Created: A Mac Depreciation Guide

[Shake 'n' Bake]

I got kinda bored one day about a month ago and I wanted to make a spreadsheet. I came up with a Mac Depreciation Guide.

Here's some info on it:

The values are from Mac2Sell.net. The prices are from Mac Tracker.


If you'd like me to modify, add, or subtract anything, please, do suggest it.

The spreadsheet is in .numbers format. There is the .numbers for those of you with iWork. There's .pdf for everyone else.

I will make a new post to attach the new files and images.

Thanks for your interest! PS: Check later posts for info on the redesign.

October 4, '09: Updates. Nothing exciting. Attachments below are for October '09. I'm thinking about making a MS Access database of this stuff... But I've got to learn Access first.

October 5, 2009: The attachments didn't upload, apparently. I'm putting a link here in a bit. Ok, a link isn't going to happen, so just go to page 3 for the latest.

 

[Theclamshell]

This is very good and helpful for people like me who like to buy and sell macs i bookmarked this.
Thanks!!

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

Thanks very much for your comments.

I thought this would attract more people, though. We'll have to wait and see, I guess.

All the media has gotten 88 views so far. I'll add a .xls version.

 

[Eidorian]

Numbers again?

 

[dukebound85]

op, any reason why not just use the mac2sell website over this? i guess i have a hard time seeing the utility of it

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

I tried Excel format and it got turned upside down, so here's a PDF.

 

[Eidorian]

op, any reason why not just use the mac2sell website over this? i guess i have a hard time seeing the utility of it

I think it's a nice discussion topic.

I tried Excel format and it got turned upside down, so here's a PDF.

PDF works.

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

op, any reason why not just use the mac2sell website over this? i guess i have a hard time seeing the utility of it

You could use Mac2Sell, but it doesn't give you all the information my spreadsheet contains. Mac2Sell also doesn't have anything to help you calculate the value of your Mac in the future.

 

[GoCubsGo]

How do you really forecast depreciation in this case? Are you just trending?

 

[Genghis Khan]

nice idea!

although, there's a few things that i reckon could improve it

as the purpose of the spreadsheet seems to be to track depreciation across mac lines, you should measure the depreciation after a set amount of years (e.g. 3). this way it's an even comparison (as depreciation varies over time).

to the same note, this info would be better displayed on a graph...showing 'y' price decreasing, 'x' years after release

good work

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

How do you really forecast depreciation in this case? Are you just trending?

I suppose it is trending, for now.

Right now, I enter the price new, the years since purchase, and the value. Then the formula "=Starting Price Mac Pro-Value Mac Pro" finds how much the value has gone down. Next the formula "=Decrease Mac Pro/'How Long (Years)' Mac Pro" finds the decrease in value each year since purchase.

To improve it, I'll check the prices on the newest Macs each month and graph the results to see when the value stops dropping like a stone.

nice idea!

although, there's a few things that i reckon could improve it

as the purpose of the spreadsheet seems to be to track depreciation across mac lines, you should measure the depreciation after a set amount of years (e.g. 3). this way it's an even comparison (as depreciation varies over time).

to the same note, this info would be better displayed on a graph...showing 'y' price decreasing, 'x' years after release

good work

Excellent idea.

I'll add the graph and see what I can do with the years.

As of now, the graph would be pretty boring. It would be the same angle for the whole thing. I'll see what I can do with that though. Maybe have a table for each model and have fewer models...

 

[Surely]

Interesting.

It appears that you're using straight line depreciation. Does that accurately depict a Mac's depreciation? I would think that an accelerated depreciation model would be more accurate, no?

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

Interesting.

It appears that you're using straight line depreciation. Does that accurately depict a Mac's depreciation? I would think that an accelerated depreciation model would be more accurate, no?

No, it isn't too accurate for a new model, but I'm going to give each model still in production a sheet and check the value of it each month to give a more accurate view. After about two years, it should be good at predicting future models' depreciation.

I'm going to totally revamp it and start from the ground up to make it better. Thanks very much for your input.

 

[iJesus]

Just a quick graph of the intel macs using your information. It would be much nicer showing the depreciation every month or year.

 

[Surely]

No, it isn't too accurate for a new model, but I'm going to give each model still in production a sheet and check the value of it each month to give a more accurate view. After about two years, it should be good at predicting future models' depreciation.

I'm going to totally revamp it and start from the ground up to make it better. Thanks very much for your input.

Collecting data over two years isn't the most efficient way to create a depreciation schedule. That would be one hell of an effort though- kudos to you if you actually are able to keep doing it for that long.

I would think that Macs would depreciate at a slow rate in the beginning (let's say in the first 6 months), at a faster rate in the next 12-18 months, and then at a slow rate again near the end of it's life until it reaches some sort of salvage value.

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

Collecting data over two years isn't the most efficient way to create a depreciation schedule. That would be one hell of an effort though- kudos to you if you actually are able to keep doing it for that long.

I would think that Macs would depreciate at a slow rate in the beginning (let's say in the first 6 months), at a faster rate in the next 12-18 months, and then at a slow rate again near the end of it's life until it reaches some sort of salvage value.

That's what I think. It would really be interesting to see this stuff for real on a graph.

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

If anyone's interested, I revamped the entire thing. Each model gets a spreadsheet.

Here's the iMac.

 

[teerexx52]

If anyone's interested, I revamped the entire thing. Each model gets a spreadsheet.

Here's the iMac.

Where would I get the Notebooks?

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

Where would I get the Notebooks?

The iMac is the only one going now, but I'll post all models once they're all done.

 

[Tallest Skil]

*various attachments in multiple threads*

So... you just got iWork and you love it to death, eh?

Nothing at all wrong with that; you're doing some great work with it. Thanks for this and other threads.

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

I'm going to have to make three posts to fit everything.

Here are the PDFs, .numbers, and the MBP pictures.

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

Here are the Mac Pro and Mac mini and MBA pictures.

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

Finally, the iMac.

If I forgot anything, let me know.

 

[Synchromesh]

This may sound strange but I always thought Craigslist/eBay searches were the best price guides. eBay has a built-in search and Cl has external sites that can search multiple locations, example: craigshelper.com

 

[Shake 'n' Bake]

This may sound strange but I always thought Craigslist/eBay searches were the best price guides. eBay has a built-in search and Cl has external sites that can search multiple locations, example: craigshelper.com

I agree somewhat with that. There are so many BTOs being sold and sometimes not all the information is there. It is also better to use just one source, rather than many. You want to eliminate all variables except the value.

My guide, at the moment, shows the early- and mid-'09 models. I'm going to check the value once a month. As new models are released, they'll be added and I will keep the ones already there.