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How to Sell a Mac?

G

godaz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 5, 2009
129
0
Hi,

Not sure where to put this one.

I've recently started a new Job and I find myself out of the house 12 hours a day, I currently have an iMac sat on my desk and find that I dont have the time to use it or when I get home sit at my desk to use it.

I have been thinking about moving to a MacBook Pro for a bit of portabiity so I can say lay on my bed with it when I get home rather sit at my desk after a long day.

So this brings me to my question, when, where and how do you sell a Mac?

Thanks
 
eBay or Craigslist unless you know someone who might be interested.

You want to erase the HD though, just insert the install disk and boor from it (hold down option key) and select Disk Utility from Menu Bar and select secure erase and 7-pass erase. Then reinstall OS X when that's done.
 
I have looked into eBay and whilst it is a great place to sell it you really lose out on Fees!

I will be wiping the HD before I sell, thanks for the help :)

Any other suggestions people?
 
godaz said:
I have looked into eBay and whilst it is a great place to sell it you really lose out on Fees!

I will be wiping the HD before I sell, thanks for the help :)

Any other suggestions people?
Click to expand...

Check Craigslist. No fees AFAIK and local pickup for cash only.
 
eBay

Unfortunately eBay for me was the best way, in spite of losing out quite a bit because of all the fees. I tried Craigslist, but only got scammers.

Ask around your friends and family, put an ad in the local paper, see if those things work to start with.
 
I know it may sound juvenile, but try the facebook marketplace. Tons of college students and young business professionals on there. I see my fair share of computers, including macs, being sold on there. I believe its free to post an ad on there as well.
 
Unfortunately I deleted my facebook account last month!

I will try craigslist and see how I get on, thanks for your replies
 
I've bought and sold quite a few Macs on Craigslist rather quickly. How fast it will sell will depend on how Apple-heavy your market is. I'm in Toronto, which is a fairly big Apple market (we have five Apple Stores and dozens of Apple resellers) so everything goes pretty quickly if you price it right. Use Mac2Sell.net as a guide. They tend to be a bit conservative so you might want to price yours a bit higher to get fair market value. Or if you're comfortable with the price they tell you, post it for that.

I prefer Craigslist to eBay as I don't mind meeting someone to make the sale (just be sure to meet them in a Starbucks or public space during the day). And beware of Nigerian princes who want to buy your item for their nephew's cousin's brother-in-law.
 
It seems to be a lot more difficult to sell a Mac in the Uk...
 
I always start with my closest circles, and work my way outwards. With something as big and expensive as an iMac or any other computer, I would want to keep it within the city so I can meet up with the person. That way we both get reassurance that the other person is legit.

By the way, I sold my iMac for the exact same reasons as you, and got a MacBook Pro. I'm very happy with that decision. I ended up selling my iMac to my church since they were looking to buy a Mac to run some specialized presentation software in the new auditorium they were building. The timing was perfect.

So, I'd start with friends and family. Is there anyone you know who is looking for a computer? If you know you'd lose out on fees or shipping by sending off the computer via eBay, then you might as well take the loss up front in the form of a really good deal for a friend or family member.

Next, try your workplace. Do they have a marketplace forum or a place you can put an ad? Also ask your parents, friends, etc. if they can do the same at their workplaces.

Next, try regional websites like Craigslist, Kijiji, or local newsgroups (if people still read those...!)

Next, try marketplace forums on websites like this one, where I'd be more likely to trust someone and ship something off to them than I would on eBay.

Finally, eBay, if you've exhausted the other options.
 
Mac of All Trades

I've used macofalltrades.com before. You will not get as much as is theoretically possible, but you're dealing with a company that's been in business buying and selling used macs for a while.
 
Thanks Notjustjay, that is exactly what I was looking for!

I'll you all know how I got on.

Thanks for your replies :)
 
Not meaning to derail this conversation, but how do you approach selling on Craigslist when the item is too large to easily haul to a meeting in a public place? A Mac Pro for instance... heck, even the 27" iMac would be pretty unwieldy.

I mean, I'd be willing to do it as a one-time thing to complete the deal, but sometimes a potential buyer wants to see and boot up the computer before committing, in which case you (or they) need to bring a monitor too, and hope you can find a power outlet.... and then if they decide not to buy you have to haul the thing home and then back out for the next prospect.

Do you just invite the buyer into your home to check out the merchandise?
 
splitpea said:
Do you just invite the buyer into your home to check out the merchandise?
Click to expand...
Just remember, it's possible you could be inviting a burglar to your home so they can check out ALL your merchandise, for when they return when you're not home. (or worse, when you ARE!) I wouldn't invite anyone I didn't know to my home. Remember, people have been robbed and even killed when meeting people from Craigslist.
 
GGJstudios said:
Just remember, it's possible you could be inviting a burglar to your home so they can check out ALL your merchandise, for when they return when you're not home. (or worse, when you ARE!) I wouldn't invite anyone I didn't know to my home. Remember, people have been robbed and even killed when meeting people from Craigslist.
Click to expand...

Exactly why I'd be reluctant to do this; but the alternative doesn't make sense either. I don't know about you, but I'm not physically capable of carrying a Mac Pro 7 blocks to the nearest Starbucks.

On the other hand, I've used Craigslist to find roommates (in which case you have no choice but to invite strangers into your home) without any negative repercussions (maybe because my landlady is always around right downstairs; maybe because they were actually normal (enough) people; maybe because I've got nothing worth stealing. ;))

At least in my area, Craigslist gets very heavy legitimate use. Robberies and murders related to it are really not common at all -- the very very very few that actually occur get played up by the media. Yes, I like to be careful, but it doesn't make sense to be governed by fear.
 
splitpea said:
Exactly why I'd be reluctant to do this; but the alternative doesn't make sense either. I don't know about you, but I'm not physically capable of carrying a Mac Pro 7 blocks to the nearest Starbucks.

At least in my area, Craigslist gets very heavy legitimate use. Robberies and murders related to it are really not common at all -- the very very very few that actually occur get played up by the media. Yes, I like to be careful, but it doesn't make sense to be governed by fear.
Click to expand...

I suppose it might depend on the neighborhood, but generally speaking, I agree. You can take precautions, however. For example, if you're inviting the buyer to your home to check out the merchandise, then make sure you're not home alone -- have a friend with you. Preferably a big one. ;) This protects you from a potential mugging and also provides you with a third-party witness to the transaction and to the state of the goods when you sold it. Move the stuff to the front hallway or as close to the door as possible so that you're not leading a potential burglar on a full tour of your house on the way to the upstairs office.
 
Quick Update on this,

I put an advert on the notice boards via outlook at work and struck a deal.

I am swapping my iMac for the 2008 A1260 MacBook Pro

2.5ghz Dual Core
4gb RAM
250gb HDD
GeForce 8600M GT with 512 MB
Running SL

Think I've got a pretty good deal?

CHeers
 
I dunno about the where, but format the mac to 35 pass erase, then Install OS X (preferably with all the features, then when it restarts into setup assistant, press ⌘ and Q keys. It will ask you if you want to Shut down. Do that, then your Mac is ready to sell.
 
Congrats! The nice thing about bartering at your workplace is that if anything goes wrong with the deal, well, you know how to find them :)
 
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