I tried to get scammed on eBay and it did NOT go how I expected... (PART 1)

Thanks to Privacy.com for sponsoring today's video! Head over to privacy.com/lukemiani for a FREE $5 credit! privacy.com generates virtual credit cards to keep your information safe and it's totally free!
You guys know I love to call out shady eBay resellers of used Macs and MacBooks, well in today's video I took it one step further and actually BOUGHT one of these shady used MacBooks from eBay, and, well, it wasn't what I expected at all
Follow me on Twitter: / lukemiani
Join my Subreddit! www.reddit.com/r/lukemianiyoutube
Gear:
Panasonic Lumix GH5: amzn.to/2SDQrYi
Blue Snowball Mic: amzn.to/2PwASD0
Rode VideoMic: amzn.to/2QhgfrC
Zecti Camera Slider: amzn.to/2CWmeOI
Album with the backgrounds I use (updated regularly): imgur.com/a/W8wvO7I

[@lukemiani]

Forgot to mention this: Even though I was sent a late 2013 MacBook Pro when the listing clearly showed an older Unibody- the claim that their laptops are 'upgraded to current year' or any other such verbiage are still false advertising

[@irvp3541]

Luke Miani can I buy it from you

[@loudryka]

Upgraded to current year could mean it has the latest MacOS on it

[@retrogaminggenesis6102]

Urgh, I hate when they say "upgraded to current year standards" and crap like that. It's a Core2 Duo, upgrading it from 2GB to 4GB of RAM and replacing the HDD with a generic 256GB SSD isn't "upgraded to current year". Another thing they do is "Includes Office 20xx FREE if you ask on purchase" as most people will forget or not know how to ask. And I assume they install it and don't give you the disc as to screw you on factory reset.

[@samtv19981]

You could buy more of them and sell it to us. That would be fun

[@HoLDoN4Sec]

@@retrogaminggenesis6102 disc? dude i bet they just install a cracked version of office on it anyway...

[@paulmalbroughjr2254]

I think they may have recognized your name and sent you a better laptop on purpose so you couldn't "expose " them.

[@harshbirbrar2830]

Watch till the end, he ordered another one, hence "Part One"

[@paulmalbroughjr2254]

@@harshbirbrar2830 I did, I understand that his second order is basically a control variable. He has the same idea as me but only hinted at it.

[@cm_0011]

I'm pretty sure that's why he's doing the second test...

[@alexandercrush]

Nah look at 1:03 the seller has a 99.8% positive rating with over 500 reviews.

[@ash-plays6733]

He used privacy that disguised his name

[@grapplermodel]

Luke miani cant go wrong in buying 2nd hand. He deliberately tried to get scammed and still got lucky. How to be you?

[@ONLYJOKING101]

More like they recognized his name and did a switch.

[@jaredj631]

Dude same happened to me, well I wasn’t trying to get scammed, I got a MacBook Pro mid 2012, it had shitty specs, I was planning on upgrading, when I got it it was already maxed out with a Samsung 500gb ssd, and 16GB ram. And the i5 as advertised.

[@billbailey8628]

@@ONLYJOKING101 i doubt it

[@stargreen1609]

why isn't my life like that??

[@eyekon_media]

Na i think he';s catfishing

[@dominikfulop7188]

you: *buys a macbook on ebay for 2k , gets a windows xp laptop* this guy: *buys a scam, ends up profiting..*

[@Noah-xg9go]

Windows XP is more value then Macbooks mate.

[@toomuchforks567]

Noah he knows that’s what he was saying can you read

[@KillJoy_Since2017]

Dominik Fulop Ikr

[@patrickbatemanssoap]

I’d do that for the memes

[@hellotherechild8086]

But u could get a macbook on the apple website tho..

[@psivewri]

Gotta love that even when you try to get scammed, you didn't ahaha. I really think they must know about you and sent you a better machine as a result.

[@lukemiani]

I don't want to make any claims or accusations, but it's an interesting thought haha! I am certainly curious to see what turns up for round 2

[@perfectosully8973]

Eyyyy, my fav youtuber

[@patrickbatemanssoap]

Omg it’s you

[@elfedorausado]

Hey, the master of eucalyptus oil is here!

[@Dyl_Apple]

@@elfedorausado eucalyptus oll

[@xoxoryan5811]

They must recognized ur address and then switched the device u ordered to avoid further trouble with u if u got that device.

