Estimate the resale value of my Early-2011 13 MBP

[AppleGoat]

Lately, I have been contemplating ponying up for Retina 15" refurb -- I really have been drooling over the screen and my non-Retina display is chopped liver next to it. I think, if you've been in the market for a 15" Retina refurb, it is high time to get one, given the previous two generations are better than the current generation in some respects, regarding the base models of course.

My question to you guys is, what do you think I could command for my 13" early-2011 MBP? Here are the specs:

2.3ghz i5 Sandy Bridge
8GB RAM
128GB Samsung 840 Pro
128GB Samsung 470 (in optical bay)
Optical Drive (external in enclosure)

The computer performs flawlessly but there are some cosmetic flaws. A few of the keys are like ghosted out to where you can't see the letter. Some blemishes and smudges here and there across the body.

I probably won't proceed with selling it. I still love my machine. But, I'm curious what the difference will be with its resale value and the cost of a 15" refurb. Thx.

 

[Laco]

Lately, I have been contemplating ponying up for Retina 15" refurb -- I really have been drooling over the screen and my non-Retina display is chopped liver next to it. I think, if you've been in the market for a 15" Retina refurb, it is high time to get one, given the previous two generations are better than the current generation in some respects, regarding the base models of course.

My question to you guys is, what do you think I could command for my 13" early-2011 MBP? Here are the specs:

2.3ghz i5 Sandy Bridge
8GB RAM
128GB Samsung 840 Pro
128GB Samsung 470 (in optical bay)
Optical Drive (external in enclosure)

The computer performs flawlessly but there are some cosmetic flaws. A few of the keys are like ghosted out to where you can't see the letter. Some blemishes and smudges here and there across the body.

I probably won't proceed with selling it. I still love my machine. But, I'm curious what the difference will be with its resale value and the cost of a 15" refurb. Thx.

I just checked ebay and similar macbooks seem to be getting bids between $500 and $600 - there are some priced between $600 and $800 but very few have any bids. The cost of a rMBR refurbished on Apple's website is $1599. I guess the question for you is do you want to spend about $1000 to upgrade.

 

[leftyMac]

I'm in the same boat as you. I don't care much for the retina display per se, but the screen real estate you could get on a 15" retina is too awesome.

For me, I would have to get the top of the line model to make the upgrade worthwhile though, since that's the only model that comes with dGPU. I know that the iGPU on haswell is a lot better than HD3000, and of course dual core vs quad core, but still, 2011 MBP with a SSD is fairly comparable.

I checked out the 2013 15 rMBP, I want it! It's so hard to resist, but I don't think I could justify a purchase of 2013 15 MBP... But I could see myself not needing an external monitor...

 

[AppleGoat]

Thanks for the responses.

I was hoping I could do at least $800-$900 for it. I saw some ads on Craigslist with those prices. But, figured I'd run the question by you guys given the uniqueness of my setup (dual-SSDs). If $500-$600 is all I can command, looks like I'll have to keep my desires of upgrading at bay for the foreseeable future.

leftyMac, why not look at a 15" refurb for like $1600 -- you get a discrete GPU there.

I'm sure the new base 15" is great (with its PCIe and all) -- heck, I'd give my left shift key for it -- but it's a little creepy by Apple to not include a discrete GPU on such an expensive, professional machine.

 

[leftyMac]

Thanks for the responses.

leftyMac, why not look at a 15" refurb for like $1600 -- you get a discrete GPU there.

I'm sure the new base 15" is great (with its PCIe and all) -- heck, I'd give my left shift key for it -- but it's a little creepy by Apple to not include a discrete GPU on such an expensive, professional machine.

Yeah, I was looking at a 2012 15 rMBP with a dGPU. It does seem like a great deal, but I wouldn't want to upgrade from a 2011 machine to a 2012 machine.

 

[Wahlstrm]

sold mine the other day

I sold my early 2011 13" i7 with 120SSD+750HDD and 16GB for about $1000 last week. Battery almost dead.

 

[leman]

I was hoping I could do at least $800-$900 for it. I saw some ads on Craigslist with those prices. But, figured I'd run the question by you guys given the uniqueness of my setup (dual-SSDs). If $500-$600 is all I can command, looks like I'll have to keep my desires of upgrading at bay for the foreseeable future.

For around $900, its possible to get a 2013 MacBook Air, which is a considerably better value than your 2011 Pro. I think somewhere between $600-800 is the most realistic estimate. Although you might get a better price if you are lucky and know how to advertise

 

[Misskitty]

Lately, I have been contemplating ponying up for Retina 15" refurb -- I really have been drooling over the screen and my non-Retina display is chopped liver next to it. I think, if you've been in the market for a 15" Retina refurb, it is high time to get one, given the previous two generations are better than the current generation in some respects, regarding the base models of course.

My question to you guys is, what do you think I could command for my 13" early-2011 MBP? Here are the specs:

2.3ghz i5 Sandy Bridge
8GB RAM
128GB Samsung 840 Pro
128GB Samsung 470 (in optical bay)
Optical Drive (external in enclosure)

The computer performs flawlessly but there are some cosmetic flaws. A few of the keys are like ghosted out to where you can't see the letter. Some blemishes and smudges here and there across the body.

I probably won't proceed with selling it. I still love my machine. But, I'm curious what the difference will be with its resale value and the cost of a 15" refurb. Thx.

I agree, I cant bare to look at my 2011 MBP anymore (same as yours), after getting an ipad air.

But i refuse to pay the ridiculous price for the 15". If anything, Apple should be letting me upgrade for free, since even after two years, I still feel ripped off buying this 13" MBP for $1200 at the time.

Honestly though, resale value isnt good. Ive tried to sell mine for $900 for the past month and only got lowballs of $750-760. Mine is 10/10 condition, no marks anywhere (not even hairline scratches), has 8GB ram, 160GB SSD and Office 2011.