15" Macbook Pro (2015) - Refurbished From Apple Site

[Tech_Mac_Man]

Hey Guys,

Just a quick question I have been following the Apple Refurbished site and I noticed that Apple is still selling the MAXED OUT 2015 2.8ghz, 1tb, 16gb, AMD Graphics card on their actual site.

I want to know are these the ones ppl have sent in with prior issues/problems? Or are these brand new ones left over from stock room?

Has anyone ordered from the actual Apple site and got one? If so how is the condition (blemishes, scratches, dents, dings)? I am very picky just want to know if they replace everything to make it look NEW (screen, body)?

I seen a post where someone ordered one from the actual Apple website and the magsafe ports were all beat up. If I am going to spend almost $3k + tax CAD for a used Mac it better look NEW!

Let me know your experience?

 

[pshufd]

Hey Guys,

Just a quick question I have been following the Apple Refurbished site and I noticed that Apple is still selling the MAXED OUT 2015 2.8ghz, 1tb, 16gb, AMD Graphics card on their actual site.

I want to know are these the ones ppl have sent in with prior issues/problems? Or are these brand new ones left over from stock room?

Has anyone ordered from the actual Apple site and got one? If so how is the condition (blemishes, scratches, dents, dings)? I am very picky just want to know if they replace everything to make it look NEW (screen, body)?

I seen a post where someone ordered one from the actual Apple website and the magsafe ports were all beat up. If I am going to spend almost $3k + tax CAD for a used Mac it better look NEW!

Let me know your experience?

There's one of those for about $1,200 in NYC. I do not know the condition though but I would expect it to be less than pristine. I bought a 2.5 Ghz a few months ago for $1,123 but it had a few dings in it. I've seen 2.8s in my area for $1,200 to $1,300 but I wasn't willing to drive 80 miles to look at it.

I personally would prefer a local sale so that I could inspect the machine but I would consider OWC if they would provide me with a set of pictures.

 

[David58117]

Are you checking local sites like Facebook Marketplace/whatever else?

It took a few weeks of daily looking, but I found a base 2015 15" for < $800 in pristine condition that way, that still has AppleCare for the next 13 months.

Seller didn't mention the AppleCare, and the pictures made it look dingy, but there are some pretty good deals available if you keep checking.

 

[Donnation]

When you purchase from Apple's refurbished site you are buying brand new, just without the new box. Apple replaces the shell on the computer as well as fixes any defects the computer may have had, and puts in a new battery. I only purchase from their refurbished site and they are indistinguishable from new, aside from the box that says "refurbished" on it.

They all come with the standard 1 year Apple warranty and you can buy the additional AppleCare if you'd like.

 

[maflynn]

If I am going to spend almost $3k + tax CAD for a used Mac it better look NEW!

I know there's the complexity of currency conversion with CAD vs. USD, but still, something doesn't seem right when someone is willing to spend that much money on a 4 year old computer. I just looked (at least in the US) and there appears to be some 2015 models available, and at least in USD, the price is in the 2k range.

Still I think that's vastly over priced for such an old computer, and yes I realize there is a warranty associated with the purchase, but stil...

It seems to be a sad state of affairs that mac fans are willing to spend 2 to 3 thousand dollars on a 4 year old computer, then wanting to spend nearly that amount on brand new MBP

 

[rockstarjoe]

Well for what it’s worth, I just ordered a low end refurb 2015. I’ve been waiting to upgrade my ancient 2010 model and was really hoping that by now Apple would have released a compelling update. I still think good things are coming for the mbp but it’s going to take a while. In the meantime I am excited to have a decent upgrade for pretty cheap (relative to the new models) where I can still upgrade the hard drive.

 

[pshufd]

Well for what it’s worth, I just ordered a low end refurb 2015. I’ve been waiting to upgrade my ancient 2010 model and was really hoping that by now Apple would have released a compelling update. I still think good things are coming for the mbp but it’s going to take a while. In the meantime I am excited to have a decent upgrade for pretty cheap (relative to the new models) where I can still upgrade the hard drive.

Enjoy your new and faster system with lots of ports.

 

[Nbd1790]

Took a look at what Apple wants for it. The prices are a bit insane considering they're selling 4 year old technology. Would highly recommend taking a look in the used market. There's a lot of them out there in great condition with low battery cycle counts. Recently picked up a 2.5 i7 16gb 1tb 2015 model for $1050 (in absolute mint condition and 205 on the battery cycle)

Apple is asking $2200 (plus tax) for a 2.8 16gb and 512SSD model. If you have that much to spend, hold out for when Apple refreshes (fixes) their current design and you'll get an enormous increase in performance in comparison to the 2015 model. Although, the 2015 model is a great buy in the second hand market.

