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Are you a "Mac-Shopping Junkie" or a "till-death-do-us-part" Mac owner

MacLadybug

MacLadybug

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 6, 2008
633
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Is the average Mac consumer one who buys and drives till the wheels fall off or a techno junkie that has to have the latest, and newest when it comes out?

What I am hearing is that a lot of you do a lot of buying and selling so that you always have the latest models. There's a big demand out there for used Macs, I mean there isn't much of a refurbished selection on Apple's web page, they seem to go quickly. So what is the best way to sell your used or barely used MB, MBP, Mini or iMac? When's the best time to sell it?

Or am I mistaken and most of you buy and hold on to your Mac remaining ever faithful until it dies? Inquiring minds want to know...
 
Everyone is different, but speaking for myself, I like to have the latest and greatest of anything. So when the time has come, I sell my stuff on eBay, CL and the MR Marketplace. All have had good results and I am simply amazed at the resale value of these things!
 
I don't get rid of my Apple products. All of them still work.

We don't update very often, though.

LC 575 to iMac DV to 17" Core 2 iMac

I have a G3 iBook and an Apple ][e, as well. All of them still work.
 
2 years. Particularly if you have AppleCare. Sell on eBay. Sometimes it depends on what is currently on offer. I don't think the current or even next MacBooks are much of an improvement on my 18 month old one so I will wait until next year. My mini could do with a boost (as could everyone else's :)).
 
I've spent a lot of time and money getting things to where they are now but I think I'm reasonably happy with my setup for the moment. I know, the iMac is absolutely hideous to look at, but it's a good, powerful machine. I no longer play enough PC games to justify upgrading just for that, so I foresee that it's going to be with me for a while. I got the three year warranty for free with it too, so I've got peace of mind too.

I'm also very happy with my MacBook, which is more than powerful enough to tackle anything I do while out and about and it has all of the features I could possibly need.

The only thing I'm going for now is a 3G iPhone, primarily because I'm interested in the significant benefit to signal strength which it should bring and because after selling my old iPhone, it won't cost much to do.
 
The transition process of moving files, preferences, software, etc. from an old computer to a new one is less painful now than in years past, so I may change my habits in the future. I only buy notebook computers... haven't owned a desktop for more than 8 years. When I buy, I research and compare for weeks, then decide on one and buy it "maxed out" with all the accessories, maximum RAM, etc. I then use it until I reach the point where I'm cursing it for being too slow or outdated. Just before I throw it through the nearest window, I buy a new one! I have a feeling it'll be a long time before I curse my new MacBook Pro! :D
 
I'm a bit of both :)

My first Mac is a 1 GHz 12" PowerBook, which I bought a few weeks after it was first released in October 2003. That PB is still in service, though it has gone through a hard drive replacement, 2 RAM upgrades, and 4 OS changes (Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard). The battery is also shot, it only lasts 30 minutes now (it could get 5+ hours when new).

This PowerBook will be 5 years old this fall.

I want desperately to replace this machine with a refurb 15" MacBook Pro, which I have been saying since the very first revision of MBP's were released, but frankly I just can't justify it (I can't really afford it, especially if the PB still works.) I figure this machine is still worth about $600 on the resale market.

I should point out this is by FAR the longest I've ever kept a laptop -- all of my previous Dell laptops were sold after about 2-3 years to make room for something newer and faster.
 
I guess I'm a little bit of both. :) We still have our first Mac (LC) and every subsequent computer we've purchased. I like to explore all of the new products and keep up to date, but only buy when it's needed. I couldn't think of selling my babies on eBay, though. All of the computers still work and we still fire them up every now and then to play around. :)
 
I'm pretty sure I'll keep using my MBP as my primary machine until it dies. Unfortunately, I've already maxed out the RAM, so all I could do to increase performance hardware-wise is to get a faster hard drive in the future.

The only way I'd get a new machine before my MBP dies would be if it became so slow that it was unuseable. However, I don't think I'll have that problem anytime soon...
 
I buy and sell like crazy on craigslist. Always get almost all my money back. Apple has taken over my life. I dream of ipods and mac minis.
 
I kept my Ibook for 4.5 years before selling it to a friend for $250.

My new MB is a month old and have considered selling it before the years warranty is up for the 2nd or 3rd revision of the new "aluminum" MB due out this summer. That way you always have a machine reasonably up to date
and the depreciation is not that much worse.
 
