Concern about won auction, high-value Mac Studio, unsure if safe to pay

[ivabaji]

Hello everyone,

I recently won an auction for an Apple Mac Studio (2025 model). Market value is around $13,000 but the final price was only about $3,350.

The seller has 0 feedback, is based in China (Shenzhen), and offers free economy shipping. I checked the serial number on Apple’s website and it shows as valid, but I’m still worried this might be too good to be true.

I have not paid yet. My questions are:

Am I obligated to pay in this situation, or can I cancel safely if I feel it may be fraudulent?

If I do pay, how do I ensure I’m protected under eBay Money Back Guarantee?

Has anyone had experience with similar listings?

Any advice from the community or moderators would be greatly appreciated before I decide whether to proceed.

Thank you!

[papso22]

You are in Croatia buying from someone in China.  We know how things work in the UK.   You may be protected by a version of the money back guarantee but you will need to check that yourself.

If you don't pay you may get an unpaid strike against you.  One in a 12 month period won't harm your ability to buy. 

[john1297576]

In addition to what has been said, the serial number on a picture does not mean that is what you get.

If you paid and when it arrived was obviously fake, you would no doubt have difficulty in getting seller to pay for return postage in order to get a refund.

Assuming rules are the same only seller can cancel, but you can ask as it is a lot of money to risk. Even an unpaid strike could be better than aggravation of trying to get a refund.

[ivabaji]

I’m currently based in Germany, not Croatia. My impression was that if the item turned out to be fake, I could simply open a case through eBay and get my money back. I’m not really worried about return shipping costs, as long as I can be sure of recovering the original payment.

I also had the understanding that PayPal and eBay work closely together, and that the money is effectively held in some sort of escrow until the transaction is finalized. At least that’s how it functions on Kleinanzeigen here in Germany when you use buyer protection.

[jckl1957]

That is different to the UK.

A seller with lots of recent transactions who is generally in good standing can now be paid within 24 hours of the transaction before the sold item is even posted.

That is why you would be better asking on the boards where you are based.

Moderators in the UK don't respond to posts and all the mentors who answer in here are UK based and know how Ebay works in the UK where escrow is not used.

[ivabaji]

Ok, I’ll try posting on eBay.de, maybe they’ll know. I’m not in the mood to lose 3.5 grand.

[*guinevere*]

Are you sure you want to risk all that money on something you haven't seen or inspected? You are probably covered by the ebay money back guarantee but if the seller is in China they will have no way of sending you a return label.

Here in the UK the seller would be told to send either a label or money to buy their own, but we don't know what the rules are where you are. It could end up with you having to pay the return postage.

[ivabaji]

The return can’t be that expensive. I’m more worried about the long and dreadful money back guarantee process. If it only takes opening a case and saying, ‘Hey, I bought an M3 but got an Intel Celeron, give me my money back,’ then I’m fine with that. I posted on German eBay, let’s see what they say.

I’m all for sweet deals, but this looks like a 1000% scam. Like I said, if they hold the money until I confirm everything is OK, it would be very hard for the scammer to pull one over on me. Otherwise, it’s gone, and then they need to chase him and of course they will drag me into it too.

[red_magpie]

At least that’s how it functions on Kleinanzeigen here in Germany when you use buyer protection.

The system in Germany is different. Any advice based on ebay.uk may be inapplicable.

The serial number in the photo may not mean much as eBay allows sellers to copy and use photos from other sellers' listings.

I take it you have allowed for import duty and VAT payable in being imported into the EU?

If you view the original listing page it should provide a link to whatever buyer protection applies.

In the UK, buyers can't cancel purchases - they can only request the seller to cancel, but the seller dosn't have to agree. This again may be different on the site from which you purchased it.

[ivabaji]

I’ll cancel it. It’s a hassle without any real quick remedy. He won’t accept escrow, so I’m screwed. Knowing big companies, they’ll drag me for ages, and in the meantime I could look for local deals and make the same money.