Where is the best place to buy a used Macbook?

DELETED_63174 · 2 Feb 2010 at 17:54

First off, sorry if I'm not supposed to make this thread. I just figure with OC not selling Apple products it wont effect anything.

Right so, I'm after a Macbook. I don't care what one, black, white, used, new, aluminium, plastic, yeah you get the idea. I just want an Apple laptop for on the go, cheaper the better it's only going to be used for light usage such as web browsing etc.

I've checked the refurb store and Ebay. They both have some stuff but there still a little more than I wanted to pay, and most of the cheaper Macbooks on Ebay don't come with any warranty. Which brings me on to the next part.

The only 2 things that are essential when buying this is that the laptop is in very good condition, and it has some sort of warranty left.

So, can anyone help?

kiteloopy · 2 Feb 2010 at 17:58

Ive been keeping an eye out for apple stuff on this place for the past month, and quite lot as come through. All in good quality with warranty left & good prices.

work your way up to the MM (dont spam), and im sure you'll find exactly what your looking for.

geekyEd · 2 Feb 2010 at 18:00

What budget have you got, you seem to be asking the impossible. :/

Kainz · 2 Feb 2010 at 18:02

Refurb store is the best place imo, thanks to the strict QA inspection procedures on everything. Almost all my apple kit is refurb. You aren't exactly going to get a good macbook for £400 or so, expect to pay a lot more. My uMacbook was £750 last August and a major bargain as I got a higher than intended spec for free.

DELETED_63174 · 2 Feb 2010 at 18:09

kiteloopy said:
Ive been keeping an eye out for apple stuff on this place for the past month, and quite lot as come through. All in good quality with warranty left & good prices.

work your way up to the MM (dont spam), and im sure you'll find exactly what your looking for.

I'm after one sooner rather than later, and unless I spam it's going to take me a while to get there!

Kainz said:
Refurb store is the best place imo, thanks to the strict QA inspection procedures on everything. Almost all my apple kit is refurb. You aren't exactly going to get a good macbook for £400 or so, expect to pay a lot more. My uMacbook was £750 last August and a major bargain as I got a higher than intended spec for free.

I think people have miss understood me, I'm willing to pay more. Anything around the £500 mark, a little lower or higher. But I would rather have for example a older CCFL backlit Macbook for cheaper than a new Unibody one for more. If you catch my drift.

Kainz · 2 Feb 2010 at 18:11

Hmm one tip for you then, check the refurb store first thing in the morning as that is when they have full stock. Towards the end of the day they'll mostly have only expensive stuff left. I've seen older black macbooks on there from time to time.

DELETED_63174 · 2 Feb 2010 at 18:12

Awesome, I'll keep that in mind thanks.

bods · 2 Feb 2010 at 20:34

Kainz said:
Hmm one tip for you then, check the refurb store first thing in the morning as that is when they have full stock. Towards the end of the day they'll mostly have only expensive stuff left. I've seen older black macbooks on there from time to time.

Absolutely. First thing is the key here - they regularly have some real bargains but they disappear so fast. Suggest 6-7am as a good time to look.....

J1234 · 2 Feb 2010 at 20:56

eBay is always a good place to look, just keep checking as bargains always come up.

Spyhop · 2 Feb 2010 at 21:33

Justin said:
eBay is always a good place to look, just keep checking as bargains always come up.

Get your search-fu on and find eBay auctions with misspelled titles :cool:

Kawolski · 2 Feb 2010 at 23:44

Found this which I thought was a handy and simple tool.

Refurb store widget

RobH · 2 Feb 2010 at 23:59

Apple hardware seems to keep its value very well so it can be hard to get a bargain, my first generation (2006) MacBook recently sold for £450.

NightShadow · 3 Feb 2010 at 00:10

Kawolski said:
Found this which I thought was a handy and simple tool.

Refurb store widget

I suspect this would be useful if it worked on a PC.. lol!

DELETED_63174 · 3 Feb 2010 at 00:22

Thanks for the help guys, I'll keep checking.

Just for the record if anyone knows someone who is selling a Macbook or they are themselves send me over a PM as money is waiting!

Downloaded that widget too, seems ace.

K1LLSW1TCH · 3 Feb 2010 at 01:28

Are you sure you've thought enough about your purchase? You seem to just want a Macbook just because it's a MacBook. You can buy additional Applecare to solve your warranty issue, although this wouldn't be needed if you buy off the Apple refurb store which grants a 1 year warranty if I remember correctly.

My first port of call would be the store, a link is posted a little further above but here it is again for convenience. It's the only place that I would really trust buying a second hand Mac from as they aren't particularly cheap machines and if something goes wrong you need to know that it's covered. Don't scrimp.

Apple Refurb Store.

Tummy · 3 Feb 2010 at 04:05

+1 on what Kill said.

I wouldn't buy an apple product from anywhere other then apple.