Category: Apple

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Deecies on eBay: The Apple Reseller Revolutionising My Mac Purchases

Why Deecies?

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably been buying your Apple products directly from Apple for years. I mean, why wouldn’t you? It’s safe, reliable, it’s just the first place you go. But what if I told you there’s a game-changer in town? Enter Deecies, an official Apple reseller operating exclusively on eBay.

I stumbled upon Deecies during one of my late-night eBay browsing sessions. Skeptical at first, I decided to dive a little deeper. And boy, am I glad I did!

  1. Savings Galore: I managed to snag a high-end Mac Studio specification, and guess what? I saved hundreds! It was the same sealed box i’d get from Apple.com, just without the hefty price tag.
  2. AppleCare+? No Problem!: One of my initial concerns was about the warranty. But you can buy AppleCare+ directly from Apple, even if you purchase your Mac from Deecies. It’s like having your cake and eating it too!
  3. Authenticity Guaranteed: Deecies is an official Apple reseller. This means you’re getting the real deal, not some knock-off or grey market import. They’re also VAT registered (many shady sellers on eBay are illegally operating under the “VAT Margin Scheme” meaning you can’t claim the VAT back – but they are, but that’s for another post) so you get a full VAT receipt for your business.

No Looking Back

Honestly, there’s absolutely no reason to buy directly from Apple anymore. Not when you can get the exact same product, with all the benefits, from a reseller like Deecies. It’s a no-brainer!

This is the Mac Studio I purchased M2 Ultra, 128gb ram, 4TB SSD – £400 cheaper than from Apple!

From now on, all my Mac purchases will be from Deecies. And if you’re in the market for a new Mac, I suggest you check them out too. You can thank me later! This isn’t an advert by the way, I don’t have an eBay affiliate account, none of the links are monetised just a good old fashioned review and tip!

Visit their store front at deecies.com

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Apple Trade-In (GiveBack) is a scam (via Brightstar)

Apple run a Trade-In scheme (previously called Apple GiveBack) which lets you trade in your old device for a credit against a new device. There are lots of trade-in companies in the UK and some offer cash, gift cards, etc but Apple’s own scheme offers you a credit/discount against a new Apple device and they seemed to offer good trade-in prices too.

However, the scheme seems to be underwritten and handled by Brightstar and I had two separate trade-ins dramtically reduced in value when they received the devices.

My iPhone 6 was reduced from £140 to £60. No reason given.

My iPhone 7 was reduced from £225 to £160 saying it was locked to a network when it was bought SIM Free direct from Apple.

In both instances they just assumed I’d accept the lower value and issued gift cards for the lower prices. I anticipated something like this might happen so I made sure I documented, photographed and took videos of each device before shipping them. When challenged they instantly rolled over and blamed a “system error” for the reduced valuation and generated a separate gift card for the difference but I wonder how many people don’t have this evidence and just accept the lower value unecessarily.

If you receive an email from Brightstar stating “While inspecting your <device> we noted the following….This changes your trade-in value from £XXX to £YY” do not simply accept it and assume they are correct. You should ALWAYS CHALLENGE the inspection, especially when no reason is given. You should also ensure you take lots of photographs and a video that show the device operating perfectly before you ship it off to Apple GiveBack. I reached out to Apple for comments on this and sent them the emails to let them know Brightstar are trying to rip off their loyal customer base. I’ve yet to receive a response from Apple but thought it best to warn others who might be thinking of using Apple’s Trade-in program to think twice.

Email from Brightstar saying trade in reduced from £140 to £60 with just a blank section where the explanation should be.
iPhone 6 quoted value dropped from £140 to £60 with no reasons given.
iPhone 7 trade in value reduced from £225 to £160, apparently because the device is “locked” even though it’s a SIM free unit bought direct from Apple and logged out of iCloud and reset to factory.
Eventually Brighstar honor the two original quoted values.
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Macbook Pro Kernel Panic – High Sierra 10.13.3 (17D47)

Macbook Pro Kernel Panic - High Sierra 10.13.3 (17D47)
Screenshot: Macbook Pro Kernel Panic

My 15″ Macbook Pro with TouchBar had it’s first ever Kernel Panic since I bought it in 2016. It was waking from sleep when it froze/locked up completely before showing the kernel panic grey screen of death.

I’ve included the full logs from the Panic Report at the end of this post. If anybody can spot the cause or is having similar kernel panic issues please leave a comment below. Continue reading “Macbook Pro Kernel Panic – High Sierra 10.13.3 (17D47)”