Macfax

About

Macfax covers the used-Mac market. It aggregates quality-gated live listings from eBay, Craigslist, OfferUp, Swappa, Facebook and Reddit, and gives sale and asking price statistics per exact configuration. It can resolve a Mac serial number to its model, run a trust check on a single listing, fetch verified condition reports, and set up email alerts for new matching listings. Sold and asking prices are kept as separate labeled slices, and each listing links back to its source marketplace.

The hosted endpoint is a remote streamable-HTTP server and needs no sign-in or API key. A stdio wrapper is available through npx (macfax-mcp). Serial resolution is the only metered tool. A free API key raises the rate limits and can be set as MACFAX_API_KEY.

What you can do

• Search live used-Mac listings filtered by chip, RAM, storage, year and price
• Get sale estimates and asking-price bands for an exact configuration
• Look up what an Apple Silicon model is worth by its Apple name
• Resolve a Mac serial number, including 2021+ randomized serials, to its model
• Check a listing URL for scam flags, ask versus typical price and seller signals
• Fetch verified Macfax condition reports with Activation Lock and MDM checks
• Create email alerts for new matching listings, confirmed by the email owner
• Check remaining serial resolution credits

Tools 8

• lookup_mac_serialRead-only

  Resolve a Mac serial to its exact model, market value and whether a verified report exists.

• get_mac_price_statsRead-only

  Get sale estimate and asking band for a used Mac configuration, with per-channel medians.

• get_mac_market_valueRead-only

  Get sale estimates and asking bands for every configuration matching an Apple model name.

• search_mac_listingsRead-only

  Search filtered live used-Mac listings across six marketplaces, with deep links.

• check_mac_listingRead-only

  Show the trust picture for one listing: flags, ask versus typical band, seller signals.

• get_mac_reportRead-only

  Fetch a verified Macfax condition report with identity, Activation Lock and MDM checks.

• create_mac_alertWrites

  Create an email alert for new listings matching a configuration; the email owner must confirm.

• get_macfax_credit_balanceRead-only

  Report remaining serial resolution credits and what costs a credit.

Read from the live server on 7 Oct 2026. Read-only, Writes and Can delete are hints the server declares; your client decides whether to ask before running a tool.

Example prompts

• What is a 14-inch MacBook Pro M3 Pro with 18GB RAM worth used?

• Find M2 MacBook Air listings under $800 with 16GB RAM

• Is this eBay listing for a MacBook Pro trustworthy? URL: https://www.ebay.com/itm/123

• Look up the model for Mac serial number YOUR_SERIAL

Set up

Every client connects to macfax.com. Pick yours; the page remembers your choice.

claude mcp add --transport http macfax https://macfax.com/mcp

https://macfax.com/mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "macfax": {
      "url": "https://macfax.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

code --add-mcp '{"name":"macfax","type":"http","url":"https://macfax.com/mcp"}'

{
  "servers": {
    "macfax": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://macfax.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "macfax": {
      "serverUrl": "https://macfax.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

codex mcp add macfax --url https://macfax.com/mcp

[mcp_servers.macfax]
url = "https://macfax.com/mcp"

gemini mcp add --transport http macfax https://macfax.com/mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "macfax": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://macfax.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Embed

Show Macfax in a README or on your site. Each embed links to this page, uses the server’s own URL, and sets no cookies. How embeds work

The card, the iframe and the JSON are in English. Add ?lang=it, fr, de or es to their address for another language.

README badge Website card iframe JSON AI prompt

README badge

Markdown

[![Macfax on mcp.tc](https://mcp.tc/i/macfax/badge.svg)](https://mcp.tc/i/macfax)

HTML

<a href="https://mcp.tc/i/macfax"><img src="https://mcp.tc/i/macfax/badge.svg" alt="Macfax on mcp.tc" height="20"></a>

It follows the reader’s light or dark mode. Add ?theme=light or ?theme=dark to fix it, or ?style=compact to show the mark without the word.

Website card

HTML

<script src="https://mcp.tc/w/macfax.js" async></script>

The card appears where the tag is. Add data-theme="dark" or data-size="compact" to the tag to change it. The file holds everything it needs, so it makes no other requests and sets no cookies.

iframe

HTML

<iframe src="https://mcp.tc/embed/macfax" title="Macfax on mcp.tc" width="420" height="200" loading="lazy" allow="clipboard-write" style="border:0;border-radius:8px;max-width:100%"></iframe>

Use it on pages that don’t allow scripts. Add ?theme=light or ?theme=dark to the address to fix the colors.

JSON

The listing as data for your own pages and tools: name, tagline, the server’s own URL, tools and the “Add to” links. Any site can read it (CORS is open).

https://mcp.tc/i/macfax.json

What each field means

AI prompt

Paste this into an AI coding assistant, such as Claude Code or Cursor, and it adds the Macfax card to your site.

Markdown

Add the mcp.tc card for Macfax, an MCP server, to my website. It is one static script: no build step, no package to install, no cookies.

Put this tag where the card should appear. The card renders right before it:

```html
<script src="https://mcp.tc/w/macfax.js" async></script>
```

To show the card somewhere else, put this placeholder there and load the same script once, for example before `</body>`. Keep the link inside: visitors without JavaScript see it.

```html
<div data-mcptc="macfax"><a href="https://mcp.tc/i/macfax">Macfax on mcp.tc</a></div>
```

Options:
- `data-theme="light"` or `"dark"` on the tag or the placeholder fixes the colors. Without it, the card follows the visitor’s light or dark mode.
- `data-size="compact"` gives a smaller card without the tagline.
- The CSS variable `--mcptc-max-width` on the placeholder or a parent sets the width (default `520px`).
- `?lang=` on the script URL sets the card’s language: `en`, `it`, `fr`, `de` or `es`.

