How are people claiming such high MBP resale value?

[outsidethebox]

I keep hearing about people bragging how they sell their MBP every year for $100-200 losses, or people recommending "just buy one now and sell it when the new one comes out, you will get almost what you paid back for it". I have no idea how people are able to do this.

I've been checking online on several sites to confirm this over the last few weeks (even before the 2011 models came out). On most local classifieds for my city 2010 MBP's have an incredibly hard time selling for good prices - for example, a "like new" 2010 top-end 15" is going for $1300, and I've watched the seller gradually reduce the price over the last few weeks because no one wants it. I've even been checking on London craigslists where Macs are infamously overpriced, and there are top-end 2010 MBP's on sale for ~900 pounds that just don't seem to be selling.

I'd just like to believe these people who keep spewing this claim so that I can buy a MBP now and get a new one whenever I feel like it, but so many machines I've seen are <1 year old and are in like new condition show that this doesn't seem to be the case. Am I missing something, or is it only on eBay where people are getting "suckers" to pay full price for their old machines?

 

[devilcm3]

- some people don't read the news about upcoming updates
- some people don't check for the market price
- some people don't know mac is newer macs is getting cheaper every year

 

[sydenham]

I don't see any listed for £900. Here is the London's Craigslist prices.
http://london.craigslist.co.uk/search/sss?query=macbook+pro&srchType=A&minAsk=&maxAsk=
If you could find a 2010 15" top spec for £900 you would buy it and sell it on for £1350 on ebay. I hope you are sharp enough to recognise a scam add when you see one.
http://london.craigslist.co.uk/sys/2212902355.html

 

[AppleScruff1]

Some people aren't too bright. Why would you buy a one year old product that was so close to the price of a new one? The warranty and peace of mind is well worth the extra $100 for a new over used.

 

[SPEEDwithJJ]

I've never been able to get a resale value when selling my Macs. It definitely seems to be getter worse & worse since around 2009 when the Macs are gaining more & more popularity & people are getting more knowledgeable & more educated on the actual price they should be paying for a used Mac. I also got a ton of super low ball offers every time I list my Macs for sale. Most of all those offers I got are so low that I would rather donate the Mac I'm selling to a local charity organization than actually accept the offer. I just sold a 2009 13" MBP for about $550 at my local CL when people here are saying that it can easily get me at least $850.

I would also like to know how people are able to get a great resale value on a Mac because I simply struggle to get any value decent even though the Macs I have sold are all in like new condition, all the original boxes/documentations are included in the sales & were in excellent condition, & I even threw in extra freebies in all my sales.

 

[Al Coholic]

Am I missing something,

No. Many that only took a $200-$300 loss on their older MBP's sold months before the new lineup was announced. Those selling now however find themselves peddling really old goods as the new update really took the lineup into the modern world and wasn't just a speed bump (for a change).

And of course, there will always be stupid people out there who just want a mac.

 

[Looon]

Because people here make ridiculous claims all the time. Keep an eye on some of the other posts and try to spot the bias, it's not difficult.

 

[mulo]

I sold my 2010 17" MBP for $2250

 

[iZero]

I don't personally know of anyone that has gotten nearly that close to what they paid originally, a year or so later... (some people lie and say they did, but ) What I usually do, is save money through the year, and sell the Mac(s) I no longer use/want to replace, for a bit under what I see the others in the same year/family going for used. Combine that with money I saved through the year, and that usually more than pays for a new Mac when refresh time rolls around. Like has already been said, people are getting smarter about the value of Macs. Their resale value is still much more than that of an equal powered/same year PC, but it's not nearly the "bought new" price... Just a lot of scammers/people that need to research before buying, out there I guess....

 

[Naimfan]

I can only speak to my experience, but I've consistently gotten back what I've paid for Macbook Pros. Of course, I keep them in perfect shape, usually have upgraded the hard drive, and transfer the license to any software that I include (iWork, Office, etc.).

It's much easier to do machines of the generation that just precedes the current one. So it would be easy to buy a 2.4 GHz 13" C2D and to sell it for at least what you bought it for some months later if not more. For example, I bought a 2.4 GHz 13" MBP from Craigslist for $800 and sold it for $950 (and was able to sell off the Magic Mouse and iWork 09 that the seller included, reducing my basis in the laptop itself by $90).

