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Best way to sell my iMac retina?
- Thread starter Cape Dave
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Wow, that was FAST! I was still trying to figure out how to correct the spelling in the title! I did not know there was a Mac Rumors marketplace, thank you! I am checking it out now.
Updated my post to reflect that MacRumors Marketplace won't get as much $$ that is even after eBay fees. Marketplace is for a lot of savvy buyers and not as many people compared to eBay (obviously). Craigslist will get you the most. If your from the NE should be fairly large Craiglist market.
Marketplace - you can post a feeler and people will give advice on price to sell. Lots of people will give you a really low offer on the Marketplace so do research before selling it there.
Roger that. Yes, I am NE and also have never done a Craigslist deal. Probably because of my age. Heard too many stories, I guess
OTH, I am extremely good at eBay. It is the shipping that makes me a bit nervous on such a bulky/expensive item.I am in no particular rush, but did have an Intel NUC for a few days and I liked it. Slick little box.
Get it professionally packaged.
CL would get you the most, I'd just be apprehensive of having some sketchy gangster in my house. Well, hopefully that wouldn't happen.
eBay usually has a listing 'cap', likely for reasons that even they don't know, because the idea is beyond idiotic.
They didn't have it 5 years ago when I sold my cappuccino machine that costed $2000 but they do now
Then where the hell exactly do you hook up your iMac to show the person?Dont have someone come to your house on CL.
Work? I sold a 27" iMac at Starbucks and at my work.
never giving out my home info to people. Then again I sell a lot on CL and don't want someone knowing where I live.
I would not be comfortable with that as well. Perhaps the example I listed before was on the more extreme side of the spectrum, but I don't want any strangers in my residence. For the obvious reasons, you never know when some thug is going to swipe a valuable, and in addition to that, you do want to retain an amount of privacy.Work? I sold a 27" iMac at Starbucks and at my work.
Work perhaps would trump home, Starbucks would be ok, another location I thought of is your public library. That would be perfect for that type of transaction. The reason I'm not huge on Craigslist is I'm not too big on the whole honor system thing, and I just don't trust the other clientele. Sites like eBay and Amazon have rules in place that protect you, and the other party.
I don't ever bring a person to my house, while I've not sold an iMac, I would still look to find a public spot.
It is for all these reasons that I would just skip Craigslist. And I would never ever have someone to my residence to make a CL purchase. That is just not smart.
I am going to put a feeler out to a friend.
Craigslist is generally fine. There are plenty of horror stories but those are by far the minority.
I just goto my local state police barracks. They (troopers) don't mind and if the buyer declines then you know something fishy is up. I also ONLY except cash and that is a lot of cash to have on you in any public location.
As far as showing them it actually works. That is a tough one. I'll have plenty of pics showing that beforehand. Hell if the buyer was willing I doubt the policemen would mind if you used an outlet in the waiting area if it's a rural type of place.
I just goto my local state police barracks. They (troopers) don't mind and if the buyer declines then you know something fishy is up. I also ONLY except cash and that is a lot of cash to have on you in any public location.
As far as showing them it actually works. That is a tough one. I'll have plenty of pics showing that beforehand. Hell if the buyer was willing I doubt the policemen would mind if you used an outlet in the waiting area if it's a rural type of place.
I suggest craigslist. Starbucks is awesome about this sorta thing, just make sure to order something so they dont' get annoyed at ya. They wont' care if you setup your imac in a corner booth and plug that sucker in.
Ebay is just eh for these big ticket items, the fees eat you alive. And the heavy leaning towards the buyer is just too risky for me on a 2-3 thousand dollar machine. User get it, drops it on the floor, the claims to ebay that it was delivered busted and ebay is going to side with them. I had that happen before and it just puts you in a super frustrating position of waging war with the post office to cash in on your shipping insurance.
Craigslist can be legit, the fact that you're meeting up with someone at starbucks adds some legitimacy. And the fact Starbucks is quite open that they're concealed carry friendly, it gives you an extra layer of safety knowing if thug muffin mc douchbag tries something, there's a good chance someone like me will be nearby and ready to intervene on your behalf.
Ebay is just eh for these big ticket items, the fees eat you alive. And the heavy leaning towards the buyer is just too risky for me on a 2-3 thousand dollar machine. User get it, drops it on the floor, the claims to ebay that it was delivered busted and ebay is going to side with them. I had that happen before and it just puts you in a super frustrating position of waging war with the post office to cash in on your shipping insurance.
