Sell my Mac or leave it turned off for 4 months?

sourmelk · Aug 13, 2013

Going backpacking for 4 months and I have decided to take my Ipad over my laptop (for obvious reasons). This means my macbook will be inactive for four months. What are the implications of leaving a device off for so long if any?

Was probably going to sell it when I got back and upgrade. So it would make sense to sell it now as opposed to selling it in four months which could decrease the value.

It's a 2010 model which has been taken care of exceptionally. Never been dropped, been case-protected since I bought it, no scratches, no trauma, never over-filled the HDD.

What information would I have to provide for it to be valued accordingly?

Cheers!

traumuhhtize · Aug 13, 2013

Since it looks like you're gonna upgrade you should probably sell it to get the most out of it as possible.

CelestialToys · Aug 13, 2013

good way to get an idea of the value is to check the recent completed sales for your model on ebay. You'll see what others have sold theirs for and you should be able to determine the current value from that.

sourmelk · Aug 14, 2013

Cheers guys. I think I will try and sell it then. Any ideas to get the most out of the sell, besides a complete format? Should I get it serviced?

Also, just wondering does anyone know what would actually happen if one were to leave a macbook off for an extended period of time?

Payton · Aug 14, 2013

As long as the MacBook is off and stored safely, nothing is going to change. There's a proper level of charge to leave on the battery if you want to maintain the highest battery health possible. Apple recommends a 50% charge for storage.

designs216 · Aug 14, 2013

sourmelk said:
Cheers guys. I think I will try and sell it then. Any ideas to get the most out of the sell, besides a complete format? Should I get it serviced?

Also, just wondering does anyone know what would actually happen if one were to leave a macbook off for an extended period of time?

To facilitate the sale and help obtain your asking price, it's helpful to have receipt, original packaging/box, cables/accessories and Applecare, in addition to very good cosmetic condition. Also you'll want to mention any upgrades you made. You can also proactively offer to meet them at the Genius Bar, a nice public place, to have the machine checked out.

Fishrrman · Aug 14, 2013

"Also, just wondering does anyone know what would actually happen if one were to leave a macbook off for an extended period of time?"

Probably nothing...

Chances are, it will boot right back up when you press the power on button...

GoCubsGo · Aug 14, 2013

designs216 said:
To facilitate the sale and help obtain your asking price, it's helpful to have receipt, original packaging/box, cables/accessories and Applecare, in addition to very good cosmetic condition. Also you'll want to mention any upgrades you made. You can also proactively offer to meet them at the Genius Bar, a nice public place, to have the machine checked out.

Agreed minus the receipt. There's no reason to give or show a receipt for an item purchased in 2010. The only time I want to see a receipt is if the item is brand new in box and recently released. I then question why it won't just be returned to the store.

OP if you were going to sell when you return then just sell it now. Then you don't have to be concerned with battery health over the next 4 months.

Mr Kram · Aug 14, 2013

if you're going to sell anyway, sell now.

tgi · Aug 14, 2013

I agree with selling it now. Might as well, since you won't be using it for 4 months and you're going to upgrade when you get back.

sourmelk · Aug 14, 2013

Ok I think for peace of mind I will just sell it then. In your opinions, what information should I provide in terms of hardware/software specifications in an advertisement or when explaining to a potential buyer?

Is it enough to give a hardware overview provided by the system profiler along with the cosmetic factors (scratches etc.) or should I explain what I was personally using the laptop for? I.e. As a portable editing suite/general computing, internet etc?

In other words, what exactly would you want to know when purchasing a used laptop to make sure you're getting a fair deal??

Thanks again for all the info!

tgi · Aug 14, 2013

sourmelk said:
Ok I think for peace of mind I will just sell it then. In your opinions, what information should I provide in terms of hardware/software specifications in an advertisement or when explaining to a potential buyer?

Is it enough to give a hardware overview provided by the system profiler along with the cosmetic factors (scratches etc.) or should I explain what I was personally using the laptop for? I.e. As a portable editing suite/general computing, internet etc?

In other words, what exactly would you want to know when purchasing a used laptop to make sure you're getting a fair deal??

Thanks again for all the info!

Of course the more information the better. That applies to both buyer and seller. But I don't it's necessary to say what you personally used the computer for.

Simple specifications, any cosmetic imperfections, what's included (software, accessories, box, etc.), warranty status, and PHOTOS. That should be about it.

No need to divulge unecessary information such as: reason for selling, what laptop was used for, etc. If buyer cares about that stuff, they'll ask.

velocityg4 · Aug 14, 2013

tgi said:
Of course the more information the better. That applies to both buyer and seller. But I don't it's necessary to say what you personally used the computer for.

