Is there a market for older iMacs?

[iMas70]

I’ve been thinking about getting a new iMac. Unfortunately they no longer make 27” so I’d have to get used to a smaller screen. I’d like to sell the computers I have to offset the cost. My daily driver is a 2017 27" iMac, (4.2 GHz i7, 1TB SSD, 40GB). It works great! I wouldn’t think about a new computer if I could upgrade to the newest operating system. It’s the simple things like being able to do math calculations in Notes. I bought my kids a 2015 27” but they hardly used it. It’s a 395x, i7, 24GB. I believe the hard drive is 1TB I started off with a 2012 Mac Mini 2.3 GHz i7 with 16GB RAM and a Thunderbolt Display. That’s going too. I know they are older technology. Any feel for what they might be worth?

 

[Bigwaff]

I wouldn’t think about a new computer if I could upgrade to the newest operating system.

You can.

OpenCore Legacy Patcher

Experience macOS just like before

dortania.github.io

 

[mreg376]

I have the same 2017 iMac, with 64GB. Trade in: $150, Maybe a few hundred on eBay if you're lucky. I would stay way from OpenCore Legacy Patcher -- in exchange for a more recent OS you get less reliability and stability. You can run Ventura on the 2017, which I do, and the machine is still snappy and good for the work I do. Use Firefox, Chrome, or another browser still getting updates, instead of Safari. There's still life left in the old birds -- in another year we'll see.

 

[TumbleDryer]

I got £500 for my 2017 27" 4.2ghz i7, 8Gb VRAM, 64Gb RAM, 256GB SSD on eBay about 18 months ago. So theres still a market for them as Apple are no longer making the larger version. Photographers and designers want the larger screen.

 

[mreg376]

18 months is a long time for a now-9-year old machine.

 

[TumbleDryer]

Of course, my point is there is still some value in them for someone. I wouldn't expect to get £500 now but considering the machine cost around £2500 9 years ago to still get £500 7 years later is very good. £350 would be a good price today I think. I found most people interested wanted the quality screen and the innards were a secondary concern. Mine was fully pimped and a photographer bought it mainly for the screen but got a still very powerful Mac as well, he was more than pleased.

I upgraded to an M4 mini and a third party monitor as Apple no longer do a 27" iMac. I did so mainly to keep up with the latest software but Tahoe makes me wish I had kept the iMac for a while longer. Live and learn haha.

 

[mreg376]

Hey don't get me wrong, it's an excellent machine. I still love mine, and the official low trade-in value is a disgrace. I think they would still be worth $1,000USD if they supported Target Display Mode. But that's not Apple's way.

 

[Shadar]

Can't understand why anyone would want to hold onto a pre-M-series Mac. I cheaped out on one of my machines a few months ago by buying a used 2021 Mac Pro 16" with an M1 Pro and 1TB memory for $800. Looks and runs like a new machine. My other daily driver is an 2025 MacBook Air with an M4.

Between the two machines, my 'old' 2021 with the M1 Pro is by far my favorite for home use. Speed differences are surprising small given one is an M1 Pro and the other a vanilla M4. Still amazes me how good the Pro (and Max!) chips were in the M1 generation. And $800 for a machine that sold originally for $2700 (1TB) and runs like it's new is a heck of a deal given the performance. It runs my 27" Studio Display just fine when needed, but the mini-LED screen on the MacBook Pro is way better (except for size) than the 60hz 27" screen.

 

[mreg376]

Well if you "can't understand" than you've read little of this thread, which is basically about keeping a 27 inch screen.

 

[Starfia]

Hey, iMas70 –

You've probably gained a better idea by now, but here are my thoughts:

I'm sure it depends where in the world you're selling it.

I upgraded from my 2017 27-inch iMac in 2022, and was able to sell it for over 600 USD on eBay. Now I'd optimistically expect perhaps half of that. However, mine had 24 gigs of memory and one-terabyte Fusion Drive.

For people who are looking to buy older Macs (yes, some are), things like 40 gigabytes of memory, a one-terabyte SSD, a detailed description, and good photos that give the impression the item was well cared for, can all make a difference to buyers browsing listings.

