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Lime iBook G3 - What's it worth?

ddeadserious

ddeadserious

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 28, 2008
671
0
Plymouth, MI
I've got a Lime iBook G3 Clamshell; 466MHz processor, 576MB RAM, 120GB HD, Airport, original yoyo power adapter, a new battery(<10 cycles on it) running os x 10.4.11. It's in 9/10 condition physically, with no marker, etching, or anything like that that alot of these have.

I bought it for my gf, but it just hardly gets used because she mostly uses Facebook and Myspace, both of which have too much flash content to run efficiently on it. So I would like to know how much some people might pay for it, so I can convince her to sell it to get a computer she can actually use.

Any idea what this would be worth?

Thanks in advance!
 
Just because its such a rare model, and you've got it maxed out in RAM, it has a new battery and AirPort card installed, I would say its worth about $150 or so.
 
in the uk, a graphite one of these went on ebay for £150. For the green, i'd say you may get more than that even, over here then, you'd be looking at roughly $275
 
I think it fits into that category of "rare but not desirable". It's basically worth whatever someone is willing to pay, browse ebay and look for similar ones and see what they're going for.
 
SteveG4Cube said:
I think it fits into that category of "rare but not desirable". It's basically worth whatever someone is willing to pay, browse ebay and look for similar ones and see what they're going for.
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That pretty much sums it up. Its gotten to the point where its too slow to be very practical for most people (as you experienced with your gf), and someone who just wants a clamshell iBook can pick up a tangerine or blueberry for $30-$60 without much trouble. The only people who would really go for yours is someone who is an avid collector seeking out that color and processor speed. There just aren't many people out there willing to pay a premium for an 8 year old laptop right now, and getting a much faster white iBook will only cost them a few bucks more.
 
As you can tell by my username... yes. :D You can use Firefox and get and extension to turn Flash off. That will help the machine browse the web more easily. :)
 
You can also use Click to Flash to do the same thing in Safari.

As for what it's worth, I scout out eBay for these occasionally to see what they're going for. When I looked back in March they seemed to be about £100 roughly, but I can't remember the specifics of models etc.

Seemed a fair few people got them for their kids to use, seeing as they're hardy enough to be dropped etc
 
fun173 said:
wow i cant justify spending 200+ for an almost obsolete machine even if it is rare but im sure some people would
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that's the weird thing about ebay. i think a combination of perceived need + immediacy of the internet + bidding fever + the amount of 'rare' items that come up is irresistible to some people

from the sound of it, the original poster could get close to what these people got with a good ebay posting
 
Thanks for the input guys, I appreciate it.

I bought it off eBay for $275 about a year ago(running OS 9.2) and installed 10.4 on it. So with what some of those went for, I could probably re sell it and make 90-100% of my money back...

Now... just to convince the girlfriend that it's essentially useless to her(albeit cool as heck)
 
Alright, magically convinced her. Will be purchasing a Macbook for her this week.

Should be up for sale soon, thanks for the input guys/gals.
 
ddeadserious said:
No more input on this? Figured there'd be more opinions, I thought this was a pretty "sought-after" Mac.
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I would consider this iBook as almost completely useless. But maybe you can sucker someone into giving you $50 - $100 for it. I'm not really a sentimental one for computers, because all they do is take up space.
 
Cassie said:
Something I've always wondered; why is this model so rare? Just a short production life?
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Apparently, it was only available online, and not in stores. And since it was so "loud" and obnoxious looking, few were bought, and thus few were made, making them somewhat of a rarity.

GimmSlack12 said:
I would consider this iBook as almost completely useless. But maybe you can sucker someone into giving you $50 - $100 for it. I'm not really a sentimental one for computers, because all they do is take up space.
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Perhaps you shouldn't be looking around the "Apple Collectors" forum then, this is where discuss collectible models and "almost completely useless" Apple products. Generally, people don't purchase collectibles to use them, but more to have them.
 
ddeadserious said:
Perhaps you shouldn't be looking around the "Apple Collectors" forum then, this is where discuss collectible models and "almost completely useless" Apple products. Generally, people don't purchase collectibles to use them, but more to have them.
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Fair enough, but I was trying to give an honest perspective on how much you may be able to get for the iBook (regardless of my cynicism).
 
GimmeSlack12 said:
Fair enough, but I was trying to give an honest perspective on how much you may be able to get for the iBook (regardless of my cynicism).
Click to expand...

I'm aware, but as you can see by the eBay screenshot, people are willing to pay a pretty penny for them, fortunately(for me, that is).

Thank you for your input.
 
Clamshells can sometimes be a goldmine :D I picked up a couple of 466 Graphites with Airport a few years ago for around $40 each from a library and flipped each one for over $200 immediately after.

People just don't realize they are becoming classics, plus they are built like tanks.
 
coupdetat said:
Clamshells can sometimes be a goldmine :D I picked up a couple of 466 Graphites with Airport a few years ago for around $40 each from a library and flipped each one for over $200 immediately after.

People just don't realize they are becoming classics, plus they are built like tanks.
Click to expand...

That's awesome

I wish they could handle flash content better, because they'd make excellent kid-on-the-internet computers with how durable they are, but most kid sites like disney and nickelodeon are filled with flash based content and games.

Side note: now for sale in the marketplace.
 
You see clam shells going for about £200 on ebay in the UK all the time. You have a top of the line one in one of the most sought after colours so you should get a nice price for it. A 466 G3 is by no means useless (95% of users dont actually need more power then that) and its' bulletproof design makes it great for children. Stick it on with a reserve of $250 and you should easily get it. Lovely machine though, seems a shame to part with it.
 
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