Resale value of 1tb ssd?

[spybenj]

Hey,
The upgrade from 512gb to 1tb for the new 15" rMBP is $500($450 with education discount). How much extra would I be able to sell a 1tb a year from now compared to a 512?
Like say I can sell the 512 model for $2000, would the 1tb version be worth $2100? Or $2450?
And on the same note, how much do you think I'll be able to sell it a year from now?

 

[PDFierro]

Resale value typically is lesser on maxed-out models. Only go for the 1TB if you actually need it.

 

[john123]

I've been doing this for a long time, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you usually get killed trying to resell high end models.

Keep in mind that in doing so, all the demographics and trends are working against you. You may be advertising your big disk, but that only matters to a fraction of buyers. Furthermore, "power" users will often be lured in by the shiny features offered by the then-"new" models, which further make your used model less attractive by comparison.

I think that, after the next revision is released, you'll find getting $2000 for a 512GB model to be extremely unlikely (unless you meant the 2.3/16/512 one, in which case $2000 might be about right, but with a more narrow market of potential buyers). I wouldn't value the 1TB drive any more than about $150 more, personally. Yes, you might be able to be patient enough to find the needle-in-the-haystack buyer who cares about only disk space and is willing to pay you a premium. But it won't be easy unless you go to eBay, where resale values already get killed—and that's before eBay and PayPal take their cut.

I'm sure someone will chime in this thread with their anecdotal story of how they managed to do it, but that would miss the point. Those stories are the exception, not the rule. I've actually made money selling an old MacBook Pro and buying a new, more capable revision. Is that the norm, and should that be the expectation? Of course not. Same principle applies.

 

[spybenj]

I've been doing this for a long time, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you usually get killed trying to resell high end models.

Keep in mind that in doing so, all the demographics and trends are working against you. You may be advertising your big disk, but that only matters to a fraction of buyers. Furthermore, "power" users will often be lured in by the shiny features offered by the then-"new" models, which further make your used model less attractive by comparison.

I think that, after the next revision is released, you'll find getting $2000 for a 512GB model to be extremely unlikely (unless you meant the 2.3/16/512 one, in which case $2000 might be about right, but with a more narrow market of potential buyers). I wouldn't value the 1TB drive any more than about $150 more, personally. Yes, you might be able to be patient enough to find the needle-in-the-haystack buyer who cares about only disk space and is willing to pay you a premium. But it won't be easy unless you go to eBay, where resale values already get killed—and that's before eBay and PayPal take their cut.

I'm sure someone will chime in this thread with their anecdotal story of how they managed to do it, but that would miss the point. Those stories are the exception, not the rule. I've actually made money selling an old MacBook Pro and buying a new, more capable revision. Is that the norm, and should that be the expectation? Of course not. Same principle applies.

Yea I do mean the 2.3/16/512 version

Alright that makes sense. I've had that same experience selling iPhones; people will pay say $400 for a 16 or $450 for 64, as an example.
Thanks for the long response!

 

[LaravelNick]

The SSD is the only user upgradable part and it's likely that people like OWC will offer compatible SSDs soon and the price of SSDs will surely come down over time anyway as they become more mainstream.

 

[hachiman]

Buying the high end model or with the top upgrades will be like buying a luxury car, you're paying the high price for the latest-and-greatest. Eventually, technology will improve to the point where things were once exclusive.

People who buy second-handed used laptops don't care for the "then" most expensive models or would pay the price for it. If they would, they would rather just buy new. Would you want to buy a used car that the owner advertised as "It even got the $3,000 navigation option!"? Today, everyone has an iPhone/Android that can do better.

 

[Ryan1524]

Start buying things to serve your needs, not the needs of the potential future buyers. You'll get more out of your tools, and be happier doing it.

 

[maflynn]

You'll never get your money back. Why spend 500 dollars on the SSD upgrade when you may see a hundred or two increase down the road.

Also consider the higher end the machine the harder it will sell because you're pricing it outside the norm and there's a smaller pool of potential buyers.

My advice echoes the others. Buy what you need, don't worry what you may or may not get when its time to sell it.

 

[rgarjr]

Start buying things to serve your needs, not the needs of the potential future buyers. You'll get more out of your tools, and be happier doing it.

I agree, stop worrying about its resale value and just enjoy what best suits u now.

 

[john123]

Start buying things to serve your needs, not the needs of the potential future buyers. You'll get more out of your tools, and be happier doing it.

I agree, stop worrying about its resale value and just enjoy what best suits u now.

Guys, in fairness, it's not our place to tell the OP what to worry about and what not to worry about. If something like total cost of ownership is an important metric to him, then that's his choice. He just asked about what the likely return would be on a given feature.

I personally consider resale value a lot when deciding on laptop models. Usually that leads me to purchase base models, because I realize that the marginal enjoyment and utility I would get out of a higher-end model is offset by the marginal dis-utility I'd get come resale time. The decision is a personal one, not a universal one.