Buying a sealed stolen MacBook

You can also buy sealing machines on eBay. You can even buy pristine white Apple boxes to put things in.

I don't quite understand your question though. A Mac that has been used in the past, even one that was legitimately purchased and then sold, can absolutely, positively be configured so that it's completely useless to anyone else.

Buying a used Mac is best left to very experienced Mac users. In the strongest possible terms I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying a Used iPad/iPhone - Apple Community. Most people don't read it until it's too late.

If you believe it's stolen, don't buy it! Not only are you risking not being able to use the system, you are at risk of being criminally charged with possessing stolen merchandise should the thief be caught and the sale traced to you.

And John specified that anyone can buy a shrink wrapping machine. There was a topic here a few years ago of a person who bought a sealed iPhone or iPad, only to find a rock wrapped in cloth in the box.

And yes, Apple can disable any stolen product. Remember about a year ago when a theft mob went into an Apple Store and grabbed as many devices as they could before running out the door? It was only moments later as they opened the boxes they found the staff had already disabled all of them. They were useless.

If you knowingly buy stolen merchandise, then yes, you have most definitely taken part in the theft. In the criminal court system, it's called receiving stolen property

Apparently I did not make myself clear. Anyone can seal anything, stolen, used, or otherwise. The fact it was sealed makes literally no difference.

Thus the question, can it still be bricked by either apple or some other company from which the laptop was stolen?

Yes.

I technically had no part in the theft, ...

Until you buy it.

... and since the device is brand new ...

The device is not brand new.

... i dont see how it could be bricked by any company.

Other than its previous owner.

Clear now?

Hi,

I think you shouldn't purchase Apple products from none Apple Authorized Resellers.

M_Red wrote:

Yeah but apple authorised resellers are extremely expensive not to mention the fact that the model i want isnt available for buying from certified resellers anymore.

There's an old saying: "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is". If this Mac is significantly cheaper than it would be through an authorized reseller, then there's almost certainly something wrong with it. Either it's defective it's stolen, it's not what it's claimed to be (as the others have said, it's trivial to reseal a box, so that's no guarantee that the device is new or even that it's a Mac, not a brick), or some combination of those.

If you insist on buying this Mac, despite all our advice, that's up to you. But I would suggest that you not continue to post about purchasing what you have said yourself is stolen property here in Apple's own forums.

Good luck; you're going to need it.

M_Red wrote:

Yeah but apple authorised resellers are extremely expensive not to mention the fact that the model i want isnt available for buying from certified resellers anymore.

It is more expensive buying a product that can never be used and unable to return it.

Even I can seal any package. It is nothing more than heat sensitive plastic the shrinks with a hair dryer. You can purchase it at any hobby shop. If the seller is offering you stolen merchandise, don't you think they know that as well.

It has NO PREVIOUS OWNER.

Oh, ok. That changes everything. In that case you got yourself a brand new Mac. Enjoy it, it's yours!

... Except that would be wrong. The previous owner is Apple, or the reseller who received it from Apple, or any number of subsequent owners of it, any one of whom you assert with 90% certainty may have been the victim of a crime and can easily disable that Mac so that it is useless to you or anyone other than its rightful owner.

As you wrote,

M_Red wrote:

I’m 90% sure the laptop is stolen.

Of course you don't like that answer. But if you insist upon being right in spite of the number of competent and accurate responses you already received from a number of experienced Mac owners, then what are you doing here?

M_Red wrote:

Hello, I want to buy a MacBook from a non-certified reseller (from an eBay style app), the MacBook is sealed, so there’s no risk of a previous owner bricking it, but I’m 90% sure the laptop is stolen. Would Apple/ the official reseller from which the MacBook was once stolen be able to brick it after I first boot it up? Thanks.

If you are 90% sure the laptop was stolen, why would you consider buying it in the first place?

Knowingly buying a stolen computer is ethically wrong, and in many jurisdictions, possession of stolen property would also be a criminal offense.

M_Red wrote:

Yeah but apple authorised resellers are extremely expensive not to mention the fact that the model i want isnt available for buying from certified resellers anymore.

That excuse is not going to cut it with a judge.

Should you be charged with, and convicted of, receiving stolen property, you may find that the cost of going to prison and of having a felony conviction on your record for the rest of your life is much higher than the cost of saving up to buy a computer in an honest fashion in the first place.