Is the "Fair Market Value" really fair?

[seanuhthin]

http://www.apple.com/recycling/computer/
Has anyone had any experience with this? I know they like to say its a "fair" sum of money for your older machine but I have a feeling "fair" in their eyes might mean 15 dollars for your brand new dell studio laptop. All biased and allegations towards unfair exchanges aside (cough cough Gamestop), I'd like to give this a shot, and some feedback towards this would be nice.

 

[manhattanboy]

http://www.apple.com/recycling/computer/
Has anyone had any experience with this? I know they like to say its a "fair" sum of money for your older machine but I have a feeling "fair" in their eyes might mean 15 dollars for your brand new dell studio laptop. All biased and allegations towards unfair exchanges aside (cough cough Gamestop), I'd like to give this a shot, and some feedback towards this would be nice.

Anybody that CHARGES you money to recycle your old computer is not fair. Why not just throw it away and let the garbage men or passerby recycle it free for you? Setting it outside on the curb always worked for me.

 

[seanuhthin]

Oh haha, I didn't mean the recycling service, I meant the "turn in your old hardware for money towards new hardware" service

 

[mdgolom]

Oh haha, I didn't mean the recycling service, I meant the "turn in your old hardware for money towards new hardware" service

No, it's not a fair indication of the price of used equipment. For grins, I checked to see what my Early 2009 iMac (2.93ghz 24") and they will offer me $490. I can probably get double that on ebay or Craigslist. My guess is Apple then uses these computers for parts (if functional) or repairing other computers. I was listen to a tech radio show and they advertised a copy that would buy used iPhones. I checked and they would offer me $120 for my 16gb 3G iPhone which to me is way low.

 

[snberk103]

No, it's not a fair indication of the price of used equipment. For grins, I checked to see what my Early 2009 iMac (2.93ghz 24") and they will offer me $490. I can probably get double that on ebay or Craigslist. My guess is Apple then uses these computers for parts (if functional) or repairing other computers. I was listen to a tech radio show and they advertised a copy that would buy used iPhones. I checked and they would offer me $120 for my 16gb 3G iPhone which to me is way low.

I'm not surprised that Apple doesn't offer what you think you might get on eBay or Craigslist. It's same with any company that takes trade-ins. You give up some $$$ for convenience and peace of mind. If you sell your gear privately, you will spend more time arranging the sale - confirming the sale - dickering with the purchaser over the price of the gear - and then confirming that the funds are legitimate and have cleared the bank.

Go to a company that takes trade-ins (including Apple and it's a one stop visit, and you are done when you walk out the door. I'm not saying that it's better to go the trade-in route, just that for some people the convenience is worth the potential for less $$$.

 

[Erendiox]

Anybody that CHARGES you money to recycle your old computer is not fair. Why not just throw it away and let the garbage men or passerby recycle it free for you? Setting it outside on the curb always worked for me.

Recycling isn't a cheap process. I don't think it's unreasonable to have to pay a fee for it. Pretty soon, you also may not be able to just throw your old computer on the curb anymore. For instance, in NYC, as of July 1st, it's now illegal for residents to dispose of electronic items.

 

[Macky-Mac]

what's "fair market value" for an individual selling directly to an individual (on craigslist or whatever) isn't the same thing as "fair market value" for a company that's buying something to resell or take apart for salvage

 

[snberk103]

Anybody that CHARGES you money to recycle your old computer is not fair. Why not just throw it away and let the garbage men or passerby recycle it free for you? Setting it outside on the curb always worked for me.

I live in small community that only recently added electronics to what can be recycled. Spending $30 dollars to send my electronics off-island is money well spent. I could spend half a day and $28 in ferry fares to take it to the city.... but I don't need to remind myself of why I left the city that badly. At least not this month.

We do head into the city every month or so, but I come back with a very sore neck. It takes me an hour to remember that every car honk is not somebody I know saying "hi". Ahh - life in paradise....

 

[bericd]

Recycling isn't a cheap process. I don't think it's unreasonable to have to pay a fee for it. Pretty soon, you also may not be able to just throw your old computer on the curb anymore. For instance, in NYC, as of July 1st, it's now illegal for residents to dispose of electronic items.

In California (at least) you must pay a recycling fee when you _buy_ a computer. There was a $16 "Recycling Fee" when I purchased my MBP.

 

[manhattanboy]

Recycling isn't a cheap process. I don't think it's unreasonable to have to pay a fee for it. Pretty soon, you also may not be able to just throw your old computer on the curb anymore. For instance, in NYC, as of July 1st, it's now illegal for residents to dispose of electronic items.

Just take it to a Starbucks and "forget" to take it when you leave.
I guarantee some homeless man will swoop in and grab it.
Who knows, maybe Gizmodo might even write a blog post about how someone left it in a coffee bar.

