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Buying new MBP every year
- Thread starter ygys
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No . I saw one video on youtube where guy was talking about how he sells and buys new computer each year without spending too much money.
I wanted to know if this is common or not.
So I can see that it is not that common and people, even professionals usually keep they computer for at least 3 years.
my intention is not making money but how not to loose so much money on trying to keeping up with the latest technology. I do not want to skirt the law, just want to use all the options and abilities that the law is giving me.
My mistake, the discussion started turing towards taxes and what not, so it appeared to be a money making scheme.
As for keeping up on the latest technology - I think that's like a dog chasing his tail. you'll never get their and when you do, its doesn't help.
For instance:
Going from a 2012 rMBP to a 2013 rMMP provided a small but noticeable increase in performance. The iGPU improved, but you lost the dGPU, unless you bought the high end machine which is harder to sell, i.e., you take a bigger depreciation hit since there's less demand
Going from a 2013" rMBP to a 2014 rMBP. What does that really get you? A tiny (read fractional) increase in performance.
My point as with others is you'll not really see any huge increases, you have a lot of work of transitioning over to a newer machine. You increase the risk of defective machines, i.e., you have a solid 2013 model, but you get a buggy 2014. True Apple will fix it for you, but you need to put up with the issues. Plus you have to deal with selling the computer which at times can be a headache.
I might have missed it, but what exactly do you use the computer for?
As for keeping up on the latest technology - I think that's like a dog chasing his tail. you'll never get their and when you do, its doesn't help.
For instance:
Going from a 2012 rMBP to a 2013 rMMP provided a small but noticeable increase in performance. The iGPU improved, but you lost the dGPU, unless you bought the high end machine which is harder to sell, i.e., you take a bigger depreciation hit since there's less demand
Going from a 2013" rMBP to a 2014 rMBP. What does that really get you? A tiny (read fractional) increase in performance.
My point as with others is you'll not really see any huge increases, you have a lot of work of transitioning over to a newer machine. You increase the risk of defective machines, i.e., you have a solid 2013 model, but you get a buggy 2014. True Apple will fix it for you, but you need to put up with the issues. Plus you have to deal with selling the computer which at times can be a headache.
I might have missed it, but what exactly do you use the computer for?
A macbook pro is a tool. If the work you do requires upgrading every year, it'll be very easy to justify the cost. Otherwise, it seems like a futile exercise in consumerism gone awry. 
Buying a new MBP every year, just so you can say you have the latest build is a waste of money, in my opinion.
I have a mid 2012 cMBP and I have no reason to upgrade as I prefer matte screen over antiglare.
This year however, or 2016, I feel they will revamp the entire line, just like they did you cMBP to rMBP. Then I might be interested in upgrading.
If you are not making money out of it, or if your job does not require the upgrade, it's plain stupidity doing so if you have no cash to burn.
This year however, or 2016, I feel they will revamp the entire line, just like they did you cMBP to rMBP. Then I might be interested in upgrading.
If you are not making money out of it, or if your job does not require the upgrade, it's plain stupidity doing so if you have no cash to burn.
Actually when a student buys a computer with a student discount on the receipt it only says discount so it can go into a accounting.
Things such as computers with value under 2000 are writing off 1 year so after 1 year I can throw the computer into the trash if I want to. If the value exceeds 2000 they are writing off 3 years
You are confusing depreciation rates with ownership. As soon as you sell the asset as a private individual and don't put the proceeds into the company, at that point the fraud occurs (potentially in the income tax area as well as VAT). Just because something is depreciated in the books doesn't mean its ownership changes.
In his post above the qualified accountant didn't mention depreciation, it is irrelevant.
As far as I understood, it is somewhat of a fraud but as there's this hole in the law, he can do it without worrying of any sort of consequence.
Let him be, it's not like he's taking food off someone's table. Screw governments. Unless I was very rich or lived in a near-zero corruption rate country, I'd do it as well.
Whether he does it or not is up to him, I'm just trying to ensure he makes a decision based in the knowledge of the potential consequences for him.
I'm guessing you don't live under a VAT regime? Its quite different to a Sales Tax one...
Well it is his choice I guess. As I said I have no knowledge of Slovakia tax law.
From a VAT point of view the original reclaim of the VAT from a tax perspective might be suspect if the asset (the laptop) is not actually used for the business (he uses it for personal use), however difficult for VAT authority to prove I would guess.
The problem is one of ownership, as selling the asset to the business ( to reclaim the VAT) means that it becomes the business's asset, not his.
When he then sells the asset on within 12 months, then effectively the business is selling the asset back to him. Now if the asset has a market value as it clearly does, as he is going to sell it on, then that is the fair transfer value. In the UK the value of the asset would be taxed on the individual at the fair market value at the time of the transfer as a benefit in kind, not its book written down value. The fact that for business purposes he can write the value off in one year is not the same thing as fair value to transfer to an Employee.
Now Slovakia tax law may be completely different, but by the wink smiley in the OP's reply I suspect he hopes he will not be caught, which is his choice.
hey guys
is there somebody who buys a new MBP every year and when the new models come out just sells it ?