More broadly, Macbook Pros in particular hold their value well. The reason is that they are still desirable in the marketplace, and until the advent of Sandy Bridge CPUs the differences were not particularly pronounced in the view of most consumers. Most people don't understand the difference from a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo to a 2.4 GHz Core i5. So if it is in good shape, and everything works, there's very little to differentiate one from the other for most people.

 

[TomCondon]

the trick is to sell it maybe two weeks before the new ones are announced for 200 less than retail price, and have detailed information and many pictures of the device

 

[skier777]

For one thing, all of them have apple care. Apple is really good for resale because of the transfer of the warrantee with the machine and is not limited to the holder of the receipt.
All the MBP's sold for high prices have about 2year apple care left.

This adds 300 dollars to the initial price of the product so when one says "I sold a $1999 2010 MBP for 1800. They actually paid $1999, plus tax (in states with tax) plus apple care for probably a total of $2500, for $1800...

 

[SPEEDwithJJ]

I can only speak to my experience, but I've consistently gotten back what I've paid for Macbook Pros. Of course, I keep them in perfect shape, usually have upgraded the hard drive, and transfer the license to any software that I include (iWork, Office, etc.).

It's much easier to do machines of the generation that just precedes the current one. So it would be easy to buy a 2.4 GHz 13" C2D and to sell it for at least what you bought it for some months later if not more. For example, I bought a 2.4 GHz 13" MBP from Craigslist for $800 and sold it for $950 (and was able to sell off the Magic Mouse and iWork 09 that the seller included, reducing my basis in the laptop itself by $90).

More broadly, Macbook Pros in particular hold their value well. The reason is that they are still desirable in the marketplace, and until the advent of Sandy Bridge CPUs the differences were not particularly pronounced in the view of most consumers. Most people don't understand the difference from a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo to a 2.4 GHz Core i5. So if it is in good shape, and everything works, there's very little to differentiate one from the other for most people.

OK. Now at least I see where my problem lies in. I always buy new then sell it later. I guess I should do what you do & look for super deals on my local CL, then sell it later within a year in order to get back the max. value & in some cases, even gain a little profit.

 

[SPEEDwithJJ]

For one thing, all of them have apple care. Apple is really good for resale because of the transfer of the warrantee with the machine and is not limited to the holder of the receipt.
All the MBP's sold for high prices have about 2year apple care left.

This adds 300 dollars to the initial price of the product so when one says "I sold a $1999 2010 MBP for 1800. They actually paid $1999, plus tax (in states with tax) plus apple care for probably a total of $2500, for $1800...

That's interesting.

One thing I forgot to mention is that all the Macs that I've sold, including that $550 MBP I just sold) all include the 3 year AppleCare warranties. But every time I sell, it seems to me like AppleCare is worth "nothing" in terms of resale value because I would have gotten the same amount of money if the same item is sold without any 3 year AppleCare warranty. Or maybe I'm simply just a jinx because all those buyers I got all do not seem to give a heck about the value of paying extra for the 3 year AppleCare warranties.

 

[Naimfan]

Well, I just quit doing that and bought a new 13" i5. But I expect I'll be able to sell it down the road for what I paid for it--like $1200-1300, because I've upgraded the hard drive, etc. So I won't make any money on it, but I will at least break even or come very close.

 

[sydenham]

It is kind of funny, I am in the UK and I have advertised my 2010 i7 2.66 for a great price, but no one seems to be interested. These new machines seem to change the game...

 

[Jazojas12]

I sell every refresh.

2009 MBP dropped in MSRP and came with an iPod with rebate for education. Sold the iPod so the actual cost came to about $1100 after everything.
Sold for $850 2 weeks after refresh. Bought the 2010 MBP for $1050 after rebate from macconnection. I guessed the 2011 MBP was coming 2nd week of February because it was due for a refresh and Apple was bound to sell a bunch around Christmas so they would wait about 6 weeks to release a new one so there wouldn't be tons of returns/exchanges. I sold the 2010 the beginning of Feb. and just used my gf's MBP to hold me over. Sold the 2010 for $950.
Bought the 2011 with edu discount plus the printer, sold the printer. Total price after discount and tax was $1310-$100 printer rebate-$110 for printer = $1100.

If I guess correctly next refresh, I'll sell it before the update for $900-$1000.
If you try to sell after the update expect to sell for $100-$200 less.

 

[iZero]

It is kind of funny, I am in the UK and I have advertised my 2010 i7 2.66 for a great price, but no one seems to be interested. These new machines seem to change the game...

