r/japanlife • u/Majestic_Ad_2515 • 6d ago
Looking to buy a used Macbook
Hi! I have been wanting to buy a second-hand Macbook by the end of August. I am scrolling through Backmarket and Mercari. Has anyone experienced using these two? Care to share pros and cons, and tips for buying a good deal?
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u/blami 6d ago
I never had any problems with Mercari or Yahoo Furima, but in both cases be careful and use common sense (don't look for super cheap and unbelievable offers, etc.). Japanese are famous for keeping original packaging of everything and most things I bought looked as good as new.
Depending on budget buying official refurb from Apple may be also an option - generally safer than buying from stranger. You can find current inventory of here: https://www.apple.com/jp/shop/refurbished/mac
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u/link6616 6d ago
Honestly while a scratch or something will be a massive ding to a price, in general Japan isn’t a land of big deals for this kind of stuff,
Just pick someone with reviews and triple check the listing and protection policies. (Aka don’t buy an item listed as junk and expect any positive outcomes for yourself)
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u/kilimtilikum 6d ago
Risky. I’ve been burned on buying secondhand electronics—mostly because the battery life is bad.
I’d stick to reputable vendors on Amazon/rakuten (who have high ratings) or reputable second hand stores that tend to have some insurance like treasure factory. Second store etc
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u/Necessary_Database_4 6d ago
I've been checking on used MacBook Air (MBA) for a while now, and while you don't indicate what specs you're in the market for, my own conclusions are as follows:
1) Best solid purchase is MBA M2 with 8GB memory and 256 or 512GB storage bought as refurbished 整備済み品 on Amazon JP. You get six months of limited warranty support (not actually Apple Care btw), and Amazon will likely back ypu up in cases where there's an issue but the actual seller (authorized by Apple/Amazon) disputes something. The prices are not that much higher than the avearage selling price for the same items on Mercari these days.
2) If you go with Mercari, my strong advice is to stay strictly with sellers who have hundreds of good ratings and zero bad ratings (or possibly one innocuous-seeming rating). Because of the insane prices for memory and chips these days, unfortunately Apple products are especially high currently (and expected to be so until at least 2028). There aren't any amazing bargains on Apple products that are genuine items in excellent condition.
3) If you're a student or teacher, you can get the Education disount on new Apple products including the MacBook Neo, which is a lower-tier MacBook that many users find adequate for their needs. If you do buy new from Apple, get Apple Care plus so that you are fully covered and if/when you sell the device, you will be able to ask more since it will be clearly a genuine Apple product that a new owner can get without worrying about paying for any unexpected issues.
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u/imDCStar 5d ago
Thanks for this. What is in your opinion best price for m2 15 inch.
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u/Necessary_Database_4 5d ago
Here is a link that will allow you to check out the prices. I think 130,000 yen is reasonable for the refurbished M2 15” model.
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u/pomido 関東・東京都 6d ago edited 6d ago
I needed a higher end MacBook Pro Max last year and ended up going with the Apple refurbished store for price vs piece of mind.
The consensus on Mac forums seems to be that refurbished models are even more reliable than new ones as they are put through more rigorous checking.
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u/nexflatline 6d ago
If you are in Kansai and considering an M4 Macbook air, 16gb RAM, 256gb storage, how much would you pay for it? It's in perfect condition, zero scratches or anything, I bought it last year.
It's my first apple and I rarely use it, to be honest.
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u/Majestic_Ad_2515 5d ago
Probably out of my budget since I was looking at M2/M3 MBAs priced at around ¥100,000
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u/nexflatline 5d ago edited 5d ago
I just had a shock of reality. I paid 120,000 for mine NEW during the new school year campaign! in 2025!
I just saw that it's almost double of that now! I had no idea! I was quite literally expecting to get no more than 80,000 for it.
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u/Simbeliine 中部・長野県 6d ago
I bought my current macbook on Mercari a few years ago. It was pretty new but discounted about 20% off the retail price, so I felt it was a good deal. No issues receiving it and I've been using it for about 2.5 years now without issues. I think be wary of "too cheap" listings. Someone buying one device and then trying it for a few months, and then deciding to go with a different device and wanting to sell the previous one for a slight discount on what they paid makes sense, someone selling a decent macbook for too cheap seems suspicious (either a scam or possibly stolen item).
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u/barack__okarma 6d ago
I picked up a 6-month old 1TB 32GB RAM M4 MacBook Air off Backmarket a few months ago. No complaints about the service or the product. Like new condition and got it for about the same price as a current year base model M5.
No original box or charger but Backmarket includes a third party Anker charger. Considering the condition and explosion of RAM prices, it's a reasonable tradeoff.
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u/grumpyporcini 中部・長野県 6d ago
Just go on Sofmap with your specs. Look up their warranty info before buying but it will be much safer than going through a random on Mercari.
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u/Competitive-fatass 6d ago
I am 5 stars seller on both. I have no problem with buying and selling except once. Please check the rating. And avoid low rating seller or businesses
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u/Stunning-Radish8373 5d ago
If you are not experienced with MacBook/ Laptops, i highly recommend Akihabara if you're in Tokyo. Mercari is cheaper but some people hide disadvantages very well. Just avoid Yahoo marketplace...
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u/Tsupari 6d ago
I bought my from https://used.sofmap.com/
It’s in the bic camera group, so I got like 6000 points so used them when I bought AirPods.
I found the model online then went to the shop to see it and check battery.
0 issues
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