Fair prices for used 2012 mac minis

[grcar]

Some posts here concern whether to buy new or used mac minis. To keep things real I thought to post actual data for recent sales at eBay.

Late 2012 low-range dual-i5 4GB 0.5TB HDD. Someone recently sold seven of these in quick succession. The selling prices ranged from $404 to $455 with an average (mean and median) of $421. The original cost from Apple was $600.

Late 2012 mid-range quad-i7 16GB (upgrade from 4GB) 1TB HDD. Someone recently sold two of these in quick succession. The selling price was $730 each. The 16GB upgrade is now $100 from Crucial, so taking that off, the price of the mid-range 2012 model is $630. The original cost from Apple with 4GB was $800.

Keep in mind eBay has lots of used car salesmen asking more for these machines, and the dynamics of auctions can lead inexperienced buyers to overpay. I think the values above are realistic because they were multiple sales.

 

[Benjamin99]

I've been watching eBay and the refurb'ed store for a 2012 quad core....need one in the price range you've listed, but all I can find is $1000 and up.... Patiently waiting...

 

[grcar]

for a 2012 quad core all I can find is $1000 and up.... Patiently waiting...

Most of the mid-range 2012 models have some upgrades or extra equipment like a keyboard (go figure), which add to the price. And most of them are sold by dealers who avoid auctions (buy-it-now or make-offer). The two that sold for $730 had a fair auction for one, and the second was buy-now at the winning bid for the other.

My advice is to begin with the $630 base price and add the current cost of the upgrades and extras. Explain your thinking to the seller.

As a matter of fact, just now someone is asking $929 for the mid-range 2012 with 16GB ($730) plus apple care ($66 for remaining 2 years) plus keyboard ($69) plus mouse ($69), which add up to $934. This seller is asking a fair price. Go for it.

 

[aajeevlin]

Most of the mid-range 2012 models have some upgrades or extra equipment like a keyboard (go figure), which add to the price. And most of them are sold by dealers who avoid auctions (buy-it-now or make-offer). The two that sold for $730 had a fair auction for one, and the second was buy-now at the winning bid for the other.

My advice is to begin with the $630 base price and add the current cost of the upgrades and extras. Explain your thinking to the seller.

As a matter of fact, just now someone is asking $929 for the mid-range 2012 with 16GB ($730) plus apple care ($66 for remaining 2 years) plus keyboard ($69) plus mouse ($69), which add up to $934. This seller is asking a fair price. Go for it.

In this case I think the price for the computer is fair. However, giving those are used keyboard/mouse, I think those should be half so maybe drop another $60 overall. If the keyboard/mouse are new, well then the seller can keep them.

 

[Benjamin99]

Most of the mid-range 2012 models have some upgrades or extra equipment like a keyboard (go figure), which add to the price. And most of them are sold by dealers who avoid auctions (buy-it-now or make-offer). The two that sold for $730 had a fair auction for one, and the second was buy-now at the winning bid for the other.

My advice is to begin with the $630 base price and add the current cost of the upgrades and extras. Explain your thinking to the seller.

As a matter of fact, just now someone is asking $929 for the mid-range 2012 with 16GB ($730) plus apple care ($66 for remaining 2 years) plus keyboard ($69) plus mouse ($69), which add up to $934. This seller is asking a fair price. Go for it.

I'm staring at one with a buy it now just under $900, 2.3GHz quad core i7 with 16GB ram and 1TB hdd.....i'm very close to picking it up....just can't seem to pull the trigger, feeling like my patience may pay off?

 

[grcar]

I'm staring at one with a buy it now just under $900, 2.3GHz quad core i7 with 16GB ram and 1TB hdd.....i'm very close to picking it up....just can't seem to pull the trigger, feeling like my patience may pay off?

Yes, I see it. Of course, I can't advise you on whether or not to buy. An 8GB memory kit for this machine is $58. Subtracting that leaves a price over $800, which is about $200 over my guess for the fair price. But fairly priced units are in the minority as we have observed. I do not understand why this unit has a 256GB HDD, because they shipped with 1TB standard. Also, this eBay page does not have the long list of specifications that typically appears and which, I believe, is supplied by eBay. Perhaps you should write to the seller asking why and who opened the case to change the HDD, and for some additional verification it is a working MD388LL/A in good cosmetic shape.

 

[Celerondon]

...Perhaps you should write to the seller asking why and who opened the case to change the HDD, and for some additional verification it is a working MD388LL/A in good cosmetic shape.

I like this advice. It would be a shame to pay top dollar for a i7 2012 mini only to find that the power LED and or remote control sensor no longer worked because of damage during HDD installation.