eBay fun/warning for MPU-ers

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Hey Mac Power Users, I’ve got a frustrating eBay tale to share, and I hope it saves someone else from the same headache.

In October 2024, I dropped my M1 MacBook Pro 14-inch. A tiny dent on the case caused vertical lines across the screen. Gutted, I took it as a chance to upgrade to an M4 Pro. Fast forward to last month, my M1 Pro was just gathering dust, so I decided to list it on eBay. I was upfront: marked it as broken, “for spares or repair”, clearly stated I’d dropped it, and noted the screen issue. I mentioned the box was mint and included solid photos. I didn’t mention that I had taken it to Apple for full diagnostics (no other issues found), and while a screen replacement was quoted at about £700, I figured that money was better spent on my M4 upgrade.

The listing kept attracting zero-feedback bidders, which had me worried. Eventually, it sold to someone with 71 positive feedbacks. Phew, or so I thought. The buyer messaged me saying they needed the laptop for a business trip by week’s end but couldn’t pay for two days due to a pending refund. Red flag? Maybe, but I didn’t catch it. I even paid extra for guaranteed next-day delivery after they finally paid to help get it to them before their trip.

Laptop arrives, buyer says it’s in lovely condition we exchange pleasantries, and I’m thinking, “Sweet, a smooth eBay sale”. Wrong. Three weeks later, they message claiming the laptop is constantly rebooting and demand a refund.

A) I sold it as broken, “for spares or repair”, not as a working machine.

B) Rebooting sounds like a software issue, not hardware. I asked what software they were running, as they vaguely mentioned “modelling” and “maxing it out”. I requested logs, diagnostics, anything to back up their claim and offered to help troubleshoot. No reply…

At the very end of eBay’s 30-day return window, they open a case claiming the laptop “isn’t as described”. They say they took it to an Apple Genius who told them it’s a logic board issue and it should be returned. I called BS and asked them to prove it. Show me diagnostics, a receipt, email from apple confirming an appointment, anything… Nothing. I pointed out it was sold as broken, clearly listed as such, so how is it not as described? eBay didn’t care. They sided with the buyer, citing their buyer-guarantee and the fact it was a remote auction.

Result? They refunded the buyer everything, including my postage costs, and I had to pay another courier fee to get the laptop back or risk the buyer keeping it. I complained about the buyer’s shady behavior, but eBay just pointed to their T&Cs. Apparently, buyers can just say “not as described” and that’s that.

So, I’m out £100 on eBay fees and two rounds of couriering, and I’ve got the laptop back. Here’s the kicker: I ran diagnostics three times, zero faults. I stress-tested it all weekend, maxing it out, and it didn’t reboot once.

I’m done selling on eBay, and I’m sharing this to warn you all. If you’re thinking of selling a Mac (or anything) on eBay, especially “for spares or repair,” think twice. Their buyer guarantee seems to mean buyers can pull a fast one, and you’re left footing the bill. Anyone else been burned like this? What platforms do you use to sell gear safely?

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I have had a similar experience way back more than 20 years ago. It was in my PC days: I sold an expensive sound card. Similar story: according to the buyer, the sound card was defective. The buyer opened a case.

I ended up paying the eBay fee, shipping, and with … a working sound card which I donated to a kid in the neighborhood.

This was the last time I sold anything on eBay. eBay usually does quite a good job protecting those who buy there. If a buyer claims that a seller has acted fraudulently or whatever, the seller is out of luck. Then again, I get why eBay is acting like that. They cannot really determine who is to blame in cases like that. This is something between the seller and the buyer…

Being located in Germany, I switched to Flip4New.de (defunct as of today) and later to Rebuy.de to sell stuff (both are local platforms for trading in stuff that is being sold after that). Unfortunately, even there, not everything has been rosy: Rebuy.de once claimed I had sent in a wrong power supply with a MacBook Pro I sold, although the power supply was the one Apple had included in the box when I bought it: Rebuy deducted about 100 Euro from the purchase price because of that.

Long story short: I don’t think that there is a platform out there without issues. Most of them are fine until they are not…

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I’ve had similar experiences selling a couple of cameras on eBay. I’ll use it pick up the odd item, but I’m done selling there. Facebook Marketplace has proven easier to manage.

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I am afraid to sell anything bigger than an iPad Mini on ebay when it comes to devices because of stories like this. That said, my only bad experience was when I bought a Commodore 128 and the seller just put tape around the original box, slapped a shipping label on it and sent it…

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Thanks, all. Sharing to ease my pain and raise awareness. I was shocked when the buyer refused to provide proof, lied, was rude, stopped responding and then eBay still took their side. I won’t sell on there again.

