Differences in these refurbished iMacs

[mcavjame]

I'm looking for a refurbished iMac for our kids to play with, but I want it to last awhile for them. There are two refurbished iMacs in the Canada refurb store and I cannot understand why the older iMac with lesser specs is more expensive. Is there something about the older mac that makes it valuable?
Pictures of two iMacs attached:

 

[brianp]

it has a faster processor

 

[kriskay]

Go for the 2.0GHZ one its a newer processor and the graphics card is updated. Plus the ashetics are much better.

The price is based on the original selling price of the machine so dont worry about that, apple usually only discount 20 odd % on models as the 2nd machine is a later (newer) model it was introduced at the same price as the 1st (older) machine thus creating the differential.

If it's for your kids then you wont have any problems and should last you a good few years to come.

These are great prices at the minute too, i'd recommend buying it now.

Enjoy your machine

KK/

 

[mcavjame]

it has a faster processor

Yeah, the processor is slightly faster, but the bus speed is slower (667 vs 800), it lacks fw 800 and wireless N.

 

[mcavjame]

The price is based on the original selling price of the machine so dont worry about that, apple usually only discount 20 odd % on models as the 2nd machine is a later (newer) model it was introduced at the same price as the 1st (older) machine thus creating the differential.

I wondered if this was how they did things. Do you know for a fact that this is their policy, or are you guessing from observation.

It would seem that when a new model is sent to the refurb heap, that all previous models get a similar mark down. i've noticed the same price discrepancies in their minis (was considering this model as well). A 1.83 C2D was only $10 more than a 1.83 CD with half the RAM.

Makes me scratch my head and wonder who would buy the earlier system, given the choice.

 

[gnasher729]

Usually the price for older refurbished items is about 20 percent below what you could reasonably sell the item for if it was brand new, relative to the price of other brand new items. That may be turn out to be for example 40 percent below the price when the item was actually sold.

 

[scienide09]

I've seen the same kinds of price discrepancies as well, especially on the Mini's. There are a couple there right now, as I write this, with a wide range of hardware in a small rage of price differences.

I too am convinced that refurb prices are based on original selling price, so it makes sense that more recent hardware appears at the same level/cheaper than items that are older.

 

[Lancetx]

Yeah, the processor is slightly faster, but the bus speed is slower (667 vs 800), it lacks fw 800 and wireless N.

Actually the older 2.16 GHz model can be upgraded to 802.11n via the $1.99 AirPort Extreme enabler.

 

[kriskay]

I wondered if this was how they did things. Do you know for a fact that this is their policy, or are you guessing from observation.

It would seem that when a new model is sent to the refurb heap, that all previous models get a similar mark down. i've noticed the same price discrepancies in their minis (was considering this model as well). A 1.83 C2D was only $10 more than a 1.83 CD with half the RAM.

Makes me scratch my head and wonder who would buy the earlier system, given the choice.

Mainly just through observation over the past 4 years, i regularly check the apple refurb store to see if there is a deal to be had. I have seen some go as high as a 35% saving. I use the apple UK store which lists the prices slightly differently than the U.S (breaks down price)

They have the refurb 2.2MB white on at £649 and the Black 2.2 on at £679. I would reckon that would be not much over cost for them (still inflated for black though). It shows the true reflection of the mark up on the items when they first came out if they can reduce to this price. They have ALOT of stock in the UK refurb store (getting updated aily at the minute)

The apple refurb resellers usually offer a better deal but i'll always buy direct from apple for that extra piece of mind even if it is 40-50$ more.

Refurbs = Fantastic deal. I have NEVER had a problem with them and i've had lots!

KK/

 

[TheHitcher]

It could be that they lowered the price on the newer one's because of the (rumoured) updates to the iMac and MacMini.

I'd go with the newer one, as others have said it's the better of the two.

 

[mcavjame]

As I was watching the refurb page, I noticed that mac minis were coming in and going out quickly. I saw the current model 1.83 come in a couple times for $539. It seemed like a great deal, but I kept missing it while I mulled it over.

It came up again last night and I purchased one to replace our G4 1.42 (for sale if anyone wants to make an offer btw). At the same time, there was a 1.66 core solo with half the RAM for $739. Granted, it has a DVD burner, but an external is cheaper than $200 and I'd still have to add RAM to get the spec up and the processor would still be a slower solo.

Apple seems so smart when it comes to design. Why don't they get this simple pricing relationship?