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Bought 13" MBA M3 but wish I had bought 15" - options if outside return window?

B

brown.eyed.girl

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 12, 2008
92
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Is my only option to try to sell it so I can get the 15"?

I'm finding that I want the extra screen real estate (especially after finding out the M3s don't play well with my work-provided, old monitor).

Looks like the Apple store isn't accepting M3 for trade in at this point?
 
Best Buy is having a sale through the end of tomorrow on the MacBook Air models. Can get a 8/256 for $1049 which is $250 off retail. They also have the 16/512 model for $250 off making it $1449
 
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brown.eyed.girl said:
Is my only option to try to sell it so I can get the 15"?

I'm finding that I want the extra screen real estate (especially after finding out the M3s don't play well with my work-provided, old monitor).

Looks like the Apple store isn't accepting M3 for trade in at this point?
Click to expand...
Try Swappa. They seem pretty good about fraud. I’ve sold several Apple devices through them. Much safer than eBay or Facebook.
 
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Seems to me it may be more economical to purchase a new monitor. Note: I traded in a 13" MBA for the 15" MBA but found out the 15" was an improvement but in use was not as great as I thought it would be. FYI I don't use an external monitor.
 
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Other question.. why after 4 months you found out the 15" would be better? Why so late?
 
OAG7 said:
Seems to me it may be more economical to purchase a new monitor. Note: I traded in a 13" MBA for the 15" MBA but found out the 15" was an improvement but in use was not as great as I thought it would be. FYI I don't use an external monitor.
Click to expand...
I was in a similar situation. I had a 13” M1 MBA since it was released and upgraded to the 15” M2. I realized I initially didn’t like the upgrade because I was so used to a 13” screen, but I continued using the 15” and now I don’t think I could go back to a smaller screen. I saw the 13” at the Apple Store and it felt like a toy imo.
 
bellflyer14 said:
Best Buy is having a sale through the end of tomorrow on the MacBook Air models. Can get a 8/256 for $1049 which is $250 off retail. They also have the 16/512 model for $250 off making it $1449
Click to expand...
Yeah it's definitely the time to buy (if I am going to swap to the 15"), between BB and the Amazon Prime sales!
 
jdb8167 said:
Try Swappa. They seem pretty good about fraud. I’ve sold several Apple devices through them. Much safer than eBay or Facebook.
Click to expand...
Thanks for reminding me of it! I've sold through Swappa in the past and had good experiences each time. I went and listed it on there.
 
OAG7 said:
Seems to me it may be more economical to purchase a new monitor. Note: I traded in a 13" MBA for the 15" MBA but found out the 15" was an improvement but in use was not as great as I thought it would be. FYI I don't use an external monitor.
Click to expand...
I've also thought about this as well! I guess I have a bit of a weird philosophical resistance to purchasing anything to be used/left at work (which is more a statement about my work environment than anything to do with the computer itself). I am a little concerned that I may find the 15" unwieldy but I only ever use the computer on a desk (since I have an ipad for media consumption at home). I'm also mildly worried it won't fit in my backpack but I guess I can always test that out first.
 
thadoggfather said:
Stranger things have happened

Probably not but why not try? Talk to a manager though not some random sales person
Click to expand...
Alas, I did both but no go (but totally not surprised). Even the manager was like, You should just sell it privately, especially since they're not accepting M3s for trade in right now.
 
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brown.eyed.girl said:
Alas, I did both but no go (but totally not surprised). Even the manager was like, You should just sell it privately, especially since they're not accepting M3s for trade in right now.
Click to expand...

I always found that a bit weird they dont let people trade in their stuff until there's a newer model out

was worth a chance I suppose, but yeah I wasn't expecting anything to really be done anyways.

What sold you on 15 air in particular? ive been really enjoying mine after 13 inch laptops for over 10 years and for most of the time Ive ever owned a laptop (had a few 15 Pros back in the day) and definitely an adjustment period but once that was over ive been really happy with it , especially while its just sitting on a desk 3/4 of the time

pretty good for lap use too being as thin and light as it is for its overall dimensions and the bigger screen is a lot more immersive and breathable than I was used to previously
 
Torty said:
Other question.. why after 4 months you found out the 15" would be better? Why so late?
Click to expand...
Eh it was largely to do with the fact that my work was in a slow period so I could get away with the smaller screen, but now that it's ramping up I'm realizing how cramped it is. I wish I had figured it out sooner.
 
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helloapple1 said:
I was in a similar situation. I had a 13” M1 MBA since it was released and upgraded to the 15” M2. I realized I initially didn’t like the upgrade because I was so used to a 13” screen, but I continued using the 15” and now I don’t think I could go back to a smaller screen. I saw the 13” at the Apple Store and it felt like a toy imo.
Click to expand...
This is good to know! I had a 14" MBP prior to this and I actually really liked that screen size, and 15" would a bit of a step up... I think I could get used to it. I didn't like the additional thickness of the MBP ultimately. The 13" MBA is so light and I love that, and I know I'll get additional weight with the 15" (closer to the MBP weight) but the extra screen room and still maintaining more thinness would be a good trade off I think.
 
As an owner of an M1 MBA and a virtually new M2 15" MBA I can tell you that the 15 really does feel more premium. It's the perfect size for a laptop in my opinion. I don't know what Apple did to these 15" MBA's but they're so luxurious feeling and it really does seem like a sizable step up in build quality even though the 13" is still nice.
 
Having a 24” iMac didn’t need another big screen, so got the 13”
Great size and weight and love the midnight colour.
 
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