I’m going to clean the M1 MBP up as it’s come back hanging (to add more salt to the wound and £100 hole in my finances). Then set it up for my eldest who has got into https://tutor.synthesis.com and also OpenEMU. We had planned, and probably will still, to get her a new iPad at the end of Term; the 128gig basic iPad for £329 is a bargain!

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Yikes. If possible, try to call and speak to someone at eBay. I was able to do that many years ago the one time I had a horrible buyer try something like that on me.

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Did you sell it for much more than the cost of a refurb M1 plus a screen repair? I would’ve either replaced the screen and then sold, or marked as not working. Not saying you were in the wrong here, but unfortunately, unrealistic buyer expectations are the seller’s problem. eBay is frustrating for low volume selling. My preferred sales outlets are family, friends or local businesses.

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Sadly, this is a well known scam technique. The scammer targets devices in a reasonably high price range, then claim it is not working, hoping seller doesn’t want to go through hassle getting it back (so they resell it) or taking expensive parts out and returning a lesser configuration than sent or sometimes returning a completely different and useless device back.

You need to have very very solid papers up front on the item you are selling and list these along side the device pictures. Also tell in your listing that you will vet buyer, no international shipping and no deals outside ebay (the latter is actual ebay rule anyway). Though you are limited in how you can vet the buyer, the listing will give the impression you’ve been through this before and usually the scammer finds that reason enough to look elsewhere.

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I suspect you’re right, the whole affair feels like I have been scammed and this was my fear. Hence paying for an expensive courier return option and doing everything to just get it back.

The buyer’s first message about “waiting for a refund” was a red flag I missed. My suspicion is they buy with one account, claim it’s faulty to get a refund, then resell the device on another account or strip it for parts. By causing enough hassle, they exploit eBay’s automated processes to secure a full refund, often without returning the item. It’s a win for them with zero risk, as the seller gets stuck with fees and two-way postage costs.

As said, I’m never selling there again and sharing my awful experience in the hope it helps others. I am sure there are mostly good eBayers on the platform but how eBay handled this has shocked me. I had all the paperwork, photos, diagnostics and it didn’t make a blind bit of difference. They just didn’t care and automated a return process. Forcing the refund and siding with the buyer, with no proof from their side and all proven from mine.

@cornchip I sold for whatever it was going to sell for, I didn’t have a price in mind. It was just gathering dust and eBay seemed a good way to get rid. They seem to go for around £2-500 as people want them for parts or buy a second-hand screen and fit them. Other than dent and broken screen it was like new, as was the box and accessories. Apple wanted ~£700 for the screen which wasn’t worth it imho and I lack the time to buy a replacement screen and fit it myself. Pre-kids I would have taken that route :smiley:

Next time I will just opt for Apple’s recycling.

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Side note: This whole mess pushed me to simplify to one machine. The laptop fell because I was juggling too much, trying to sync my MacBook Pro with my Mac Studio before my monthly train trip to the London office (I mostly work remotely). I’d just finished syncing, set the laptop on my windowsill, and then a colleague started a Slack Huddle. While stretching, I accidentally clipped the laptop with my elbow, and down it went.

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This is the problem now with these mega corporations/platforms, processes are tailored to the majority and have little to no human interaction by the platform.

You can’t speak to someone when something goes wrong and appeal mechanisms are pointless.

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Plot twist-ish: After further back-and-forth, eBay just ruled in my favour on my appeal. They’ve awarded me 50% back under their seller guarantee, which is something, I suppose. I’m not holding my breath until the money actually hits my account (the full refund went out yesterday).

My evidence was rock-solid: all messages between me and the buyer, plus photos showing the laptop’s pristine packaged condition before sale and the heavily used, grim state it came back in. Fingers crossed eBay follows through, but this whole ordeal still leaves a bad taste.

Thanks for the support, folks!

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Are you confident the laptop you got back is the same laptop you sold? That’s another eBay scam. Buy an item, say it doesn’t work, and send back a different non-working laptop.

It happens on all the marketplaces though. I bought a pair of used Birkenstocks on Poshmark. The seller took what appeared to be good photos all around, but after I received them I looked again and realized they’d left off one little area in the back - and that area was where the cork was completely destroyed.

Nearly all the sites side with the buyers in these cases.

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I was worried about getting a different laptop back or it getting lost in the post. I’m 100% confident it’s my machine, same spec adapter, but both came back with new marks and look way rougher than when I sent them. It’s wild how much wear they picked up in just three weeks compared to the three years I had them. It’s frustrating how these platforms seem to let buyers pull fast ones with little recourse for sellers. There need to be proper escalation points with real reviews, not just automated rulings, and some reassurance that sellers aren’t being taken for a ride.

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I’ve thought about this all way too much, the time and stress have bothered me and detracted from other things. It’s been cathartic sharing, thank you.

That’s the big take away. I simply don’t want to be in this position again and therefore won’t use eBay to sell something.

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