Simple specifications, any cosmetic imperfections, what's included (software, accessories, box, etc.), warranty status, and PHOTOS. That should be about it.

No need to divulge unecessary information such as: reason for selling, what laptop was used for, etc. If buyer cares about that stuff, they'll ask.

I'd add that you only list software you are actually including the licenses with and installation media (if it wasn't purchased online and downloaded). Not that copy of Office you are leaving on without the product key or $20,000 in pirated software (assuming you have pirated software).

Also leave out all the standard free software in the listing. No one cares that iTunes and Disk Utility is installed.

Personally I would also do a secure erase of the hard drive and a fresh install of OS X, updates and Libreoffice. So that someone has clean install and a fully functional computer with a productivity app. When they test it out it will be performing at top speed and you can demonstrate it can indeed open Word documents.

GimmeSlack12 · Aug 14, 2013

sourmelk said:
Is it enough to give a hardware overview provided by the system profiler along with the cosmetic factors (scratches etc.) or should I explain what I was personally using the laptop for? I.e. As a portable editing suite/general computing, internet etc?

Tell us what you have and we'll let you know.

Basically just tell the year and model (mid-2010, late-2010, etc.) and possibly give the model revision (MBP 8,1 etc.). Then just post a ho-hum add giving a few pictures. It really isn't too tough since Apple products basically sell themselves. People know if they want it or not. Just make sure you figure out what the bottom price you'll take is since people will come at ya with lowball offers.

Though don't go posting that you 'never overfilled the HDD'. It makes you sound like a noob and people will try to take advantage of that. I probably would.

designs216 · Aug 15, 2013

GoCubsGo said:
Agreed minus the receipt. There's no reason to give or show a receipt for an item purchased in 2010. The only time I want to see a receipt is if the item is brand new in box and recently released. I then question why it won't just be returned to the store.

OP if you were going to sell when you return then just sell it now. Then you don't have to be concerned with battery health over the next 4 months.

My thinking being to show a buyer that the OP is the original owner and the machine legitimately purchased. Not necessary, just encourages the sale.

sourmelk · Aug 15, 2013

Ok, noted everyone. Thanks for the helpful replies.

What I have is a 2010 15" MBP 6.2 version core i7 2.66ghz 500 GB/ 8GB 1067 MHz DDR3.

Cosmetically perfect, kept in a hard case it's whole life. With 2 chargers.

I have seen them on Ebay for $1100 upwards, fair price?

If I uninstall all the store purchased software, will this mean I can put it on my new laptop without a problem? For example I have a full legit version of Final Cut Pro 7 installed on this mac along with some other software.

AppleDeviceUser · Aug 15, 2013

sourmelk said:
Cheers guys. I think I will try and sell it then. Any ideas to get the most out of the sell, besides a complete format? Should I get it serviced?

Also, just wondering does anyone know what would actually happen if one were to leave a macbook off for an extended period of time?

Nothing would actually happen, if you were to leave it for that long all you have to do is charge the battery full and turn it off completely, when you get back the battery will most likely be almost or completely drained. That is not a problem, plug it back in to charge it and your good as new.

However if you have the money to buy and upgraded one when you back, I would try to sell it, (Which it looks like you are doing) just one thing, make sure you have all your pictures/videos/files saved to an external drive first.

AppleDeviceUser · Aug 15, 2013

sourmelk said:
Ok, noted everyone. Thanks for the helpful replies.

What I have is a 2010 15" MBP 6.2 version core i7 2.66ghz 500 GB/ 8GB 1067 MHz DDR3.

Cosmetically perfect, kept in a hard case it's whole life. With 2 chargers.

I have seen them on Ebay for $1100 upwards, fair price?

If I uninstall all the store purchased software, will this mean I can put it on my new laptop without a problem? For example I have a full legit version of Final Cut Pro 7 installed on this mac along with some other software.

If you purchased Final Cut Pro 7 on the Mac App Store then yes, otherwise no you will not be able to install it again.

What I would do is do is save all your files to an external drive, put a copy of Final Cut Pro 7 on a USB thumb drive (If you didn't purchase it on the App Store) Then go to purchases in the Mac App Store and scroll down till you see Mountain Lion (Assuming you are running ML) then press download and do a complete restore, that way they they are getting a fresh computer and not some system lagged down with software and files that they might not want.

Before you do any of this I would recommend phoning Apple at 1800MYAPPLE
(1-800-692-7753) and asking them how you could save Final Cut Pro 7 to install on a newer machine, and any other questions you may have.

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