Buying a used 2011 Macbook Pro

[Virgule82]

I have been thinking about switching from my early 2009 iMac to a Macbook Pro for a while now and had been planning to wait for the 2012 models, but lately I've been seeing quite a few used 15" 2011 (early and late) Macbook Pros for sale. My question is what would be a reasonable discount at this time? I saw one guy who was selling a top of the line late 2011 Macbook Pro for almost a third off . I naturally sent him an an email saying I'd take it, but assuming I don't get it, what would be reasonable? 10% 20%?

 

[basesloaded190]

10% would probably be what you are looking at. These things hold their value so well and seeing anyone selling one for a thrid of the price would arouse suspicion.

 

[RoskO]

With the new ones coming out soon, low ball the heck out of anyone selling them .

A lot of people are aware that the 2012 model will be redesigned and they are wanting to dump what they have....they will take less.

Also, always check the apple refurb site first. Many times I can get a refurb with a full year warranty for less than what people sell them for on CL or ebay.

 

[basesloaded190]

A lot of people are aware that the 2012 model will be redesigned and they are wanting to dump what they have....they will take less.

That's not true. Nobody knows for sure if they are going to be redesigned or not, and beyond the people who frequent tech sites, I wouldn't say that a lot of people know to expect an update

 

[Virgule82]

Thanks for the input, the reason I ask is that I see prices ranging from 10-30% off. If I can get 30% that's great, but I'm not sure if want to buy used if I get less than 20 % off.

Is there any way to check if sales are legit? I'm definitely not interested in buying stolen goods.

 

[riveting]

There is a couple of things on the current macbook pro that to me is a bit outdated when you look at macbook air and ipad.

First, the 1280*800 resolution is just not going to cut it consider MBA has 1440*900 while ipad is 2048*1536 and an ips screen. Second, the macbook pro could be lighter. Having said that, the performance is not one of them. Even with Ive bridge, it will be a very minor upgrade in performance, unlike the upgrade from core 2 duo to sandy bridge.

So I think if you are happy with the current macbook pro screen and weight, you don't need to wait. Personally, if I need to buy it now, I will go buy a 13 macbook air.

 

[RoskO]

That's not true. Nobody knows for sure if they are going to be redesigned or not, and beyond the people who frequent tech sites, I wouldn't say that a lot of people know to expect an update

Typically the people that start unloading them know, it doesn't really matter if the buyers know why there are more for sale or not. I know of quite a few people, including myself, who will sell just before an update and only pay a 10% change fee for the new tech.

 

[heisenberg123]

Typically the people that start unloading them know, it doesn't really matter if the buyers know why there are more for sale or not. I know of quite a few people, including myself, who will sell just before an update and only pay a 10% change fee for the new tech.

so essentially you know the release date if your going to sell just before the update?

 

[propower]

Everyday you can buy the same MBP from Macmall for ~ the same price as a refurb but pay no tax........ in my state tax is 10%. So -- versus the Apple store I can buy the same machine for between 10 to 20% less everyday, brand new.......

I find the CL prices to be almost the same as macmall for a used machine in a variety of conditions.........

Like you, unless I can get ~30% off or more from the applestore price I just don;t see the point in buying used. Even then if it is only 10% less than new from macmall....... what's the point there??

That said, I love selling my machines after 1 to 2 years for top dollar, adding in a couple of hundred and buying the latest and greatest! My secret goal is to do this every year so I always have applecare without buying it ...........

 

[RoskO]

so essentially you know the release date if your going to sell just before the update?

Of course no one knows exactly except Apple, but when you start to see reports that best buy has new skus coming in, or other reports in production, it's not hard to figure out what's going on. Typically you'll see longer time to ship and less stock on the apple store too.

 

[Holoshed]

You know, I was surprised to find out how many people, even in IT jobs, don't know to watch for when to resell. I took some night classes at the local tech school and a lot of the people there worked daytime doing pretty decent work and used iPads and MacBook Pros etc. When I was telling them about the new iPads coming out they could not believe when I knew times to resell for highest values.

Even just using rumor sites like this one I was able to give them accurate info and dates that turned out to be true.

Now for Craigslist I will say be prepared for a bunch of low balling know it alls, even ones who tell you to sell to them while you can like they are looking out for you. I held on my price and got 400 for my iPad 2 16 gig within 2 days of the new iPad being announced. To me that wasn't bad.

 

[robvas]

You know, I was surprised to find out how many people, even in IT jobs, don't know to watch for when to resell. I took some night classes at the local tech school and a lot of the people there worked daytime doing pretty decent work and used iPads and MacBook Pros etc. When I was telling them about the new iPads coming out they could not believe when I knew times to resell for highest values.

If people are using their machines for work, it's often not worth the trouble to put your machine for sale, back up your data, sell it, buy a new one, wait for it to show up, re-install all your apps, restore your data, and get back to work. Especially when the new machine isn't going to do anything the old one won't.

 

[azentropy]

I had been looking on CL but really didn't see any great deals, especially compared to Apple's own refurbs (which have full warranty) or even MacMall who is heavily discounting the early 2011 models (again with full warranty).

 

[Holoshed]

If people are using their machines for work, it's often not worth the trouble to put your machine for sale, back up your data, sell it, buy a new one, wait for it to show up, re-install all your apps, restore your data, and get back to work. Especially when the new machine isn't going to do anything the old one won't.

To be honest, as soon as they heard about what I did, they all seemed to gather around like I was telling a grand ole tale. It was fun teaching them something though.

 

[RoskO]

Yeah and for those that work and need a machine 24/7, I think selling it after the new release is just fine. For the same reason most people don't understand the difference between the old and new models, you can usually sell a 6mo to 12mo old MBP for a really high price on CL. I have sold about 5 of them in the past 4-5 years, it seems like every time I get within $400 or so of the cost of a new one...which is just crazy to me.

They hold their value like a Toyota, right or wrong.