11" MBA poor resale value

[Beanoir]

$350 is the average with the same config save for 4gb ram. Don't use Craig's List or eBay so...

Glad you got that much for yours.

I sold mine (2010 2gb/64gb base model) for £505 ($786) last week on ebay, I don't think $350 is particularly accurate if i'm honest, that won't even get you a 2006 mac mini!!

 

[kazmac]

that's quotes I'm getting from places like

I sold mine (2010 2gb/64gb base model) for £505 ($786) last week on ebay, I don't think $350 is particularly accurate if i'm honest, that won't even get you a 2006 mac mini!!

Gazelle and Apple's recycle program gave me this quote and now it's $317 at gazelle when the machine is practically brand new two years later.

Great that you are seeing good money from your MBA. eBay's insane fees and even crazier buyers are a huge no for me. I got burned way too much times on selling non-electronic items. CL - not for me.

 

[G-Mo]

eBay's insane fees and even crazier buyers are a huge no for me. I got burned way too much times on selling non-electronic items. CL - not for me.

If you won't participate in the market(s) where the money is, then you can't really complain about the resale values! (BTW, eBay has free listing days.)

Gazelle way under values bacause they have to invest time and then make a nice profit reselling. Apple and Gazelle are probably two of the worst places to "determine" a valuation from. At least try mac2sell.net to get a better valuation idea.

 

[Beanoir]

Gazelle and Apple's recycle program gave me this quote and now it's $317 at gazelle when the machine is practically brand new two years later.

Great that you are seeing good money from your MBA. eBay's insane fees and even crazier buyers are a huge no for me. I got burned way too much times on selling non-electronic items. CL - not for me.

More fool you then, I certainly didn't pay 50% fees on ebay!!

 

[mattopotamus]

If you won't participate in the market(s) where the money is, then you can't really complain about the resale values! (BTW, eBay has free listing days.)

Gazelle way under values bacause they have to invest time and then make a nice profit reselling. Apple and Gazelle are probably two of the worst places to "determine" a valuation from. At least try mac2sell.net to get a better valuation idea.

exactly. If you do not want to go to craigslist or ebay you will get so much less for your mac or any other electronic

 

[thekev]

I sold mine (2010 2gb/64gb base model) for £505 ($786) last week on ebay, I don't think $350 is particularly accurate if i'm honest, that won't even get you a 2006 mac mini!!

Keep in mind UK pricing is different than US. The models cost less here, and ebay has 2006 minis down to the sub $200 range. The thing about macs is that once you dip low enough, you get to the market that just wants a mac no matter what the age. The Airs are especially popular, but buying a computer based on residual value remains extremely silly. Just look at the pricing on both 15 and 17" early 2011 macbook pros in Apple's refurbished section. Some of them cost just over half as much at this point. The rMBP probably drove that somewhat, but the raw speed increases were just incremental upgrades, yet pricing is down significantly. I'd suggest that if raw power is important, some of them are compelling configurations if you hit the right price to performance ratio. The 2011 15" would still grant you higher performance than the 2012 13" (unless we're talking about battery life in which case I'm not sure). I'll believe the 13" rmbp rumors if we actually see one in the Fall.

Gazelle and Apple's recycle program gave me this quote and now it's $317 at gazelle when the machine is practically brand new two years later.

Great that you are seeing good money from your MBA. eBay's insane fees and even crazier buyers are a huge no for me. I got burned way too much times on selling non-electronic items. CL - not for me.

I've had reasonably good luck with CL. I won't do ebay. It's a pain in the ass, especially if there is a dispute.

 

[racer1441]

Wasn't the 2010 still core 2 duo?

If that's the case, this whole discussion is stupid.

 

[Dammit Cubs]

Yeah, unfortunately, from a visual stand point you are trying to sell a C2D that's 3 generations old. Just like what everyone said.

I used to have a macbook air 11inch as well and I sold it for $500 dollars. That's a $700 dollar loss. All other computers I have bought have given me much better resale. I'm just happy that I'm actually getting some money.

What's sad is that I personally think the 11inch MBA is better than the 13inch. It's a sound machine.

 

[dmelgar]

Wasn't the 2010 still core 2 duo?

If that's the case, this whole discussion is stupid.

I certainly don't see why the discussion is "stupid".

A 2009 Macbook Pro which is also "Core 2 Duo", can sell for as much or more than a much more powerful 2010 Macbook Air. Doesn't make sense to me.

And I'm still amazed that folks have no clue about the RAM and SSD size issues. I've seen base 2/64 configurations sell for as much as $50 MORE than 4/128 configurations that cost $400 more at time of purchase.

Put another way, today you can still get $700 for a 2009 Macbook Pro C2D, that only cost $1000 (back to school promo that year). vs. $650 for a 2010 Macbook Air that cost $1400 (no good promos). Thats clearly not a C2D issue. Something else going on.

BTW, the 2010 C2D performs very well for typical activities unless you're doing video compression or other heavy lifting. And it runs cooler than the newer i5/i7.

 

[mattopotamus]

I certainly don't see why the discussion is "stupid".

A 2009 Macbook Pro which is also "Core 2 Duo", can sell for as much or more than a much more powerful 2010 Macbook Air. Doesn't make sense to me.

And I'm still amazed that folks have no clue about the RAM and SSD size issues. I've seen base 2/64 configurations sell for as much as $50 MORE than 4/128 configurations that cost $400 more at time of purchase.

Put another way, today you can still get $700 for a 2009 Macbook Pro C2D, that only cost $1000 (back to school promo that year). vs. $650 for a 2010 Macbook Air that cost $1400 (no good promos). Thats clearly not a C2D issue. Something else going on.

