 2015 thru 2017 MacBook that have a coreM CPUs, but I forgot all about the 2008 model and I believe they use different replacement parts than the 13″ MBP, so finding parts may be a bit more difficult (too bothered to research, let me know if im wrong). It supports El Capitan which was released in 2015 & last supported in 2018, so that means… wait actually I can’t find them really, but just be sure it says MacBook Pro on the LCD bezel… because people accidentally sell MB as MBPs. Also don’t buy in the bullshit that this is a “rare model”, its not at all.

2012 MacBook Pro 13

Here we go, this one is actually OK in regards to buying something that supports a late OS. Apple had this MBP in production til about 2016… just like the “Trash Can” Mac Pro that had old specs and was still expensive as fuck, Apple had this MBP for those who wanted something new but couldn’t dish out the cash for a Retina MBP, or couldn’t be arsed to buy one of their refurbished ones w/ Apple Care. This is the last one where you have 2 removable RAM slots, so because you can jam 16GB RAM. This makes it “better” than newer rMBPs if you don’t know the difference. Personally I like upgrading these to 8GB and making $$$, but some sellers are going far far as much as they can milk.

Because this was discontinued in 2016, to these deceiving sellers, that makes this a 2016 MacBook! Its only 4 years old, not 8 years old! This is also set in the pre-retina search fields, but there are tens of thousands of out there because I’m sure plenty of students bought these when they couldn’t afford the rMBP and considered how fucked over they’ll be for paying an Adobe Monthly Subscription $$$ for art class.

SSD H Scam

SSD H? Oh wait, you mean SSHD, FusionDrive or Hybrid SSD? Those slow 5400RPM hard drives that have a 16GB to 128GB SSD cache built in. Now who can guess why they wouldn’t call it SSHD in the listing? Because when you search for “MacBook 500GB SSD” their listing won’t show up due to difference in wording, SSHD, not SSD… But if you put “SSD H” for Solid State Hybrid, you will be in the “SSD” search results. Who cares if you JUST want a 500GB SSD, you’re going to get their slow as shit drives instead that might be an Apple Fusion drive or a random SSHD from someone else. Fusion had it’s place, but honestly it is extremely disingenuous to type in SSD H when it’s known as SSHD or Hybrid SSD… oh wait, fuck, I guess they can still get that in there if they are truthful, but of course they won’t spell Hybrid.

Some sellers straight up list SSD on their title, but will say in the description that it’s a 1TB SSD Hybrid… fuck off infinityprecisiongroup & macexpressoutlet.

i2 Duo

WTF is an i2 Duo? Is it a Core 2 Duo? Isn’t that abbreviated as C2D? Oh that sounds pretty old huh, hmmm how can me make it sound less old? Oh right… i2 is before i3, and everyone knows i3 is slower than i5 and i7….

I seriously don’t know why, but only the companies in Illinois are making listings with these fucking things… there are 400+ listings so far. So it looks like the Welikey (i assume its this group) are only putting this on listings.

Avoid these sellers

last updaded October 26th 2020

Rank FC – Fuck Off Cunts

Eat shit if you’re on this list can’t handle the 1st Amendment

Top-quality-tech

$500 for a 2012 MBP… stock photo of mint unit, yet you can end up w/ scratches & delamination or dents… no indication of battery degradation, it just says the battery health is verified good… whatever that means & you don’t even get a new battery at this price.

They got 69 listins on their store, 44 are Macbooks & 7 are iMacs. Most Macbooks have their backdrop and the iMacs I saw have stock photos… one iMac I looked at is $1650, and my price research in April (before Covid hit) states it’s worth $780 low up to $1350 for top spec’d refurb… these are sold listings I generalize and this fucking thing is still over that top spec refurb. oh yeah its the base model 3.2 machine, not the 3.3 i5 or 4.0 i7. It has a 3TB SSD Fusion drive, and they literally bolded SSD but not the fusion. xD

infinityprecisiongroup

Lmafo skskskksksks
You can “customize” these, but they dont even say what year they come with. whatever, 2000+ listings available, but its all bc of configurations. Dont want 4GB, you want 8GB? Its $20 to $50 depending on what model, want 16GB? You can dish up to $90 for that… You pay all this money and they give you the whack ass wall port charger, not the extra 3 foot cord??? They even say in the description that 1TB SSD selection is actually a 1tb SSD Hybrid, its deceiving as fuck. Like fucking say i9 32 core means i5 dual core while ur at it.