[@xoxoryan5811]

Jack F gee! It’s just officially got weirder

[@dustinschings7042]

I am going to start ordering stuff with my address but I am putting Luke's name....

[@owen9853]

Dustin Schings good kdea

[@gingerelvis]

I need to set up an ebay account with your name 😂

[@gordonlin6120]

@@noahjfox cause if the seller recognizes his name, theyll not scam him cause he could "expose them"

[@diamond4k]

too bad he didn't use his real name in the video on eBay.

[@isaiahenriquez9166]

Lmao

[@computernostalgia6293]

Perfect

[@todaysgrailtomorrowsbeater]

You're the luckiest eBay buyer of Macs on the planet.

[@_zur13l_]

Fr!!!

[@walker4541]

No it's because he's a KZbinr and if he uses his actual eBay account or puts his name in the shipping or billing info they instantly send him something good so he will tell people to buy from them

[@altonkilbourn1595]

He the one scamming his viewers

[@Trolldaddy5]

It's all staged and scripted.

[@BackSlashJvb125]

FOR REAL LOL

[@chrisreynolds6391]

The whole time I been reading your name as Luke Miami! It's Luke Miani! I feel like I scammed myself.

[@insertnamehere2741]

“The dual core intel core i5 is garbage for today’s standards” me cry’s in 2012 MacBook Air with that processor

[@ClankyCloverGaming]

I have core i5 in my 2012 macbook pro lol

[@harshadchandrabose9927]

I have a first gen i3 in my dell inspirom

[@dylany1690]

I have a 9th gen I7 6 core in my 16 inch MacBook pro lol

[@pablocalvo6249]

The seller must have realised the buyer was Luke and sent a good one to get a good review in youtube...

[@dylanh8659]

Pablo why would he care about reviews if he’s scamming people?

[@sain8827]

@@dylanh8659 Nah he's worried about KZbin views exposing him

[@safetyzone2962]

Reminds me of Escobar a little bit. They tried to send MKBHD the Escobar 11 Pro in hopes that he would tell people to buy from them.

[@JohnPamplin]

Luke, you scammed the scammer! What a deal.

[@madameversiera]

Moral of the story, "always buy SCAMS that seem too good to be true" XD

[@RowdyGeronimo]

I love these eBay scam videos. This reminds me of that show “how to catch a predator” hahaha. Can’t wait to see what happens! Thanks for this series of videos. Love the channel!

[@mikemiles3068]

Great video, “Detective Luke”. 👍🎥🔍⚖️🤔👏

[@einyoutubenutzer]

The moment when you have too much money so that you let yourself get scammed on purpose

[@taylormartin6638]

The suspense is going to kill me waiting for the 2nd video!!!!

[@tabbycat406]

There was an old lady at the Apple store who was talking to me about buying one as I was purchasing an iPad, they showed me the listing and I showed them a good seller, and steered them away from one of those scams. One less customer scammed!

[@BehradDavoudi]

haha what. i think they just sent you the wrong order. karma !

[@KurisuYamato]

What an interesting development.. can't wait to see how it all plays out. The idea that they possibly recognized that it was you and played the old switcharoo is a very valid one, so seeing what happens if someone else places an order for the same kind of machine will certainly be incredibly telling.

I had the same reaction when you discovered it was actually a 1TB SSD 😂

[@xidu1278]

2nd part, CANNOT WAIT!

[@bartjuhhh6416]

lmao, you got a bargain man. I am exited what the next ''scam'' MacBook Pro is

[@thomasharrick]

Keep it up! I love the new studio, and the new videos. Great to know you've got a sponsor on the channel!

[@jcvg551]

can´t wait for part two... great topic. I am learning before i buy from ebay in Portugal.

[@TheTechnologyFuturist]

Wait.... so I just have to make an eBay account with Luke’s name?

[@monopalisa619]

With the same address yes

[@Creeperfan78]

MonoPalisa no just name

[@xx_peace_xx5300]

I'm so hyped for part 2 I can't wait

[@alexdhall]

I suspect the eBay seller messed up and sent you the wrong item. I'm wondering if Luke's theory pans out though. Can't wait for part 2.

[@elektron2kim666]

It's like 1-20% scam rate and 40% rewarding "business" with ebay. The rest is "tired and unpaid people who are working anyway."

