Selling an older PowerMac (G4) - A couple ?'s

bluetooth · Jan 10, 2010

Hi, I have on older PowerMac G4 Quicksilver 733Mhz with an upgraded Radeon Pro 9000 graphics card, upgraded 1.5GB RAM and an upgraded CD/DVD drive.

If I am looking to sell, is it better to sell the RAM, graphics card and drive separate or sell the whole unit for a price...which way would likely produce the most profit?

I looked on Ebay and I saw tons of old RAM and Radeon Pro cards as well as drives all for around $25-55 ea. (RAM listed at about $22/512mb) depending on the dealer. BUT there were tons listed, as in, not many buyers I would assume since there were so many available. If I could sell all these aformentioned parts at the prices they are listed on Ebay I would probably get about $100, but that is a BIG if in finding buyers.

If I could get $150 for the whole unit I would be happy, I would also include the original keyboard and optical mouse (clear series) and OS X Tiger as well as CS3 Apps installed (no disks).

Anyone who has sold their older G4's please let me know what you think is the best option and also any tips as to where to list? Also wondering if asking $150 is unreasonable if I list it as a complete unit/package?

Thanks!

300D · Jan 10, 2010

bluetooth said:
If I could get $150 for the whole unit I would be happy

Only if you're willing to wait for the right uninformed sucker to come along and get hooked. You've got a $50 machine at best.

bluetooth · Jan 10, 2010

300D said:
Only if you're willing to wait for the right uninformed sucker to come along and get hooked. You've got a $50 machine at best.

That low huh - even with the keyboard, mouse, apple pro speakers, OSX Tiger and CS3 Apps? I may ask $99 and see if I get any bites.

peskaa · Jan 10, 2010

Selling with CS3 installed, but not giving them the install CDs/serial key etc. is software piracy, so you won't be adding to the "value" of the G4 at all and breaking the law in the process.

G4s are devalued these days, so I wouldn't expect much.

300D · Jan 10, 2010

bluetooth said:
even with the keyboard, mouse

Used keyboards and mice are worthless. Any intelligent person would never touch another man's personal computer peripherals for reasons all men know about.

apple pro speakers

Those sucked when they were new. I might pay $5 for them. If they were the Harman Kardon soundsticks Apple sold for a while, that would be different.

OSX Tiger and CS3 Apps

Software, especially an old OS, adds no value to a computers price.

4JNA · Jan 10, 2010

parts is parts.

sell it as parts if you really want to make any money. as a system, you might get $99 if you are lucky, as parts, you should make the $150 you are after. all comes down to how much your time and effort is worth.

if you are any good with a screwdriver, pull everything, and i mean everything, and sell every part by itself. ebay, or craigslist if you are brave.

leave the cpu on the logicboard, but pull and part everything else. the cpu is worthless by itself, but will add value to the board.

crazy world. old computers aren't worth much. parts for old computers are worth more. go figure!?! best of luck.

bluetooth · Jan 10, 2010

peskaa said:
Selling with CS3 installed, but not giving them the install CDs/serial key etc. is software piracy, so you won't be adding to the "value" of the G4 at all and breaking the law in the process.
G4s are devalued these days, so I wouldn't expect much.

Never even thougt of that to be honest...I see them all over Ebay and cragislist with Design, Video, Office Apps installed that are for sale. Might be worth removing it then, do these people get into trouble with the law?

macgeek18 · Jan 10, 2010

300D said:
Only if you're willing to wait for the right uninformed sucker to come along and get hooked. You've got a $50 machine at best.

Um,it's worth way more than that.I sell G3 Clamshells at 200 each and get from people who know a lot of stuff about Macs.I won't even sell mine unless I get at least $150 out of it.

bluetooth · Jan 11, 2010

macgeek18 said:
Um,it's worth way more than that.I sell G3 Clamshells at 200 each and get from people who know a lot of stuff about Macs.I won't even sell mine unless I get at least $150 out of it.

Cheers, I actually looked on craigslist the other day and there were a handful of G4 Quicksilvers and they were asking between $100-$200 depending, so maybe throwing it out there for $150 is not that unreasonable. Some do go for under $100 on Ebay, but there are usually substantial shipping costs ($50-$100) in most cases, where as with craigslist in your area, you can likely offer pick-up at N/C.

300D · Jan 11, 2010

macgeek18 said:
Um,it's worth way more than that.I sell G3 Clamshells at 200 each and get from people who know a lot of stuff about Macs.

A G3 clambook isn't even remotely comparable to a dime-a-dozen G4 tower.

If they are willing to pay $200 for a 10 year old, sub-500mhz, 800x600 display, sub-10MB vram and OSX incapable laptop that comes in eye jabbing colors, I don't question their knowledge, I question their judgment.