BTW, the 2010 C2D performs very well for typical activities unless you're doing video compression or other heavy lifting. And it runs cooler than the newer i5/i7.

It's b.c people see the word "pro" and are willing to spend more. The pro's have always sold amazingly well.

 

[dmelgar]

It's b.c people see the word "pro" and are willing to spend more. The pro's have always sold amazingly well.

Does seem to be some truth to that. I wonder if the 15" rMBP will have good resale even when SSD prices drop.

I am amazed to see people ask if an MBA can run whatever application. Of course it can. They likewise assume a MBP can run anything, after all its a "Pro" machine.

Makes me wonder if the upcoming 13" retina macbook pro will be a better resale value than the 13" MBA.

 

[mattopotamus]

Does seem to be some truth to that. I wonder if the 15" rMBP will have good resale even when SSD prices drop.

I am amazed to see people ask if an MBA can run whatever application. Of course it can. They likewise assume a MBP can run anything, after all its a "Pro" machine.

Makes me wonder if the upcoming 13" retina macbook pro will be a better resale value than the 13" MBA.

most likely. I bought an early 2011 13" pro and only upgraded to a SSD....sold it for $1000 on craigslist. Had about 10 people call w/i 5 minutes of posting and sold it in less than 30 mins

 

[Beanoir]

The pro tends to hold more appeal in the secondhand market because it it far more user upgradable, so the SSD (which are mush cheaper than the board for the MBA), the RAM, even the CPU, can all be upgraded by the user for not a lot of money and so is a much more future proof (to use the phrase that everybody loves) and as a unit has a longer lifespan than the MBA because of this reason.

 

[dmelgar]

The pro tends to hold more appeal in the secondhand market because it it far more user upgradable, so the SSD (which are mush cheaper than the board for the MBA), the RAM, even the CPU, can all be upgraded by the user for not a lot of money and so is a much more future proof (to use the phrase that everybody loves) and as a unit has a longer lifespan than the MBA because of this reason.

Makes me wonder if the rMBP will hold its resale value better. Following the MBA, the rMBP RAM is soldered in and can't be upgraded later. CPU can't be swapped. SSD can. Same as the MBA.

I don't think its ever been practical to replace the CPU even on MBP. Apple doesn't typically use sockets for their CPUs.

 

[Beanoir]

Makes me wonder if the rMBP will hold its resale value better. Following the MBA, the rMBP RAM is soldered in and can't be upgraded later. CPU can't be swapped. SSD can. Same as the MBA.

I don't think its ever been practical to replace the CPU even on MBP. Apple doesn't typically use sockets for their CPUs.

I'm surprised Apple have gone that route with the rMBP actually, still i'm sure they know what they are doing.

you're right, the MBP and most Apple laptops are soldered CPUs actually and therefore not very easily upgraded, the desktops including the macminis are normally socket though and certainly are easily upgradeable (not relevant for the conversation I realise).

I jus think people like the idea of older pros being upgradeable to some extent and on a much cheaper budget, the pro also has more connectivity than the MBA. The pro badge means more than many people would often admit (and we are all guilty of this to some degree) but many folk like to be seen to be on a higher rung of the ladder in life and so a pro fits that image, whether or not the product is actually better is not so important. I'm not saying I agree with this mentality but you'd be surprised the extent of it.

 

[KPOM]

Makes me wonder if the rMBP will hold its resale value better. Following the MBA, the rMBP RAM is soldered in and can't be upgraded later. CPU can't be swapped. SSD can. Same as the MBA.

I don't think its ever been practical to replace the CPU even on MBP. Apple doesn't typically use sockets for their CPUs.

I think the base model will hold its value better than the higher end models. Again, there's a $1600 difference between the high and low-end models of the rMBP. SSD storage is getting cheaper, and I think Apple won't be able to charge $2/GB for more than another year or so. Plus, 3-4 years from now, who will care whether a notebook has a 2.3GHz quad core Ivy Bridge vs. 2.6GHz, much less 2.6GHz vs. 2.7GHz, when the base Air will likely have a quad-core Broadwell or Skylake chip?

That's generally been how the Air has performed (base models hold more of their value), and I see no reason why the new Pro would be different.

 

[cedwhatev]

I bought my 2010 11" Ultimate for 780.00 almost a year ago on eBay, and just sold it for 650.00. Then bought a refurb (w/ 1 yr warranty) for 800.00.

 

[RodPinto]

I sold this week a 2010 c2d 4gb 128 for r$2.000,00, which would be us$ 1.000,00. No problems for me!

 

[mattpreston11]

Got my 11' 64/2 2010 MBA on release in OCT 10 for £729
Sold JUL 12 for £500.

Pretty happy with that tbh, Got my new 2012 128/4 11'' for £800.

 

[racer1441]

I certainly don't see why the discussion is "stupid".

A 2009 Macbook Pro which is also "Core 2 Duo", can sell for as much or more than a much more powerful 2010 Macbook Air. Doesn't make sense to me.

And I'm still amazed that folks have no clue about the RAM and SSD size issues. I've seen base 2/64 configurations sell for as much as $50 MORE than 4/128 configurations that cost $400 more at time of purchase.

Put another way, today you can still get $700 for a 2009 Macbook Pro C2D, that only cost $1000 (back to school promo that year). vs. $650 for a 2010 Macbook Air that cost $1400 (no good promos). Thats clearly not a C2D issue. Something else going on.

BTW, the 2010 C2D performs very well for typical activities unless you're doing video compression or other heavy lifting. And it runs cooler than the newer i5/i7.

Dude. It's old technology. Get over it.