[@theericbeaty]

Tip for future unboxings: Cut the tape on both sides of the box. This prevents the "vacuum seal" effect you probably experienced-unless the inner box was too big in the first place, lol.

[@petebrown3715]

Hey Luke, Looking forward to part 2. It does seem wierd unless it was a shipping error.

[@Struwex]

lol title confused me for a second

[@richardlong1567]

This has too be the best "WHO DUN'IT" video this year! And if the next one is the same model - you could have too half-decent Retina Macbook's to give away to two of your highly valued fan/s! 👍🏼😎

[@jamesfiegel9675]

Thanks for educating us on this :)

[@a500]

Looking forward to the next instalment. I was thinking earlier in the video that I bet they recognised your name.

[@ejofhia]

always great videos, interesting. informative, useful and entertaining too. this one was no exception. great vid! and now I can't wait to see what happens! good thing i have the notifications bell active for your channel :)

[@drthrill1079]

Luke: I can’t believe I spent 500 dollars! Mr beast: am I a joke to u

[@ozzelot3349]

They were probably like "oh crap, Luke Miani, I've seen this guy... send him a Retina, we can afford it with all the scam money we made."

[@batsekai]

Murphy’s Law really jumped out in this 😂😂😂

[@LeeStewart]

What an amazing turn of events.

[@dominiquenogueras3785]

I bought a second hand iPad Air 2 in Amazon for my daughter and I got a 10.5 inch IPad Pro, now she has a better IPad that mine

[@twinkharrylwt226]

Lee Stewart not to be mean or offend you, but I work at a premium reseller in the netherlands and we still ( a month ago) used to sell the ipad 6th gen, which actually was/is pretty affordable, especially when you are 100% sure it is new and acurate.. in the Netherlands the prices are even more expensive and especially our store.. and im certain other electronic store still sell the 5th gen, must even be better..

[@twinkharrylwt226]

Lee Stewart still shit it happened tho :(

[@vickyavinash]

WTF?!?! A total twist!!! Instead of bad it is good!!! Very unusual I would love it!

[@monicathaomy6683]

been binging your videos all day, you funny goose

[@randallsmith2521]

I'm looking forward to part II

[@honeystarr7557]

y’all he’s not that popular i doubt he got recognised

[@blacklily624]

honey starr exactly.

[@NGNetwork1]

seeing as he's talked about the seller before I guess, they may have got wind of him or his name, connected the dots and decided to screw with him, just because he's not some million sub popular youtuber doesn't mean he can't be on a companies radar for being a nuisance.

[@asian2843]

honey starr some eBay sellers check if their buyers have a KZbin or Instagram account so they can promote their account

[@lusathegreat6300]

honey starr I think it was just an accident. I bet when the other laptop arrives at his friends house it will be the scam laptop tho

[@theoreid3689]

You wouldn't know

[@adenbentov8657]

Genuinely an AMAZING video. Exited for part 2. Btw DROPPED A SUB 🔥

[@mathiasfantoni2458]

8:40 Favourite part of the entire video.

[@Tigerex966]

they probably knew who you were, so not to get caught scamming, they reversed the script.

[@andreasryden334]

if that is the case they actually proved that the listings they put up are scams. if they claim that there's nothing wrong with the listings there should be no need to send a better macbook = caught scamming

[@Tigerex966]

@@andreasryden334a good scam where you get more than you paid for, meaning the customer is scamming them by purposely keeping the product when they should send it back for a refund or the correct item.

[@siddarthannehru7283]

You just turned it into a mystery 😂😂😂, you are going places. I see a million plus subscription 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@lukedstaten]

Great video!!! You got yourself a new sub.

[@dash8brj]

Happened to me too, ordered a mid 2012 non retina model as I knew it could be upgraded to the hilt. Ebay seller had run out, and offered me a mint condition 2014 macbook pro with same specs except i5 instead of i7. They even offered to double the SSD storage from 256 to 512. At no additional cost. So I said yes. What rocked up was a 2014 retina model, 1Tb SSD, 16GB ram and an i7 cpu. 18 cycles on the battery too. Let them know of their mistake in case they had accidentally sent me the wrong computer and they said "not to worry, you've probably gone through the process of getting it all set up, enjoy your new computer". Not all "shonky" looking ebay ads are shonky. Most are, but not all. A year later I got more than what I paid for the computer to upgrade to the latest touchbar model. Of course I advertised it for exactly what it was! :)

[@lukemiani]

Wowzers!