If the site has a Content Security Policy, allow `script-src https://mcp.tc` and `img-src data:` (the icon is inline).

For a README or other Markdown docs, use the badge instead:

```markdown
[![Macfax on mcp.tc](https://mcp.tc/i/macfax/badge.svg)](https://mcp.tc/i/macfax)
```

Reference: https://mcp.tc/embed

Change history

We read this server’s tool list every 3 hours and record what changes. Last read 8 Oct 2026, 07:29 UTC.

1. 7 Oct 2026, 10:30 UTC, Automatic check

   2 tools changed. Server instructions changed.

   New server instructions

   Details, 7 Oct 2026, 10:30 UTC

   Changed 2

   • get_macfax_credit_balancedescription
     Before

     How many serial resolutions this API key has left, and what actually costs a credit. Only a brand new resolution is billed: a 2021+ (10 character) serial Macfax has never resolved and that this key has not looked up in the last 24 hours. Cached serials, pre-2021 serials, repeats within 24 hours and every other tool are free at every tier. Call this before a large batch of serials to find out whether it can be finished. Without a key it reports the anonymous allowance instead.

     After

     How many serial resolutions this API key has left, and what actually costs a credit. Only a brand new resolution is billed: a 2021+ (10 character) serial Macfax has never resolved and that this key has not already had answered in the last 24 hours. Cached serials, pre-2021 serials, repeats within 24 hours and every other tool are free at every tier. Call this before a large batch of serials to find out whether it can be finished. Without a key it reports the anonymous allowance instead.

   • lookup_mac_serialdescription and input schema
     Before

     Resolve a Mac serial number to its exact model, including 2021+ randomized serials whose characters encode nothing (so no character-decoder can read them). Also returns what that model is worth (the market block: sale estimate and asking band per configuration) and whether a verified Macfax report exists for the serial. Lookup is advisory and cannot verify condition, Activation Lock, or possession; a Macfax report can.

     After

     Resolve a Mac, iPad or iPhone serial number to its exact model, including 2021+ randomized serials whose characters encode nothing (so no character-decoder can read them). status says what came back: resolved, unknown_serial (no such serial; check it), unsupported (a real device whose model cannot be identified yet), or retry (temporary, never charged). device_type is Apple's device class (Mac laptops, Mac desktops, iPad, iPhone). For a Mac, also returns what that model is worth (the market block: sale estimate and asking band per configuration) and whether a verified Macfax report exists for the serial. Lookup is advisory and cannot verify condition, Activation Lock, or possession; a Macfax report can.

     • Description of serial
       Before

       The Mac's serial number: 10 characters on 2021+ Macs (a letter first, never a vowel), 11-12 on older ones.

       After

       The device's serial number: 10 characters on 2021+ devices (a letter first, never a vowel), 11-12 on older ones.

   Server instructions

   Before

   Macfax is the trust layer for the used-Mac market: quality-gated live listings aggregated across eBay, Craigslist, OfferUp, Swappa, Facebook and Reddit; sale and asking price statistics per exact configuration; per-listing trust checks; verified condition reports; and standing listing alerts. Prices are two labeled slices, never blended: the sold slice is the headline sale estimate (basis "direct" = verified sales with n and window, basis "calibrated" = the asking band scaled by a measured, disclosed clearance ratio), and the asking band is seller listing guidance from live listings. Preserve the labels when relaying numbers, and keep each listing's deep link to the source marketplace. Free to use. Serial resolution is the one metered tool, because it is the one with an upstream cost: a credit is spent only on a brand new resolution, meaning a 2021+ (10 character) serial never resolved before that this caller has not asked about in the last 24 hours. Cached serials, pre-2021 serials, repeats within 24 hours and every other tool are free at every tier. Over-limit calls return a structured error carrying the exact next call to make (mint a free key at POST https://macfax.com/api/v1/keys for ~10x limits and 25 new resolutions a day; get_macfax_credit_balance reports what is left). Docs: https://macfax.com/developers

   After

   Macfax is the trust layer for the used-Mac market: quality-gated live listings aggregated across eBay, Craigslist, OfferUp, Swappa, Facebook and Reddit; sale and asking price statistics per exact configuration; per-listing trust checks; verified condition reports; and standing listing alerts. Prices are two labeled slices, never blended: the sold slice is the headline sale estimate (basis "direct" = verified sales with n and window, basis "calibrated" = the asking band scaled by a measured, disclosed clearance ratio), and the asking band is seller listing guidance from live listings. Preserve the labels when relaying numbers, and keep each listing's deep link to the source marketplace. Free to use. Serial resolution is the one metered tool, because it is the one with an upstream cost: a credit is spent only on a brand new resolution, meaning a 2021+ (10 character) serial never resolved before that this caller has not already had answered in the last 24 hours. Cached serials, pre-2021 serials, repeats within 24 hours and every other tool are free at every tier. Over-limit calls return a structured error carrying the exact next call to make (mint a free key at POST https://macfax.com/api/v1/keys for ~10x limits and 25 new resolutions a day; get_macfax_credit_balance reports what is left). Docs: https://macfax.com/developers

2. 6 Oct 2026, 21:21 UTC, Automatic check

   Tracking started: 8 tools.

FAQ