Me Too!

illtype said:
I buy and sell like crazy on craigslist. Always get almost all my money back. Apple has taken over my life. I dream of ipods and mac minis.
Click to expand...

I love every techno-macgadget there is. Never tried Craig's list. My motto: I want it all and I want it now. I know, I need a support group.
 
Brilliant Strategy...

skye12 said:
I kept my Ibook for 4.5 years before selling it to a friend for $250.

My new MB is a month old and have considered selling it before the years warranty is up for the 2nd or 3rd revision of the new "aluminum" MB due out this summer. That way you always have a machine reasonably up to date
and the depreciation is not that much worse.
Click to expand...

That's a great idea. A good way to justify my habit!
 
I'm relatively new to Macs (2 years) but I'm addicted. I keep buying all the new stuff cuz I can't help it. But I've kept everything or given it away to family members.
 
I wish I could go for the latest and greatest, but I have to use other people's machines until they die most of the time. I finally got a new computer when the MacBooks first came out, and was upgraded for free when it died, but I'll likely use this one until it's not useable anymore. Actually, I'm hoping it dies completely somewhere in early 2010, because then I can still get it replaced under AppleCare, but I try to keep it in better condition than that. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky!

jW
 
well i've only had my macbook about 8 months but i hope to keep hold of it for a while, something about the older white ibooks seem 'retro' to me and pretty cool, so i'm hoping my macbook will gain that status some years down the line.

i've also got my old 5g 30gb ipod, which has lasted me quite a while. tbh, i see no need to upgrade, although the touch's are tempting. i originally bought it with the intention that it would last me a while, so i'm hanging onto it til death.
 
flopticalcube said:
2 years. Particularly if you have AppleCare. Sell on eBay. Sometimes it depends on what is currently on offer...
Click to expand...

This sums me up pretty much. I like to sell when there is some time on AppleCare left so the buyer has some sense of security, and a get AppleCare on all my macs ;)
 
Here's what I have done/will do.
I had the 2.2 GHz MacBook out of the box being used and somehow I managed to return it to Apple with NO restocking fee and immediately got this 2.4 GHz MacBook. When the aluminum MacBook comes out, be it one month or one year I will get that and sell my current one to my Mom and keep the new for a very long while.
Also, I had an iPod Classic 80 GB that I had for ~70 days which I returned to Costco with yet again no restocking fee. Bought my iPod touch the same hour. I plan on keeping it until there is an iPod touch that is 128 GB that goes for <$400.
I love me my free returns.:D
 
I can't help myself. I love to buy Mac products, from keyboards, iPods - I just love to watch them come in.

Even when they aren't for myself I get excited (this sounds kind of sad as I'm typing this). I have convinced around a dozen friends to switch or buy gear from Apple, sometimes I have bought it through my account on their behalf just to watch in come in.

What can I say? :apple:Fanboy:apple: through and through.

Oh, and I'm getting a new MBP in the next month or so (fingers crossed for a refresh!)
 
I've got a IIcx, an LCII, LCIII, several SE30's, a G3, a G3 powerbook, and a G4. They all still work. Upgrading in January to the Nehalem Mac Pro, 8GB of RAM, hopefully a 4870, Airport, the works. 8 years from then it'll still work too! :eek:
 
Used to be in the second category:

1986 Mac Plus -> 1994 Power Mac 7100 (really!)

Then things got more frequent. I've never had more than three machines at once, though; I sell the old ones when I have too many.

1995-1996 Power Mac 7200
1996-1998 Power Mac 8500
1998-2004 beige G3/266 (didn't have a lot of money during this period...)
2004-2005 15" PowerBook G4/1.25
2005-2007 Power Mac G5/1.8 DP
2005-2006 12" PowerBook G4/1.5
2006-current 15" MacBook Pro CD/2.16
2008-current 15" MacBook Pro Penryn/2.4

... and sometime next year I'll probably be adding a third MacBook Pro, this time a 17", to the stable.
 
Well, seeing I'm 14, I obviously don't have a lot of cash flow...

But, I like to have the latest and greatest, but I usually can't.

So far though, I own two computers that are exclusively mine...

A MacBook and a piece of crap Dell.
 
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