 

[pshufd]

Took a look at what Apple wants for it. The prices are a bit insane considering they're selling 4 year old technology. Would highly recommend taking a look in the used market. There's a lot of them out there in great condition with low battery cycle counts. Recently picked up a 2.5 i7 16gb 1tb 2015 model for $1050 (in absolute mint condition and 205 on the battery cycle)

Apple is asking $2200 (plus tax) for a 2.8 16gb and 512SSD model. If you have that much to spend, hold out for when Apple refreshes (fixes) their current design and you'll get an enormous increase in performance in comparison to the 2015 model. Although, the 2015 model is a great buy in the second hand market.

If someone wants something and they have the means and willingness to pay for it, I say go for it. If you have a billion in the bank, this amount of money is pocket change. If it means you don't have to buy a bunch of dongles, it may make you a little happier. I don't understand people telling others how to spend their money.

 

[Nbd1790]

If someone wants something and they have the means and willingness to pay for it, I say go for it. If you have a billion in the bank, this amount of money is pocket change. If it means you don't have to buy a bunch of dongles, it may make you a little happier. I don't understand people telling others how to spend their money.

Posting a thread on a website asking about the purchase is just that. Ultimately, people will do as they please. As I mentioned, a 2015 model isn't a bad purchase. It can just be had for much less (about $1000 less) if you're willing to browse a different market. Just giving some advice.

 

[Donnation]

Posting a thread on a website asking about the purchase is just that. Ultimately, people will do as they please. As I mentioned, a 2015 model isn't a bad purchase. It can just be had for much less (about $1000 less) if you're willing to browse a different market. Just giving some advice.

This is true, but you are taking a chance on the condition of the computer. When you buy it directly from Apple its in brand new condition and their full one year warranty with the option to purchase additional AppleCare if you decide to.

From a performance standpoint unless you are doing 4K video editing you aren't going to see hardly any noticeable difference in performance, and you get a lot more in my opinion with the older models (ports, reliability, MUCH better keyboard, no garbage T2 chip, no flex gate worry).

 

[pshufd]

This is true, but you are taking a chance on the condition of the computer. When you buy it directly from Apple its in brand new condition and their full one year warranty with the option to purchase additional AppleCare if you decide to.

From a performance standpoint unless you are doing 4K video editing you aren't going to see hardly any noticeable difference in performance, and you get a lot more in my opinion with the older models (ports, reliability, MUCH better keyboard, no garbage T2 chip, no flex gate worry).

If you're a corporate buyer, your company policy may require some kind of warranty or guaranteed repair service. As I've said, I may buy one of these from Apple - if they announce fixes or redesigns to address current models, then it makes it less likely - they only have to announce them - it could be this fall or next Spring as I have enough for the next year. But that those systems are snatched up quickly - it implies healthy demand. That sellers are asking $2K and up on Amazon indicates healthy demand.

 

[Falhófnir]

On the one hand it's got a lot of benefits that might be useful or desirable over the 2016- models (Keyboard; USB A/SD/HDMI built in; smaller trackpad; Removable SSD (data loss); no T2 to worry about) on the other though, it's getting a bit long in the tooth on performance (GPU wise, quad core and lack of HEVC) and it's, as of this month, a 4 year old model. Given an expected supported life of 7 years, what Apple is asking for something now over halfway through is a bit steep IMO.

 

[pshufd]

On the one hand it's got a lot of benefits that might be useful or desirable over the 2016- models (Keyboard; USB A/SD/HDMI built in; smaller trackpad; Removable SSD (data loss); no T2 to worry about) on the other though, it's getting a bit long in the tooth on performance (GPU wise, quad core and lack of HEVC) and it's, as of this month, a 4 year old model. Given an expected supported life of 7 years, what Apple is asking for something now over halfway through is a bit steep IMO.

I was at a Mozilla retreat in Whistler back in 2008. One of the guys under the CTO dropped two or three MacBook Pros (I'm rather amazed at how careless people can be with laptops). No big deal. There are just a lot of people out there that don't consider a few thousand for a laptop to be a big deal.

 

[Donnation]

On the one hand it's got a lot of benefits that might be useful or desirable over the 2016- models (Keyboard; USB A/SD/HDMI built in; smaller trackpad; Removable SSD (data loss); no T2 to worry about) on the other though, it's getting a bit long in the tooth on performance (GPU wise, quad core and lack of HEVC) and it's, as of this month, a 4 year old model. Given an expected supported life of 7 years, what Apple is asking for something now over halfway through is a bit steep IMO.

