Buying a MBP to resell... Which options?

[Courtney Love]

I have a $2500 apple giftcard, and I need to turn it into cash by buying a laptop and selling it on ebay.. I'll probably never be able to afford to keep a 2K+ laptop, so I am interested in which features are more valuable.

With my education discount, I'm looking at one of three options, and I wonder which is more desired:

Option 1:

2.8ghz 15" MBP

Option 2:

2.53ghz 15" MBP with Applecare & remote

Option 3:

2.66ghz 17" MBP

Option 4:

1.83ghz macbook AIR with superdrive & apple care

given the wait times on the 17incher, I'm leaning towards options 1 & 2 more, but what's preferable? More Ghz or applecare? Just added option 4, cause those MBairs are sooo sweet.

Thanks for your opinions...

 

[kastenbrust]

I have a $2500 apple giftcard, and I need to turn it into cash by buying a laptop and selling it on ebay.. I'll probably never be able to afford to keep a 2K+ laptop, so I am interested in which features are more valuable.

With my education discount, I'm looking at one of three options, and I wonder which is more desired:

Option 1:

2.8ghz 15" MBP

Option 2:

2.53ghz 15" MBP with Applecare & remote

Option 3:

2.66ghz 17" MBP

Option 4:

1.83ghz macbook AIR with superdrive & apple care

given the wait times on the 17incher, I'm leaning towards options 1 & 2 more, but what's preferable? More Ghz or applecare? Just added option 4, cause those MBairs are sooo sweet.

Thanks for your opinions...

Applecare has little to no added value because it can be bought on Ebay for 80% less than Apple sell it ($50 sometimes)

I would go for the 2.66ghz 17" MBP Option. Why? Well actually despite what you wrote the waiting times would help you sell it quicker, because there will be high demand from people who dont want to wait for it and want a quick buy on Ebay.

Also its the latest model so people will be prepared to pay a premium price, and being a new model the refurbished store wont have any so people will have to buy new ones, whereas with other models like the MBA people may be tempted to get a refurbished one from Apple rather than risk Ebay.

 

[bballintom22]

why not just sell the giftcard itself? the winner of the auction could then use the giftcard and buy whichever laptop he/she wishes. They would still be getting a discount on the laptop, and they don't have to worry if the laptop you are selling is brand new or refurb or anything...hope that helps

 

[angemon89]

why not just sell the giftcard itself? the winner of the auction could then use the giftcard and buy whichever laptop he/she wishes. They would still be getting a discount on the laptop, and they don't have to worry if the laptop you are selling is brand new or refurb or anything...hope that helps

Too risky because you can run into the problem of having an unhonest buyer say that the gift card came with wrong amount or zero balance on the gift card, and you don't really have a way of disputing otherwise as a seller.

I also agree with the first poster, whatever you do don't buy the Applecare or any accessories with whatever you buy. Just get the laptop(s) and sell that by itself, because that's what the buyer wants.

I would also advise you only ship to a confirmed paypal address, that way you're a little bit more protected by Paypal. Refuse to ship to an unconfirmed address and specify that in your listing.

 

[bballintom22]

Too risky because you can run into the problem of having an unhonest buyer say that the gift card came with wrong amount or zero balance on the gift card, and you don't really have a way of disputing otherwise as a seller.

I also agree with the first poster, whatever you do don't buy the Applecare or any accessories with whatever you buy. Just get the laptop(s) and sell that by itself, because that's what the buyer wants.

I would also advise you only ship to a confirmed paypal address, that way you're a little bit more protected by Paypal. Refuse to ship to an unconfirmed address and specify that in your listing.

I guess you could look at it that way...i just think he would probably get a lil more with just selling the giftcard, this way it reaches out to a broader group of potential apple buyers rather than just mb pro or just even laptop buyers

 

[GGJstudios]

I'll probably never be able to afford to keep a 2K+ laptop

Why do you think you "can't afford to keep" a 2K+ laptop? It's not like you have any ongoing expenses. You don't have to buy gas for it, or feed it or pay for it to go to school. Why not just keep it?

 

[miggitymac]

I have a $2500 apple giftcard
....
I'll probably never be able to afford to keep a 2K+ laptop, so I am interested in which features are more valuable.

Why do you think you "can't afford to keep" a 2K+ laptop? It's not like you have any ongoing expenses. You don't have to buy gas for it, or feed it or pay for it to go to school. Why not just keep it?

Haha..I found that strange too. If you have a $2500 giftcard, I'm pretty sure you can afford a 2K+ laptop.

I don't know..the whole story seems a bit sketchy to me...who gives out $2500 giftcards?

 

[GGJstudios]

Haha..I found that strange too. If you have a $2500 giftcard, I'm pretty sure you can afford a 2K+ laptop.
I don't know..the whole story seems a bit sketchy to me...who gives out $2500 giftcards?

I'm always a bit suspicious when a post like this is the first and only post in the forums by a newbie.

 

[Courtney Love]

I'm always a bit suspicious when a post like this is the first and only post in the forums by a newbie.

Well I'm just looking for advice, so I don't see why my post should raise your suspicions... and it's my second post, so woohoo! Seriously...

I was given the gift card, point blank. you can't sell more than 1 $500 giftcard on ebay per week, so having 1 $2500 giftcard cause my auction to be deleted.

I sincerely appreciate those of you who responded to my question because i was dead wrong, assuming that applecare was a big bonus, and apparently, it's not. Kasten, you've sold me on the 17" laptop, your reasoning is really good and I appreciate your quick reply.

And to explain my "can't afford to keep" comment, I mean I could be doing alot more with the money I'd get from selling this laptop (rent & a trip)than keeping it because it was free...

 

[Courtney Love]

well, when I ordered on the 30th, they said they would ship around feb 7-11... now they're saying they'll ship around Feb 19th and offered me the chance to cancel the order.

Never having bought from Apple before, does anyone have any idea when I would get this laptop? For those familiar with this kind of backlog, are they normally able to meet the 'second' order date, or could they be pushed back even more? It's worriesome since it now says that it's a 3-4 week wait on the store site...

This is for the new 17" MBP, btw...

 

[ihabime]

well, when I ordered on the 30th, they said they would ship around feb 7-11... now they're saying they'll ship around Feb 19th and offered me the chance to cancel the order.

Never having bought from Apple before, does anyone have any idea when I would get this laptop? For those familiar with this kind of backlog, are they normally able to meet the 'second' order date, or could they be pushed back even more? It's worriesome since it now says that it's a 3-4 week wait on the store site...

This is for the new 17" MBP, btw...

It's not normal backlog, Apple has pushed back the delivery date of all new 17" MBPs to the 19th.

I'd wager that since none will ship before the 19th, there's a good chance that some orders will be pushed back to even later.

 

[SteveMobs]

I'd do the first idea presented, buy a 17" MBP, that'll have the highest demand.

And, I'd also stay friends with whoever gave you $2500 gift card.

 

[Abstract]

Never get the higher end 15" MBP. Nobody is willing to pay $400 for an extra 0.2 GHz or whatever. It's crazy.

Low end 15" MBP, or the 17" MBP are safe. The 17" MBP is safer because you won't be competing with as many sellers.