highland-performance-systems

Supposedly they are part of the company above, & are part of some asshats called Welikey. This company does the configure bullshit… So assume you’re not going to get the low price unless its Education MacBook. Not gonna deep dive, its like that illinois seller. Oh whats funny is that most of the photos they’ll have the photo focus on the background and not the laptop. ez way to deceive physical condition because of blurred out imperfections : )

macexpressoutlet

2000 items for sale, 200+ imac, 700+ macbooks, and they also sell adapters n shit. Ok so their chargers are OK price, not super cheap, but decent, I’m sure they would all be sold out if they were lower. Some photos are stock, but they have about 4 different backgrounds. They’ll use that purple triangle background on a few items, and the MacBook with 2 iMac boxes w/ the same background. The chargers are OK price, they can be cleaned OK to get rid of the ugly scratches, funny thing is that on the Mac Mini, they say SSHD! Maybe its someone else who lists it… Anyways, they’ll use a lot of the same photos in listings with hardly any different angles n shit.

wtf is this description???

computersupplystore1

So this is like a clone of the above seller… They have similar descriptions of their listings and same backdrops for their photos, but in some are different. The listing description is super similar, and they based in Roberts, WI, while the above seller is from St. Paul, MN, which is a 30 min drive if you’re already on the freeway. I am thinking maybe this is some sort of franchise as the leddit post said before. They do the OSX-Year bs, but also put OS-Year as well… just the same bullshit, same “UPGRADED HURR” old shit.

supremeclaritysystems

Another midwest seller, this time in Beloit, WI. They have “lifetime” support, which means… they’ll help you on silly tech questions? I misread the support as warranty, but they offer the same bullshit 3 year warranty. Overpriced shit again, but this time you have to message them with your preference on the condition, which is super fucking WTF tier. Like you have to ask for your macbook to not have cum or poop on it? SERIOUSLY???? Oh but they have Certified IN HOUSE Technicians. Whack as fuck. They don’t know how to balance the color on their photography, so the hue/tint on each listing is inconsistent. Other sellers got this shit down, so they must be a copycat scamfuck. Oh fuck, they got the same backdrop like Weliky, except a different icon. On some listings the add on bullshit, like a keyboard cover, external hard drive, laptop shell/cover, and the $8 AC cord….

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE

The photos above is their feedback as a buyer. As in they purchased equipment from other sellers. It’s an easy guess to assume they are making $$$ from it, because I’ve looked at their listings before. This reminds me that I’ve had a client who had a buying profile & separate selling one, which was to not discourage who they buy/sell from. He made bank $$$, and for local sales, he had two cars, a beater and a VIP Lexus, depending on the purchase/sale price. xD

Getting back to supremeclaritysystems, with their feedback as a buyer, it gives away who you should buy from, and see why this seller charges so much for their macbooks. TBH I recognize a lot of these sellers they buy from. They sell both parted out components, barebone devices & complete units. I’ve actually bought from a few of these sellers, in particular Power-On. Some sellers look like ones I kinda wanted to buy from, but never did… because of other competitors. HOWEVER in comparison what prices these guys do, they are making as much profit as they can if they don’t have their own sources that give their macs for free or in lot auctions.

Rank Sus – Suspicious & Sketch

These sellers here are still bad, but like, maybe not as bad. Like say… instead of torturing someone to death, they just do a bad job at executions & it is tortuous before they die.

refurbished.apple.macbooks

OK this seller, I don’t even know what is going the fuck on. Their listings just show a stock photo of the O.G. White MacBook with text around it. Those model years were from 2006 to 2009, but it is not the awesome Late 2009 model. So you’re fucked with OSX 10.6 thru 10.7 pre 2009, and 10.11 on the 2009 unit. There’s a hack you can do to run a later OSX/macOS version that isn’t supported for your MacBook, and I think that what this seller might be doing. But what doesn’t make sense to me, is that in some of the listing pictures they say it comes with 16GB RAM, when the 09 model has a max of 6GB… even if you can go past that, no Core 2 Duo is capable of running more than 8GB. But almost all listings says it has an IR receptor, so at best it could be a 2012 MBP 13 model… but i still have my doubts.

These machines come pre-installed with Word, Windows & other software. i see no reason to put Xcode on it, but it’s in there for you to be a “developer” on old stump hardware. Nothing said if it has a new battery, or OEM charger, it has Office 2016 installed (I’ll assume they are using a cracked version). It feels like buying from this seller would be like getting a mystery bag purchase. So I’m not sure if it’s that bad.

Rank E – Eh, not bad if you’re in a pinch

redstonepc

These people also do the OSX-Year bullshit and they also… put the year of the laptop being made? Wait, yea, and they have condition grades too with a photo of it in that condition too! Yet they also have an grade A condition unit doesn’t have the year on the listing, but in the description they do. They also put the turbo boost GHz instead of the base clock, but I am assuming its to help differentiate it at the warehouse when it gets shipped. Eh $350 for the ugly duckling and $570 for the mint condition one, which is about the range they sell for if you really want it at that price. They have 30 day returns, 1 year “warranty” but other than that, quite a bit of their listings have the actual identifier like A1466 or

Conclusion?

I’ve spent too much time on here! So I’m just gonna publish it 🙂