They ask that because people are willing to pay for it. And I would bet money that any 2015 model bought from them would outlast the 2018 model before a repair or failure occurred. The new models are not going to last. The 2016 and 2017 models will all eventually suffer from the flex cable issue and while yet to be determined the 2018 model most likely will as well. Regardless of that issue the keyboard on those models will eventually have to be repaired.

 

[pshufd]

They ask that because people are willing to pay for it. And I would bet money that any 2015 model bought from them would outlast the 2018 model before a repair or failure occurred. The new models are not going to last. The 2016 and 2017 models will all eventually suffer from the flex cable issue and while yet to be determined the 2018 model most likely will as well. Regardless of that issue the keyboard on those models will eventually have to be repaired.

I think that you could say the same for the 2014 model.

 

[Flabasha]

If I had to buy a Mac laptop right now, I'd buy that Apple refurb 2015 dGPU.

Remember, it has more value when YOU sell it, if you can say you bought it from Apple in 2019.

 

[Falhófnir]

I was at a Mozilla retreat in Whistler back in 2008. One of the guys under the CTO dropped two or three MacBook Pros (I'm rather amazed at how careless people can be with laptops). No big deal. There are just a lot of people out there that don't consider a few thousand for a laptop to be a big deal.

Naturally if it's a company machine it makes no difference; if its a private machine and you're looking for at least reasonable value, which reading the OP seems to be the case in this thread, then it's very much something to bear in mind. This will all depend on OP's needs, but I'm guessing they're going to want a good 4 years out of a purchase, and want a reasonably capable machine over that timeframe (they mention wanting the top of the line CPU and the dGPU). The 2015 is starting to get a little left behind in some ways so its just something to think about, considering they're still going to be paying top dollar.

They ask that because people are willing to pay for it. And I would bet money that any 2015 model bought from them would outlast the 2018 model before a repair or failure occurred. The new models are not going to last. The 2016 and 2017 models will all eventually suffer from the flex cable issue and while yet to be determined the 2018 model most likely will as well. Regardless of that issue the keyboard on those models will eventually have to be repaired.

I don't see how this is incompatible with what I wrote? The hardware problems of the new models are irrelevant; we're talking about the value proposition of the 2015 in 2019 and for me it's now rapidly diminishing given Apple has kept the pricing pretty darn high on these machines. Some might be willing to fork out whatever price Apple sticks on these units because it has to be a mac, it has to be a laptop, it has to be 'as new' from Apple and they can't risk having to take it in for a repair in the (unacceptably high, yet still overall unlikely) case of a KB failure. That's a very specific case right there though, so frankly, an iMac, a Windows alternative, a used 2015 or a 2018 absolutely have their merits for consideration, depending on individual circumstance. In OP's case, it sounds like they do want a relatively powerful machine, opting for the dGPU, and they are looking for at least reasonable value for money. Like I say, it's my opinion, but these refurbs are now not looking so good on that front, YMMV.

 

[pshufd]

Naturally if it's a company machine it makes no difference; if its a private machine and you're looking for at least reasonable value, which reading the OP seems to be the case in this thread, then it's very much something to bear in mind. This will all depend on OP's needs, but I'm guessing they're going to want a good 4 years out of a purchase, and want a reasonably capable machine over that timeframe (they mention wanting the top of the line CPU and the dGPU). The 2015 is starting to get a little left behind in some ways so its just something to think about, considering they're still going to be paying top dollar.

I don't see how this is incompatible with what I wrote? The hardware problems of the new models are irrelevant; we're talking about the value proposition of the 2015 in 2019 and for me it's now rapidly diminishing given Apple has kept the pricing pretty darn high on these machines. Some might be willing to fork out whatever price Apple sticks on these units because it has to be a mac, it has to be a laptop, it has to be 'as new' from Apple and they can't risk having to take it in for a repair in the (unacceptably high, yet still overall unlikely) case of a KB failure. That's a very specific case right there though, so frankly, an iMac, a Windows alternative, a used 2015 or a 2018 absolutely have their merits for consideration, depending on individual circumstance. In OP's case, it sounds like they do want a relatively powerful machine, opting for the dGPU, and they are looking for at least reasonable value for money. Like I say, it's my opinion, but these refurbs are now not looking so good on that front, YMMV.

Clearly the people buying those machines disagrees with you and, in the end, they're the ones that matter.

 

[LogicalApex]

They ask that because people are willing to pay for it. And I would bet money that any 2015 model bought from them would outlast the 2018 model before a repair or failure occurred. The new models are not going to last. The 2016 and 2017 models will all eventually suffer from the flex cable issue and while yet to be determined the 2018 model most likely will as well. Regardless of that issue the keyboard on those models will eventually have to be repaired.

