Am I ripping my friend off?

[airjuggernaut]

Hey everyone.

Well recentley I've been in the market for a CHEAP old Apple Laptop. I'm a high school student, desperately looking for a job, so I only have around $250saved.

I've looked at the PowerBook G4's which I think are amazing, but they were still out of my budget.

So then I turned to iBook G4's, which were a little bit more in my budget, I looked and waited just to find out that they end up selling for more than my budget can allow.

Then a good friend of mine told me about his iBook G4.

He's been wanting to sell it for some time now, it was essentially a handmedown from his older sister who is now done uni.

He asked if I would take it for $350.

I told him, I couldn't afford it right now, since I don't have much money.

He asked me how much money I had, to which I replied $250.

He said that might be "do-able", he'll get back to me tommorow about it.

Now the thing is he just bought a new battery from apple like 3 days ago for the iBook, and the iBook itself is in really good condition.

It's specs are iBook 12" 1.2ghz, 512mb Ram, 60Gb HD and it comes with all the discs, the charger, etc.

Do you think i'd be ripping him off if I bought it for $250.

He's a really good friend, and I would feel terrible if i were ripping him off.

 

[dukebound85]

i dont think so as he is thinking about the price you offered

 

[ktbubster]

he could get 400 assuming condition is good or maybe more elsewhere.

250 for a friend though might be good, since he knows it's going to a good home... perhaps you could offer to give him another 100 over the next month or two as you get it.

That might make your conscious feel better

 

[TwinCities Dan]

Do you think i'd be ripping him off if I bought it for $250.

Ran your info thru http://www.mac2sell.net/

 

[Apple-Man23]

there is definitely something to be said in regards to the comfort a seller gets in knowing the object for sale is going to a good home and not to some stranger. so while your friend may get more $$ selling elsewhere you are by no means ripping him off $250 is a very fair price especially considering you are a friend.

enjoy your new!!

 

[Goldenbear]

Ran your info thru http://www.mac2sell.net/

I think $280 would be reasonable if it had the original battery. With a brand new battery, something around $350 is more fair. I think anything under $400 is a steal, assuming it's in good condition.

I'm still using a 1.3GHz iBook, and it's just fine for most tasks, so the 1.2GHz iBook is by no means obsolete or unusable.

 

[bainesajay]

Sounds Reasonable

I agreeify with the above posts. This sounds totally reasonable. I am not trying to scare you, but think of it this way.

No Warranty, so if the Mobo gives you out your money. (although unlikely at this age now)
The computer is likely to be unsupported with the next version of leopard.
Its a whole CPU generation old, and was a low end model to begin with.
You can get a brand new MacBook refurb for about $900, so $250 for this is ok.

My two cents

 

[stainlessliquid]

I was going to say you were getting ripped off at $350. You shouldnt pay anything more than $300 even if other people would pay more. $250 is a decent price. It is not a terribly useful machine so dont spend a ton of money on it.

Its a whole CPU generation old, and was a low end model to begin with.

actually its more like 3 generations old: G5 > Core Solo/Duo > Core 2 Duo. Core 2 Quad should be mainstream-laptop-ready pretty soon, making it 4 generations old.

 

[eman]

I was going to say you were getting ripped off at $350. You shouldnt pay anything more than $300 even if other people would pay more. $250 is a decent price. It is not a terribly useful machine so don't spend a ton of money on it.

I agree.

 

[magid]

You gotta remember though the changes between the G3, G4, and G5 processors are much much more significant than the changes between the core duo/solo to c2d etc.

 

[macworkerbee]

If he just bought a new battery it seems like you should meet him halfway, lets say $300.

 

[mkaake]

I was going to say you were getting ripped off at $350. You shouldnt pay anything more than $300 even if other people would pay more. $250 is a decent price. It is not a terribly useful machine so dont spend a ton of money on it.

Sorry, wanted to make a quick note about this, as I see stuff like this pop up from time to time -

It is *still* a terribly useful machine - my main computer is a 1.0ghz eMac, and while it's not speedy by any means, it does everything I ask it to do. About the only thing that I can't really run anymore is iMovie (the new version), but as I prefer version 6, it's not that big of a deal. I'm chugging away with 10.5 right now.

Again, not fast, but certainly useful.

 

[Indohottie]

if he is willing to sell it for 250.. then no.. doesnt sound like you are working him hard for the deal, and he seems pretty knowledgable about computers.. go for it.

 

[velocityg4]

I normally sell used stuff to friends for well under market value. Often I just will give something to them, if it isn't worth too much. The way I look at it I got my use out of something and moneys worth, I have a new and better replacement. So why nickel and dime a friend?

If he is willing to sell it to you for $250 and you are not pushing for that price. Then he probably would rather see a friend happy with something he use to use rather than getting the extra $100 from a stranger. I would say if he does sell at $250 don't insult his generosity buy offering more later on. Just find another way to return the favor.

 

[Chrispy]

...Just find another way to return the favor.

I was just going to say that

 

[airjuggernaut]

Thank's everyone. I'll keep you guys updated about the transaction