[@glen4cindy]

This would never happen to a regular guy like me. I'm not accusing Luke of doing anything underhanded here but I've seen too many videos like this one. A guy buys what's supposed to be terrible or junk and ends up getting something great. And now I'm just noticing that this video is 4 years old but it doesn't change my mind.

[@pavelshlyak8385]

100% positive feedback with 553 orders... makes sense

[@BernicePanders]

*Everyone in the comments:* "OMG they knew it was you & sent you a great upgrade!!" *Me:* Looks like they just sent you the wrong product bundle to me, but ok... 🤔

[@Parocha]

I have the same HDD enclosure. Despite the cheap looks, it has worked wonderfully for over 5 years (not intensive use, though. Mostly regular backups and cloning HDDs into SSDs

[@JTechWorkshop]

I immediately assumed it might be due to the seller realizing who you were, I'm interested to see what the 2nd one will be.

[@h0zzle327]

Definitely calling BS on this. Very acted out. Oh the irony of false advertisement

[@ZeroChanceLance]

Hunter Caughlin no the seller just saw his name and didn’t want to get exposed

[@aspenisthebest]

Soin Solih bro he ain’t that big of a youtuber. I’ve been watching tech reviews for forever and literally just found out who he was.

[@VMiXEZ]

LOL That’s your super power man, you always get better product than what was listed.

[@elfedorausado]

4:57 that's a very good looking watch, Luke. Personally, I don't like smartwatches. They will only add to landfills over time, while a good traditional watch will last decades, and never stop doing what's supposed to.

[@dembalzak8169]

You’re killing me , I couldn’t have such luck EVER....

[@RATsnak3]

*Trying to teach people not to buy from scammers, but ends up with an actually decent deal* OoO

[@killertruth186]

Even I was speechless...

[@soundguydon]

Why can't I be scammed like that?!?! I don't have the money to "test" a listing like that, and I'm too paranoid to take chances like you did.. Glad it worked out well for you :-)

[@TimurTripp2]

Ordering under another name/address was a good idea. This should be interesting.

[@marcosphotography]

Love your videos

[@AdrielSjahfiedin]

Good investigation Luke.

[@ryan-xt1xx]

if the scammers recognized his name... what if i used his name and got a better macbook than advertised... identity fraud 🤩

[@dfkdiek518]

I’m gonna use a popular persons name and stuff and hopefully get better items lopp

[@AShifter]

Well that was certainly a plot twist

[@bavlyazer8268]

nice setup im liking it more than the old one

[@vasilepuscasu3048]

What we learned from this video: *Don't believe everything you don't see*

[@reallycarson]

I hate these laptops. I tried looking for a 2018 mbp 15 and I was spammed with old MacBooks with just 2018 in the title.

[@rars0n]

I'm guessing it was just a shipping mistake. They probably have a lot of these machines sitting around and accidentally mixed it up. Or, they saw your name on the shipping label and decided to "upgrade" you.

[@jagathon777]

Nice change of pace video!

[@Plymouthmusicschool]

guilt seller packaging: when they add all those extra items

[@matthewviti2241]

Love this video. I recently bought an late 2015 iMac with SSD and Retina on ebay by taking a chance like this. Only paid $500

[@karljay7473]

I just bought a MBP and ordered a mid 2012 15" i7 quad core, ended up with a 15" Retina 8GB 256SSD. I paid $445 and the only problem is that I can't upgrade the ram and the battery needs replacement. I'm trying to get them to replace the battery before my 30 days refund is up, otherwise I think I got a great deal.

[@zeusincoming282]

Before you PURCHASE, you should contact the Buyer and point out the descepancy and maybe he or she will lower the price and correct the listing. If you proceed with the purchase knowing about the decrepency, you are acually scamming the seller. Many buyers do that. They know what they are buying , yet they proceed and hope to get something for nothing on a technicality. Like using the description a leverage.

[@user-hx1ob7sl8o]

You have one of the most awesomest facial expressions hehehe..

[@originray9951]

now i know where to get my next mac!

[@Etienne_H]

I think the seller meant to say the macbook got upgraded to the current model by apple for free. In a replacement program, they do that sometimes.

[@fblmusic7058]

I love watching your videos, but the feedback in this one is insane. Ha!!! Keep up the good work bud

[@itsdominictoo3421]

I like to think they messed up the orders and someone got a messed up less than 2019 MacBook and you got the relatively amazing MacBook

[@DJTydalOfficial]

Either that or these listings are what I call a 'lottery listing'.