Forums are always a bit pulled to extremes, but come on... Apple had warranties around when the 2015 was released and Apple has performed warranty repairs on 2015 models. 2015 models may be less likely to fail, but that isn't the same as guaranteed to not fail...

There are people with 2018 models, such as myself, who have had no issues with their KB or T2 or anything else. There are users who have. If you dig enough you'd find common failures for the 2015 model as well. All electronics can fail and that's what the warranty is for. If you can't handle any failure then you need to build redundancy or other safeguards into your workflow.

IMHO a user would still get a better value for their money at this price for ancient technology buying the newer MBP if you have to have a Mac laptop. Spend a few dollars on an external drive for backups (which should be done anyway) and restoring their machine onto a temporary MBP purchase that they then return to Apple in a repair scenario. If you have an Apple Store next to you...

Spending inflated money on ancient technology because you're worried about the keyboard seems nuts. But as they say, "a fool and his money are soon parted"

 

[pshufd]

Spending inflated money on ancient technology because you're worried about the keyboard seems nuts. But as they say, "a fool and his money are soon parted"

I made $30K trading yesterday.

I worry more about the revenue side.

Fool indeed.

 

[LogicalApex]

I made $30K trading yesterday.

I worry more about the revenue side.

Fool indeed.

You made $30K and you're worried about the KB on a 2018 MBP? Enough to make you spend inflated prices for 5 year old technology? Why not buy 2 or 3 2018 MBPs and just rotate them on any failure and then sell them when you're ready for next year's model? After all, the money doesn't matter...

But if you wanted to be "cheap" you could just buy the second one and return it once your machine is repaired as I'm sure you have a CC without interest charges since you pay the bill off every month and/or use Charge Cards.

 

[pshufd]

You made $30K and you're worried about the KB on a 2018 MBP? Enough to make you spend inflated prices for 5 year old technology? Why not buy 2 or 3 2018 MBPs and just rotate them on any failure and then sell them when you're ready for next year's model? After all, the money doesn't matter...

But if you wanted to be "cheap" you could just buy the second one and return it once your machine is repaired as I'm sure you have a CC without interest charges since you pay the bill off every month and/or use Charge Cards.

You want reliability when you're trading size, you know?

 

[Falhófnir]

Forums are always a bit pulled to extremes, but come on... Apple had warranties around when the 2015 was released and Apple has performed warranty repairs on 2015 models. 2015 models may be less likely to fail, but that isn't the same as guaranteed to not fail...

There are people with 2018 models, such as myself, who have had no issues with their KB or T2 or anything else. There are users who have. If you dig enough you'd find common failures for the 2015 model as well. All electronics can fail and that's what the warranty is for. If you can't handle any failure then you need to build redundancy or other safeguards into your workflow.

IMHO a user would still get a better value for their money at this price for ancient technology buying the newer MBP if you have to have a Mac laptop. Spend a few dollars on an external drive for backups (which should be done anyway) and restoring their machine onto a temporary MBP purchase that they then return to Apple in a repair scenario. If you have an Apple Store next to you...

Spending inflated money on ancient technology because you're worried about the keyboard seems nuts. But as they say, "a fool and his money are soon parted"

Exactly this. Though it's not ideal to have to get a KB repair, it's relatively unlikely to happen, and Apple can now put it right in a day or so if you live near enough to a store. At this point, if you're actually doing something that makes use of the power or new tech like HEVC, its not worth denying yourself that for a 2015 machine. Better options are iMac, Windows machine or pay your money and take your chance with a 2018 for most. The 2015s were a pretty good deal even in 2017, but we're now in 2019 and the 2015 is starting to feel like a 4 year old machine. Particularly as it had a year-old processor when new.

 

[pshufd]

Exactly this. Though it's not ideal to have to get a KB repair, it's relatively unlikely to happen, and Apple can now put it right in a day or so if you live near enough to a store. At this point, if you're actually doing something that makes use of the power or new tech like HEVC, its not worth denying yourself that for a 2015 machine. Better options are iMac, Windows machine or pay your money and take your chance with a 2018 for most. The 2015s were a pretty good deal even in 2017, but we're now in 2019 and the 2015 is starting to feel like a 4 year old machine. Particularly as it had a year-old processor when new.

Ever fat-finger a stock order? Buy 10,000 shares instead of 1,000? I once went to buy something heavily traded and fat fingered the order and wound up buying a thinly traded Garman ADR. Now that was my fault. I really don't want a bad keyboard either inserting or removing an extra 0 or letter when I place a quick trade.

I was using a 2008 system until a year ago. These 2014 and 2015 systems are fine for what I do. Could they be a little faster and have a little more RAM? Sure. But hopefully Apple will fix their problems this year or next and then I can move on.