To those that say they can't just throw it away... here's what you do:

1) You find one of those male teenage boys that always dresses in a wife-beater no matter how cold the temperature outside... you know the Jersey shore type.
2) You tell him, in an Italian accent, that you got a certain good that needs a little roughin' up, if you know what I mean.
3) You take the computer, him, and a baseball bat out back and have him take care of "the Computer Situation"
4) You scoop up the pieces and dispose of the evidence in the East River next to all the high school kids making out and drinking beer in CS park.
5) You go get some overpriced gelato to celebrate your accomplishment.

and in case you are not catching my drift, I am being sarcastic.

 

[snberk103]

Just take it to a Starbucks and "forget" to take it when you leave.
I guarantee some homeless man will swoop in and grab it.
Who knows, maybe Gizmodo might even write a blog post about how someone left it in a coffee bar.

To those that say they can't just throw it away... here's what you do:

1) You find one of those male teenage boys that always dresses in a wife-beater no matter how cold the temperature outside... you know the Jersey shore type.
2) You tell him, in an Italian accent, that you got a certain good that needs a little roughin' up, if you know what I mean.
3) You take the computer, him, and a baseball bat out back and have him take care of "the Computer Situation"
4) You scoop up the pieces and dispose of the evidence in the East River next to all the high school kids making out and drinking beer in CS park.
5) You go get some overpriced gelato to celebrate your accomplishment.

and in case you are not catching my drift, I am being sarcastic.

Hee Hee.... though those of us on the West Coast might find it hard to find a Jersey Shore type....

Though a friend of mine (when we lived in the city) found a great way to get rid of an old fridge that nobody wanted, even for free. Put it on the curb with sign " $50 - cheap ". By the next morning it was gone.

The problem with a small village like ours, is that a neighbour will have seen the truck and recognized it, gone to the fridge's new home to rescue it, and then put it back into your kitchen for safe keeping because when they got back to your place you weren't home. Trust me, it could happen here.

 

[holmesf]

http://www.apple.com/recycling/computer/
Has anyone had any experience with this? I know they like to say its a "fair" sum of money for your older machine but I have a feeling "fair" in their eyes might mean 15 dollars for your brand new dell studio laptop. All biased and allegations towards unfair exchanges aside (cough cough Gamestop), I'd like to give this a shot, and some feedback towards this would be nice.

For a laugh I decided to see what I could get for my 17" 1.33GHz Powerbook G4. The answer: $94.95.

This is a machine that I have been using as a server for the past 1.5 years. It has been running non-stop during that time, and it handles thousands of logins every day to the online games I host. Not bad for a machine purchased in 2003!

I would not trade this machine for $94.95!

 

[jlc1978]

http://www.apple.com/recycling/computer/
Has anyone had any experience with this? I know they like to say its a "fair" sum of money for your older machine but I have a feeling "fair" in their eyes might mean 15 dollars for your brand new dell studio laptop. All biased and allegations towards unfair exchanges aside (cough cough Gamestop), I'd like to give this a shot, and some feedback towards this would be nice.

Fair is all relative. If it's worth more to you than what they offer; you decline the offer. If it's more, you take it. If all it is going to do is sit somewhere unused then any money is better than none.

The problem is people remember what they paid which is no indication of what something is worth. Just because it cost $1000 a while ago doesn't mean it's worth anything near that.

With Apple, and other stores, you are trading convenience for money. If you want more, you need to advertise and sell it yourself; which takes time and has its own set of hassles.

In the end, fair comes down to what will you accept for the machine and what will someone pay.

 

[seanuhthin]

A good 3 months ago, I went to Game stop to return my Xbox 360. That particular day, they offered somewhere around 150 store credit, a little more for a trade in for a ps3. The thing was in pristine condition, opened up, clean, everything perfect. Except for one, when they stood it up in that awkward tower position, the DVDs tray would not open, yet in all other positions it did. They said this is a defect, and offered me $25. I don't care what business classes anyone has taken, or what YOU think is reasonable, but I assure you, that is not.

 

[Alonzo84]

A good 3 months ago, I went to Game stop to return my Xbox 360. That particular day, they offered somewhere around 150 store credit, a little more for a trade in for a ps3. The thing was in pristine condition, opened up, clean, everything perfect. Except for one, when they stood it up in that awkward tower position, the DVDs tray would not open, yet in all other positions it did. They said this is a defect, and offered me $25. I don't care what business classes anyone has taken, or what YOU think is reasonable, but I assure you, that is not.

That's perfectly reasonable. They have to pay someone to fix it and then turn around and sell it...for a profit. It's hard for a company to survive if they break even all the time.

Now, if you put it on craigslist and someone offered you $25, then yeh, that's unreasonable.