Craigslist can be legit, the fact that you're meeting up with someone at starbucks adds some legitimacy. And the fact Starbucks is quite open that they're concealed carry friendly, it gives you an extra layer of safety knowing if thug muffin mc douchbag tries something, there's a good chance someone like me will be nearby and ready to intervene on your behalf.
Sell it on craigslist, meet in a public place. Don't give out your email address and create a Google voice number for the sale. Once the sale is completed delete the Google voice number.
I've sold a lot on craigslist, and I've even had some people invite me back to their house after they deemed I wasn't a crazy person and showed me their collection of whatever I was buying. One guy even had an original Moog synthesizer in his basement, that was a pretty amazing day for me.
If someone seems sketchy you don't have to commit, just leave and send an email stating you sold it to someone else who offered you more.
I also ask more than what it's worth on Craigslist because there's always someone who knows nothing about it that may think it's a great deal. Check out thepricegeek.com for your average price.
I've sold a lot on craigslist, and I've even had some people invite me back to their house after they deemed I wasn't a crazy person and showed me their collection of whatever I was buying. One guy even had an original Moog synthesizer in his basement, that was a pretty amazing day for me.
If someone seems sketchy you don't have to commit, just leave and send an email stating you sold it to someone else who offered you more.
I also ask more than what it's worth on Craigslist because there's always someone who knows nothing about it that may think it's a great deal. Check out thepricegeek.com for your average price.
Geez, it's awful to read about what precautions you Americans have to take
It is a shame, but if you don't do that then you get mugged.
Thanks for the good ideas. One way or another, it seems like a pain in the a**. I'll see if my friend has any ideas or maybe wants it himself. I am willing to take a few hundred less to avoid hassle. At my age, that is by far the wisest thing to do. Don't need me no hassles
There are services for selling your Mac. SellYourMac is one( Gazelle is another ). I believe PowerMax accepts trades but not sure if they require a purchase to buy your old machine. Good luck with this and please let us know how it goes.
Thanks for the good ideas. One way or another, it seems like a pain in the a**. I'll see if my friend has any ideas or maybe wants it himself. I am willing to take a few hundred less to avoid hassle. At my age, that is by far the wisest thing to do. Don't need me no hassles
eBay isn't bad, I've sold several iMacs on there over the years -- 20", 21", 24" and 27" models -- and shipping is always a pain lol!
Did you keep the original box and (if it was shipped to you from Apple) the original brown shipping box too? Otherwise, professional packing would be worth it. Any reputable buyer will understand if you charge for shipping (which I strongly recommend on this sale). Other than that, expect the usual ~10% of your final price to go to eBay/PayPal fees.
Best of luck!
Roger that. I am not sure if I have the second apple box. I got alot of boxes! But I would for sure double box it one way or another. Good advice on the shipping. I am hoping I can interest a friend who is local.
Thanks for the good ideas. One way or another, it seems like a pain in the a**. I'll see if my friend has any ideas or maybe wants it himself. I am willing to take a few hundred less to avoid hassle. At my age, that is by far the wisest thing to do. Don't need me no hassles
If you just want no hassle for a little less money, take a look at Gazelle. Like you, I don't have want to fuss around with it, so i have been using Gazelle. You won't get as much money as selling yourself, but it is pretty painless.
So how do you get a good price from Gazelle???
I just tried it with a pristine 2012 27" SSD iMac:
2012 27" iMac
3.4 GHz i7 quad-core
768GB SSD flash drive
24GB RAM
NVIDIA GTX 680MX 2GB
SuperDrive (external USB)
Wireless keyboard
Wireless mouse
They offered $ 598 ... original price $ 3650 Nov. 2012
eBay would probably sell around $ 1600 or more before fees
[doublepost=1467824424][/doublepost]FWIW: My local police station encourages people to come to the station for CL dealing, either in the parking lot, or even in the entryway lobby where they have power available. I was really surprised to see that offered in our paper, although it was after a report of someone getting killed over baby clothes elsewhere.
Look, I'm not saying you will get as much from Gazelle as selling yourself. Obviously Gazelle has to pay for shipping and they get it ready to sell, then of course they want to make a profit.
It does seem to vary a lot more with more custom configurations like yours where for example the SSD is not taken into account in the Gazelle estimate.
It seems to be closer with more standard configurations. Here is a comparison I did in another thread in January.
For me, in my example, it is easily worth the $182 not to mess around with it. If it does not work out as favorably in your case, it may not be worth it for you.
I'm showing $665 on Gazelle for your iMac, so maybe you entered something incorrectly.
