Buying Applecare via Ebay

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  1. #1

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    Buying Applecare via Ebay

    Okay, so my Macbook Pro's one year warranty is nearly up and I'm about to purchase Applecare to extend the warranty.

    A friend told me you could buy Applecare for around half price on Ebay - and it's true! Check it out:

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Apple-MacBook-...3A1|240%3A1308

    The only thing you don't get is the CD disc with the Tech tools on it, which (I am told) are all downloadable from Apple anyway.

    Applestore Price HKD 2,610
    Ebay Price HKD 1,383 (after conversion from £ to $)

    Anyone else bought Applecare via Ebay? I notice its around half price for all Apple laptops and desktops? How can this be?

    Last edited by mrdollars; 17-02-2009 at 11:53 PM.

  2. #2

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    why not ask a apple approved service centre ( the guy that are approved to repair apple /mac) to offer a price for years service, should be cheaper, after all they are the guy will you will resort to when time of repairs.


  3. #3

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    I have some friends who have bought it half priced on ebay, worked just fine. Make sure the seller has a good reputation, and go for it


  4. #4

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    Bought apple care over ebay US a while ago.
    Comparing to the Uk price has been cheaper. Don´t know now..


  5. #5

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    On average you must pay more for any insurance than you will get back in value. If this were not true insurance companies would go bankrupt. Unless you couldn't afford to buy another one of whatever it is you are insuring then you must on average be better off just paying for repairs as an when necessary.

    Have you actually enquired what it would cost to have a new screen, motherboard or hard disk fitted to your computer at the service centre?

    As an example, I recently had a new motherboard and hard disk for my Lenovo T41 which died. The cost was less than HK$4000. The machine is 5 years old and this was the first failure. An extended warranty for that period would have cost far, far more than the cost of the repairs.


  6. #6

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    The Applecare you buy simply has a serial number that you call AppleCare hotline to register your machine with.

    No affiliation/recommendation to give but this site has Applecare for pretty cheap it seems, select Apple Products from the dropdown.

    Jumbo Computer Supplies


  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    On average you must pay more for any insurance than you will get back in value. If this were not true insurance companies would go bankrupt. Unless you couldn't afford to buy another one of whatever it is you are insuring then you must on average be better off just paying for repairs as an when necessary.

    Have you actually enquired what it would cost to have a new screen, motherboard or hard disk fitted to your computer at the service centre?

    As an example, I recently had a new motherboard and hard disk for my Lenovo T41 which died. The cost was less than HK$4000. The machine is 5 years old and this was the first failure. An extended warranty for that period would have cost far, far more than the cost of the repairs.
    Errr... in this case, this isn't true. Apple Repair parts are outrageously expensive when not covered by warranty. A new logic board and screen - which you can only buy from Apple Repair Centers - for a Macbook will easily cost you more than a new Macbook. I had the case very recently when I tried to get a logic boards for a friends ibook. 634 Euro. Presumably Apple charges the prices in order to push people towards the Apple Care. I also believe there is a benefit for Apple since the number of Apple Care Customers gives them a figure for the number of replacement arts they need to order. After all, Apple is not an insurance Company
    and Apple Care is not an insurance policy.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by er2:
    Apple Care is not an insurance policy.
    Is it not a scheme by which you pay a fixed periodic premium in return for which if something breaks it will be repaired at no additional charge? That's an insurance policy as far as I am concerned.

    I would be astonished if AppleCare is a loss-making entity. In your example, a repair cost 634 Euros. That appears to be about 3 times the annual cost of AppleCare. Do these "logic boards" break more often than once every 3 years? If not then you're better off paying for the repair.

    But the fact that there is a secondary market in the insurance suggests to me that there is indeed a huge markup on the AppleCare price, and that even reselling it at a 50% discount still makes sense. The people selling on e-Bay aren't loss-making entities either I am sure.

  9. #9

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    An insurance company, typically, is an entity covering the damage and not having control over the (price of) the damage. In my most convenient definition at least. For example, if you purchase a Dell Latitude you can buy warranty _and_ insurance. Warranty for anything that breaks by itself and insurance for you accidentally dropping your laptop. In the first case Dell has to cover only it's own manufacturing / labour costs to fix your laptop, in the second case the insurance company has to pay what Dell charges them (which presumably is still less than what Joe Doe would have to pay for dropping the computer). By Apple's choice, I've to pay >600Euro for a logic board, even if it costs themselves only 150 +50 for labour costs. This makes Apple Care a non-zero sum game.

    Also, the annual costs for Apple Care - if bought at this ebay price - are 70 Euro. I just had my logic board and DVD drive replaced after 18 months (which makes me doubtful about their production quality but happy about Apple Care). It also covers my Cinema Display. I'm pretty confident that, over the effective 2-year interval, the expectation value of repair costs exceeds at least the 125 pounds asked on ebay. Wish I had known about this possibility, I paid full price in the Apple online store....

    Last edited by er2; 18-02-2009 at 02:59 PM. Reason: struggling with the English language...

  10. #10

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    PDLM, what point are you trying to make about insurance policies or extended warranties when you just told us you paid almost $4k to have your 5yr old laptop fixed?

    Your laptop isn't even worth 4k anymore.


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