You'll get some bites Just takes time sometimes!

 

[outsidethebox]

Most people don't understand the difference from a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo to a 2.4 GHz Core i5. So if it is in good shape, and everything works, there's very little to differentiate one from the other for most people.

This is just it, however. I had assumed the exact same thing - that people buying used MBP's just wanted one cause it looked cool and they've heard that they are good computers.

However, when I posted my MBP or sale in Dec, I was really surprised that nearly every person kept e-mailing questions about the HD speed, the amount of Ram, what kind of processor it was, whether the screen was G/AG, etc. So it seems like either a) people who buy used MBP's do know a lot about computers or have started to do a lot more research, or b) now that Mac's are becoming so widespread now, people in general are becoming more informed and computer literate about what is a good/new machine.

 

[diamond3]

I've done this for the 2nd straight mbp update. I had the 2.26 13" mbp that I upgraded to a 500gb hd and had the original HD in an external enclosure. I sold that for $1050, bought the 2.4ghz 13" mbp + ipod + printer = ~$1500 So I sold the ipod and printer since I already had them. ~1500 - $329 (rebates) - $150 ipod - $50 printer = $971 + $50 for a 640gb HD + $7 for external enclosure and sold it the day the latest mbp 2.3 i5 mbp came out for $1050 actually making ~$20.

There are a few things to consider, upgraded models from apple don't get back as good of a return compared to the base. Upgrading the HD on my own seems to be a good idea from my own experience since the two people I sold it to have mentioned how they like that it comes with an external HD. Also, selling varies by region. I sold my laptops locally so I didn't have any ebay fees Where I'm at, there is an excellent news classifieds website online that gets a ton of viewers which has been a great help. Also, being a student is another big plus, but buying online without sales tax is also a good deal. Check out this site for the cheapest price online: http://www.appleinsider.com/mac_price_guide/

 

[JamesGorman]

Im in the process of selling my 2010 MBP, see sig, for $1800.00. The right buyer is always out there.

 

[SPEEDwithJJ]

Im in the process of selling my 2010 MBP, see sig, for $1800.00. The right buyer is always out there.

Have to agree that it is true to a certain extent.

The problem for me is that I'm a jinx. I am simply not lucky enough to come across even one such buyer for the Macs that I've sold. Given the luck that I have, I do not dare to even think it is going to change in the future when I sell the MBP that I'm using right now.

Hate to admit it but some people just have all the luck in the world but for others, they simply don't have it. Unfortunately, I belong in the latter group.

 

[Ieo]

I JUST sold my old 13" MBP on ebay for $735 (2009 2.26 C2D w/ some cosmetic damage). Taking into account my student discount, the free iPod that I used for a few months then sold for $150, and my cashback bonus after using my discover card, and I paid only $150-ish to upgrade to the current model.

If I had been a little braver, I could have put my old one up a week before the new ones were released and gotten $875+ no problem, but it was mid terms and I couldn't be without it.

Moral of the story- Macs definitely have much, much higher resale value compared to PC's....but some of the stories are exaggerated. Not all though: when I was shopping for a mini to use as a HTPC, bone-stock + two generations old minis were going for $20-$70 MORE than new, current model minis on ebay. People get into buying frenzies or are just ignorant I guess.

 

[8CoreWhore]

Have to agree that it is true to a certain extent.

The problem for me is that I'm a jinx. I am simply not lucky enough to come across even one such buyer for the Macs that I've sold. Given the luck that I have, I do not dare to even think it is going to change in the future when I sell the MBP that I'm using right now.

Hate to admit it but some people just have all the luck in the world but for others, they simply don't have it. Unfortunately, I belong in the latter group.

Use eBay and not CL. Start the auction looooow, like 1USD. Have LOTS of pictures and detailed write-up.

I'm about to sell a late 2006 MBP 2.16Mhz on eBay... hope it goes well. I "secure erased" the HDD - it took HOURS! Don't forget, guys, to secure erase that HDD... it's trivial for someone to pluck your old deleted files off the drive after you've erased them and reformatted, etc.

 

[skiltrip]

I bought my 2010 13" for $1099

Added 8GB ram: $80
Added 7200 drive: $70
Added iLife 11: $60
Added incase sleeve: $40

Total $1349

Sold it for $1149

Total loss about $200.

So for me, it worked. Very well.