63dot · Jan 12, 2010

I remember when the quicksilver was a screaming machine. Apple got past the terrible G4 bus issues and didn't fall into the pit of excessive noise yet with the Hannibal Lechter power macs. Quicksilver was the best of all the G4 towers. It put my dual 500 G4 power mac to shame on speed tests. I gave away my dual 500 for free and if you can get $150 for your quicksilver, then that's pretty good. I would shoot for $100 dollars since I see G5s in the paper for $150.

Intel really killed the resale value of Motorola Macs.

oogieboogiex · Jan 12, 2010

bluetooth said:
Cheers, I actually looked on craigslist the other day and there were a handful of G4 Quicksilvers and they were asking between $100-$200 depending, so maybe throwing it out there for $150 is not that unreasonable. Some do go for under $100 on Ebay, but there are usually substantial shipping costs ($50-$100) in most cases, where as with craigslist in your area, you can likely offer pick-up at N/C.

I'd say go with what you can figure out from craigslist... seeing you are located in Toronto, I'd say to take some of what's being posted in response with a grain of salt... this market does kind of bite in terms of good, reliable resellers of Apple, and they either have limited selection and/or very inflated pricing... means people can ask for more privately...

just one sample ad from today:
http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/sys/1547452815.html
$90 for a G4 400mHz, running 10.2.8, comes with an Apple 17" CRT...

or this:
http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/sys/1543686553.html
$165 for a G4 800mHz, 10.3.9, but no monitor or peripherals mentioned...

by comparison, Midtown Digital is asking $129 for a G4 450 mHz, 512 ram, or $229 for a G4 1.0Ghz DP with a gig of ram...

I'd say go for it at $150... if you are not in a hurry, you can always repost it and knock $25 off...

btbrossard · Jan 12, 2010

You could get $150 for it. It's a decent machine with decent accessories.

Definitely remove CS3 from the machine before you sell it. It's not worth getting into trouble over it, even though the possibility is slim.

Good luck-

robotartfashion · Jan 12, 2010

I paid about $100 after shipping for my 867 mhz Quicksilver on ebay

It was hard to find a non-mirror door that was 867 mhz or more so that it could run a supported leopard installation

I would should for $150 obo, maybe you'll be able to get 100-125 for it.

good luck!

63dot · Jan 12, 2010

btbrossard said:
You could get $150 for it. It's a decent machine with decent accessories.

Definitely remove CS3 from the machine before you sell it. It's not worth getting into trouble over it, even though the possibility is slim.

Good luck-

I heard CS3 is so special that if you sell a machine with it on the computer, you will be sent to a secret prison.

btbrossard · Jan 15, 2010

63dot said:
I heard CS3 is so special that if you sell a machine with it on the computer, you will be sent to a secret prison.

Doing slave labor, err, production work on a magazine cloning out chin hair on models (or worse if the magazine that is the type that usually comes wrapped in opaque plastic)?

powerbook911 · Jan 15, 2010

63dot said:
I heard CS3 is so special that if you sell a machine with it on the computer, you will be sent to a secret prison.

Wouldn't CS3 on a 800mhz G4 be painful?

You might find just a collector out there though, or something. If I had the room for all these older Macs, I'd buy it. I love some of the older products.

lannister80 · Jan 15, 2010

robotartfashion said:
I paid about $100 after shipping for my 867 mhz Quicksilver on ebay

It was hard to find a non-mirror door that was 867 mhz or more so that it could run a supported leopard installation

MDDs aren't supported with Leopard installed? That's news to me, I have it installed and I believe it's supported. Quicksilvers are older than MDDs.

lannister80 · Jan 15, 2010

powerbook911 said:
Wouldn't CS3 on a 800mhz G4 be painful?

You might find just a collector out there though, or something. If I had the room for all these older Macs, I'd buy it. I love some of the older products.

Interested in a 1998 AIO (http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g3/stats/powermac_g3_266_aio.html) minus a processor?

robotartfashion · Jan 15, 2010

lannister80 said:
MDDs aren't supported with Leopard installed? That's news to me, I have it installed and I believe it's supported. Quicksilvers are older than MDDs.

sorry for the misunderstanding, i meant i didn't want a MDD, I wanted a Quicksilver.

mchalebk · Jan 15, 2010

I sold a dual 800 Quicksilver on Craigslist last year for $225 - 250 (don't remember exact amount). It's important to note that it had a new DVD burner, max RAM (1.5 GB), two 120 GB hard drives (both 3 years old). I included a fairly new keyboard and Mighty Mouse and a handful of other goodies (software, a USB WiFi dongle, etc.).

My suggestion would be to put it on Craigslist and ask $199, be ready to accept $150. Make sure you have a good write-up (it is astounding to me how many people have no clue how to sell something). If it doesn't sell, wait a couple of weeks, then post it again. Don't be afraid to do this several times. Remember, you only need one person to be interested.

If you don't get any bites after several tries, drop the price.

Selling an older PowerMac (G4) - A couple ?'s

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