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After requesting some quotes on computers in China-based global trade site Ali Baba, a friend of mine was bombarded with offers via email.

You can see an example in the image bellow.

The prices are too good to be true.

  • Is it a scam?
  • Can a Macbook Pro cost US$ 230?
  • If so, how can these companies sell at such a low price?
  • Is this economically possible to sell those products at that price?

EDIT: The email came from a szlc-electonic.com domain. That page is down, and it doesn't match the seemingly legit lctech-inc.com nor hktdc.com, both reported by Google as being Shenzhen Technology. It seems to indicate that the email originators are trying to impersonate Shenzhen LC Technology which doesn't sell laptops.

The screen capture:

enter image description here

Tulains Córdova
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    While anyone can sell anything at any price, you'd be able to look up component costs and quickly realize this is suspect. IIRC the CPU alone on these might cost more than listed price. – NPSF3000 Dec 23 '14 at 07:42
  • @NPSF3000 Would you please create an answer elaborating a little more on component prices that would made the scam obvious, including link to CPU prices ? – Tulains Córdova Dec 23 '14 at 09:50
  • I can't (very busy ATM) but here's an example with sources: http://www.quora.com/How-much-would-the-new-Retina-display-MacBook-Pro-cost-if-Apple-didnt-mark-up-the-components-so-much – NPSF3000 Dec 23 '14 at 10:04
  • Does it say "new" in there somewhere? When I send my old Mac in for recycling, what happens to it (really)? – GEdgar Dec 23 '14 at 15:24
  • @GEdgar Now that you mention it, it seems that listed MacBook pros are Mid 2012, acording to specs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Pro#Technical_specifications_3). Yet, price is still improbable. – Tulains Córdova Dec 23 '14 at 15:46
  • @GEdgar Could you elaborate your comment into an answer ? – Tulains Córdova Dec 23 '14 at 16:02
  • I have ordered products from that company and received exactly what I paid for. However, these were professional electronics parts, not computers. – Jasmine Dec 23 '14 at 19:00
  • @Jasmine I searched and visited the site of the company and there don't sell any Laptops. – Tulains Córdova Dec 23 '14 at 20:38
  • I didn't order laptops. I ordered radio transmitters, from Shenzen Technology - it's entirely possible I ordered from a different company with the same name. – Jasmine Dec 23 '14 at 22:11
  • @Jasmine I didn't mention it in the answer but the email came from a szlc-electonic.com domain. That page is down, and it doesn't match the seemingly legit http://www.lctech-inc.com/ or http://www.hktdc.com, both reported by Google as being Shenzhen Technology. – Tulains Córdova Dec 24 '14 at 00:08
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    Always be suspicious of email that comes from dubious domains and discard them as spam. It's a good thing Gmail shows you the actual originating domain as the sender address can be misleading. Remember that if it seems too good to be true, it most probably is. – ADTC Dec 24 '14 at 15:30
  • Yeah that does sound like a scam. I was only pointing out there IS a legit company by that name and I've gotten products from them. – Jasmine Dec 24 '14 at 16:51

2 Answers2

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It's likely a scam:

Apple's products have fixed prices and, for example, a MD711CH costs around 1000US$ in China:

enter image description here

Also, there is a large "fakes" industry in China. They even have tons of fake Apple stores!

enter image description here

Sklivvz
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    I think I heard somewhere that the reason why the Chinese can do this is because China doesn't recognize foreign trademark and copyright claims. – Philipp Dec 23 '14 at 09:01
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    Please elaborate a little more, in the answer, about "fixed prices". Also, what would be the tech specs of a fake Macbook Air ? – Tulains Córdova Dec 23 '14 at 09:48
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    @Philipp that's false, the shops have been shut down (it's in the linked article). – Sklivvz Dec 23 '14 at 10:30
  • @user1598390 apple does not normally do discounts, and the model is the same. – Sklivvz Dec 23 '14 at 10:32
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    Fake Apple stores are nothing compared to fake towns: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/xeroxed-village-chinese-secretly-copy-austrian-unesco-town-a-768754.html – vsz Dec 23 '14 at 12:49
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This article claims that in 2010, the "Bill Of Material" for the cheapest MacBook Air was $718. So if, for example, Foxconn decided to buy some extra parts and do an extra shift to produce some MacBook Airs on their own and sold them at cost, they would cost $718.

The Bill Of Materials has probably gone down since then, but even so there is no way that a halfway legitimate business could sell a MacBook Air for $255.

Canadian Luke
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gnasher729
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