[@atkgrl]

Luke, I’ve been in the market for a new Mac. I have the old late 2011Mac Book Pro 15 inch, it was my translation to Mac and have had nothing but problems with it. From day 1 BestBuy upgraded it (because I wanted the best, fastest)....with sticks which voided it’s warranty from Apple. After much stress I had to pay the Apple store to swap them back. and they partitioned my hard drive. It’s never worked after hours of trying to do the simplest things I just gave up. As I’ve been shopping, I discovered OWC and bought the recommended stuff to upgrade it. I have to install them myself, the speed was easy a simple swap but now comes the new SSD. I do not want to bring old problems to the new drive but need to clone...? The old drive. So I’ve tried to download everything from the cloud and put it into an external hard drive. But it says my computer does not have enough space to do that. I have all my files on the external hard drive at least I think...so just don’t understand what is going wrong. Anyway I’m so over it ....Until I found your channel which has given me hope but has also shown confirmed that I bought the worst model ...hahahaha figures. Anyway I had a new 16 in the cart until I watched your channel and now considering buying an old 2015 with upgrades $1800. But you talk fast and I’m not sure because I also want an iMac but I’m traveling in my RV for a few years but also have to connect the MacBook to a tv to see it.. Can you help a sista out? I’ll buy and old one and the upgrades if you can give me a site.. I’m Leary of ebay... help 20+ years ago I was excited and even swapped plus, switched wires etc to connect my tvs to my computer and old 686 but now the big $ Mac made me lose interest in doing anything on a computer. Im excited to see your channel. I’m retired on disability now so fronting the big bucks I just cannot do it so my decisions are important. Do you recommend a site for a system and parts? Which system do you recommend... please

[@raymondkymsuttle]

The word is ‘professionalism’ lol

[@taitheguy85]

I sell on ebay. I know what happened. They accidentally switched shipping labels on 2 separate purchases/pkgs. I'm like 99% sure, the person that purchased that laptop, received the one that you paid for. It's risky to send each customer a shipping label, and ask them to ship to each other (hope u still have good packaging, & 1 customer could keep both, and seller would have to refund one). They might consider the cost of 4 labels vs price difference between the 2 items. Might refund other customer the difference, or exchange it, or refund after return.

[@richardmad5344]

It might not be false advertising as it can be an old macbook casing with parts that are from other macs

[@baggins1]

Dangit! Now I'm stuck waiting for second shipment.

[@drsudo5135]

“Osx-2015” is the most annoying thing when shopping for a used 2015 Mac because usually it’s a old Mac that’s so old that El Capitan is the most recent version that will run

[@niksgee3538]

Ha love it. Good karma back to you, for all the people who bought after watching your videos. My macbook pro I bought a year ago, is still worth more than i paid for it. Am still happy. What you give out, comes back to you I believe :)

[@deztroyer76]

Seller simply sent the wrong item. Nothing unusual.

[@Rickyfyied]

I'm pretty sure most of these seller just copy and past titles and don't even check the year of the item they are selling.

[@MattHalpain]

I use Privacy and I love the ability to create virtual cards

[@OlittoTV]

113 cycles, that's not bad.... Lol my 2013 is currently on 1200 cycles, really need to get round to changing the battery though

[@erikalvner]

My late 2013 did around 1100 before the battery died altogether. Cost me a fucking fortune to replace it, but now it's working great again.

[@kanedaku]

Its not often I read comments on this channel because to me they are just really interesting repairs, but things are starting to feel a bit iffy, so I read the comments and Im not the only one thinking this.

[@raymondkymsuttle]

Nice shirt Luke!

[@jm036]

There's now an EFI vbios for the GTX 765/770/780M for the iMac, you should flash it onto the $200 2011 iMac. Also needs a bootrom mod but that's easy.

[@changen4125]

Taking bets that the seller found out about his channel and sent him a "good" product so that it becomes a good review and good advertisement.

[@darylburchfield9657]

Waiting for Part 2. Then the truth will be told. Luke, do you ever sell any of your Projects?

[@benjaminmcewan6753]

I bought a pc from scammer on ebay. Stopped working Motherboard screwed into case and screw broken Didn't come with most of the parts listing said. Couldn't get refund from ebay or PayPal.