I am kinda thinking about it because the depreciation is not that bad and you can have the latest computer all the time
I want to hear some personal experience from somebody that does it
How much money do you loose every year ?
Keep in mind too that the newest models may in fact not always be the best for you. I for one still have my 17" MBP that is still pretty nice and for me to upgrade would actually be a downgrade in my view. I need that 17" screen, I love that screen and refuse to be forced into a 15 or 13 or 11 that are offered today. No thank you
guys just do not worry about the legal side I think I can handle it
what got me into thinking is that my 2011 15" macbook pro got stolen and I needed to buy a new computer , but I really wanted to wait for the broadwell rMBPs to come out (but that is obviously not happening ...) So I found bunch of people online who just sells their computers with every refresh and do not loose so much money. All I wanted to know was your point of view on this situation.
My bto MBP is going to be here next week and I can not wait to get it
And later on when the broadwell computers will be available I will decide whatever I will do.
I do not need the computer for my work but I love Photography and Videography so I use it in my free time as a editing machine (aperture, FCPX, photoshop, AF ...) so it is good to have as much power as possible and I am often on the move so battery is also equally important .
I admit that the late 2014 update was not really an update and it would be honestly very stupid thing to jump from late 2013 machine to mid 2014 machine
but when you take a look back
2009-->2010 (just little performance improvement) 2010-->2011 (battery improvement ) 2011 --> 2012 (retina macbooks were introduced)
2012-->2013 (battery life improvement ) 2013-->2014 (little Ghz boost)
I think I can handle it what got me into thinking is that my 2011 15" macbook pro got stolen and I needed to buy a new computer , but I really wanted to wait for the broadwell rMBPs to come out (but that is obviously not happening ...) So I found bunch of people online who just sells their computers with every refresh and do not loose so much money. All I wanted to know was your point of view on this situation.
My bto MBP is going to be here next week and I can not wait to get it
And later on when the broadwell computers will be available I will decide whatever I will do.
I do not need the computer for my work but I love Photography and Videography so I use it in my free time as a editing machine (aperture, FCPX, photoshop, AF ...) so it is good to have as much power as possible and I am often on the move so battery is also equally important .
I admit that the late 2014 update was not really an update and it would be honestly very stupid thing to jump from late 2013 machine to mid 2014 machine
but when you take a look back
2009-->2010 (just little performance improvement) 2010-->2011 (battery improvement ) 2011 --> 2012 (retina macbooks were introduced)
2012-->2013 (battery life improvement ) 2013-->2014 (little Ghz boost)
I don't see the point in doing this as it would be more hassle than what it's worth honestly. You'd have to go through the process of migrating your data every year which in itself can be a bit of a hassle, and who's to say that you wouldn't wind up taking a loss on the machine if you're not able to sell it to the right buyer?
The sweet spot with upgrades seem to be every 3 years or so and most people hold on to their computers until they reach the end of their useful service life and then only upgrade when needed, say if a new application requires higher specifications or if you're really pushing your computer hard with a lot of multitasking or what not.
I mean you're free to do what you want as it's your money and all, but at the end of the day I think you'd be better off holding onto a computer for at least two years if not longer. Sure, there's cases where this rule may not apply... for example if you have a machine thats plagued with GPU issues and you're outside of your warranty then by all means, move to a different model that doesn't have any of those issues. But if you're computer works perfectly fine why bother replacing it with another one just because it's a few megahertz faster?
Just my two cents.
The sweet spot with upgrades seem to be every 3 years or so and most people hold on to their computers until they reach the end of their useful service life and then only upgrade when needed, say if a new application requires higher specifications or if you're really pushing your computer hard with a lot of multitasking or what not.
I mean you're free to do what you want as it's your money and all, but at the end of the day I think you'd be better off holding onto a computer for at least two years if not longer. Sure, there's cases where this rule may not apply... for example if you have a machine thats plagued with GPU issues and you're outside of your warranty then by all means, move to a different model that doesn't have any of those issues. But if you're computer works perfectly fine why bother replacing it with another one just because it's a few megahertz faster?
Just my two cents.
Hard to believe that next year 2016 is when Apple will probably revamp the MBP line again...but it will have been 4 years (just as the original rMBP in 2012 was to the original 2008 unibody MBP)
I don't believe Apple will change the physical design of the MBP just for the sake of changing it. With Cannonlake CPUs (probably 2017), Apple might choose to make the MBPs thinner without loss of performance or battery life. On the other hand, Apple might instead choose to increase performance or battery life or both. We'll see.
This is what I do. I have dibs every year with a particular seller; if I don't want to replace my Mac that year, he says "no problem" and posts on CL for the price I would have gotten it for.
hey guys
is there somebody who buys a new MBP every year and when the new models come out just sells it ?
I am kinda thinking about it because the depreciation is not that bad and you can have the latest computer all the time
I want to hear some personal experience from somebody that does it
How much money do you loose every year ?
I plan on doing this... Only problem? I've yet to have something to upgrade to. With Broadwell being delayed and all the uncertainty over that and Skylake I have no idea when I'll be able to upgrade and how much I'll lose in depreciation. So long as the 15" continues to come with a dGPU option then I will buy the latest version.