Advice on selling my G5 Tower

[axisofphilippe]

I'm trying to sell off my computers one at a time so I can buy one of those new (yet unannounced) Mac Book Pro's.

Now I'm just debating about WHERE the best place to sell it is. eBay or Craigslist? Least effort/most profit.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[stukdog]

Unless you're in a real big city, ebay will likely give you a larger audience.

Also, I use http://www.mac2sell.net/ to price out what I'd expect for a Mac. It's usually quite accurate.

 

[axisofphilippe]

Unless you're in a real big city, ebay will likely give you a larger audience.

Also, I use http://www.mac2sell.net/ to price out what I'd expect for a Mac. It's usually quite accurate.

I'm in Los Angeles...

 

[KingYaba]

Put OS X disk in. Wipe the hard drive and erase free space with layers of zeros. Then install OS X. Now you're ready to sell.

 

[clyde2801]

why not both?

I sold my dual g5 on craigslist back in march and got a fairly decent return on it. I'd try that first before I paid listing fees on ebay and had to pay to have it shipped.

Emphasize the machine's strong points: strong, uncluttered design, easy to upgrade, multi-monitor deisgn, and still able to run classic applications. I know a handful or two of long time, diehard mac guys who are unwilling or unable to give up some classic applications, and you've got the latest, fastest machine that can still run them.

Post some good pictures on your machine, put up the listing, and be patient; it took two weeks for me to sell mine after piddling around with garage sale wannabes who would try to ridiculously low ball me.

See how much your machine is going for on e-bay, and list that on craigslist as well. GOOD LUCK!

 

[mgridgaway]

If you do sell on craigslist, just make sure to do it in a very public place. The last thing you want is to invite a robber into your house or vice versa. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

 

[SmurfBoxMasta]

If you do sell on craigslist, just make sure to do it in a very public place. The last thing you want is to invite a robber into your house or vice versa. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

Unfortunately, it IS happening more & more, and alot more than most people realize......

A couple of things that can help:

1) Get a name & phone number of anyone who shows interest. Call them from a pay phone (so they can't track you down) and verify their name and appearance, so you know who to look for when meeting them.

2) Make it clear in your listing and subsequent conversations that you will:

a) Not haggle at the meeting place. Pricing/negotiations to be settled in advance, through email/pics/phone calls

b) Accept cash only

c) Bring a friend (or 2) as witnesses


3) Scope out the meeting place well in advance and get familiar with the surroundings. Get there 30 mins prior to the scheduled time & scope it out again. If you feel or see anything that makes you the least bit uncomfortable, LEAVE immediately and do NOT go back. Reschedule if you must, but at a different time & place, but do NOT let on why, just make up some silly excuse and be humorous about it

FYI........there are just as many, or more, scammers on craigslist as there is on ebay nowadays, there just closer to you! ie the nigerians, the clowns that are from 1 place but want you to ship it somewhere else "as a gift for my sick niece" etc........beware

good luck

 

[devilot]

About "safety" in CL sales...

I can't remember who exactly, but in a previous thread, an MRer mentioned that s/he conducted Craigslist transactions inside of a bank (either the bank of the buyer or seller, depends). I had already had several successful CL sales but thought that that was a superb tip.

The next time I sold a Mac, it was inside the buyer's bank and I watched him withdraw the money from the teller window. We got to sit in comfy bank chairs as he looked over the MB and I could rest assured that the money was legit. I also had someone else with me and we waited until we saw the buyer get in his car and drive away before heading to our own car.

As for eBay vs. CL, with bigger and heavier items? Especially in as populated an area as L.A.? I'd personally opt for CL over eBay. Yes, you get spammers and scammers, but overall, stay safe and smart and you can often wind up w/ more cash in your pocket (w/out having to deal w/ fees left and right). Just my little ol' opinion.