And good luck with the upcoming Mac. For me, even my M1 Mac still feels like it was a real upgrade. The 24-inch iMac display does feel all three diagonal inches smaller than a 27-inch display, but it's still great. The lightness, compactness and built-in audio system all feel really impressive; a true arrival that understandably took two decades to reach from the original iMac.

 

[PaulD-UK]

@mreg376 "...which is basically about keeping a 27 inch screen."

Good conditions screens will retain their value going forward. 😃
So keep the screen/case/speakers etc, but use it with a modern AS Mac...

DIY 5k Monitor - success :-)

From @SubDriver (24 May 2025) Converting iMac 5K Retina Display to a Standalone 5K Display I believe the details in the table below are accurate, but I am not 100% certain. I tried my best to use reputable sources (datasheets, etc.) for the info in the table, but some information comes from...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[iMas70]

Currently replying on the 2015 iMac. Fired it up to get the system specs. I see what people mean by preferring the older OS. I'll set up the 2012 Mini and take pics when I have time this week. I usually sell a lot of my Apple devices to friends when it comes time to upgrade. They know I take care of my stuff so it usually looks very close to if not looking brand new. So I'll put the word out to them first. If nobody buys them I'll list on Facebook Marketplace. I used to sell on eBay years ago. Had a couple of bad experiences with dishonest buyers so I'm a little hesitant to list them there. I save all of my Apple boxes so they can be packed nice.

I got the specs for the two iMacs -

2017
27" iMac (8236)
1TB SSD
4.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
Radeon Pro 580 8 GB
40 GB 2400 MHz DDR4

2015
27” IMac Late 2015
2TB Fusion Drive
4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
AMD Radeon R9 M395X 4 GB
16 GB 1867 MHz DDR3

I'm surprised my kids didn't use this more than they did. They were mostly on their iPads and school issued Chromebooks.

 

[PaulD-UK]

@iMas70
"I got the specs for the... iMac...
I'm surprised my kids didn't use this more than they did.
They were mostly on their iPads and school issued Chromebooks."

The iMac is 'yours', the iDevices and Chromebooks are 'theirs'... 😉

Using MacOS requires RTFM, at heart it's just an up-to-date version of the provocative blinking OS command line prompt on a blank screen... Inviting to a few of us, off-putting to most. 😱

It's the legacy of the typewriter, ledgers and filing cabinet's. Other...
The legacy of 'Morocco bound' library shelves.

For 'the kids' back then, a paperback replaced all that, and by the 1980's we got, straight from the curled-up page in the hand to the imagination:
"Case was twenty-four. ...a byproduct of youth and proficiency, jacked into a custom cyberspace deck that projected his disembodied consciousness into the consensual hallucination that was the matrix..."

Steve Jobs made that reality, first with the 3.5mm jack plug - into the consensual hallucination that was an in-your-head iPod playing...
Then, with visionary insight, he enabled evolution-honed dexterity and curiosity to link directly to neural and synaptic consciousness. Us, to iPhone and iPad (or MacBook trackpad), coordinated brain, eye and fingertip...

Without William Gibson's oh-so 1980s cranial neurosurgery jack socket. 😃
A gateway to the collective hallucination, inviting to everyone.
This directness, ownership, is why MacBooks outsell desktop Macs 10:1 or whatever the figure is.

The 'algorithm' isn't (as some equate it to) 'audience' - that's a creator's viewpoint.
The damage is done in the reverse direction, 'addiction'. 😵‍💫

 

[iMas70]

Good points! I got one of my daughters a MacBook when she went to college. She said it's the absolute best! So I guess laptops over desktops for them and maybe many others. I've never really thought about that. My devices are for mobile use, sitting on the couch and pretty much everywhere. I goto my desktop when... actually, I can't really say when. Maybe it's when I want a bigger screen to look at or work on things that I can't/don't want to do on my devices. I have a 14" MacBook that I bought to do "computer stuff" when I'm at my girlfriend's house. Sometimes I think I can be fine using that. Maybe get a 27" screen to connect it to at home.

 

[monokakata]

In 2023 I sold my 2017 iMac Pro (8 core, 2 tb, 64gb) to a college student who needed an Intel processor. I got $1000 for it. I suspect that would be the main market for yours -- people who need Intel.