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MAC users are emotionally attached
- Thread starter LuvKaya
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yes. and yes. yes because money is tight. and yes because the "thrill" of being a mac owner is gone.
People don't buy a Mac for the thrill, but because they want a consumer computer which doesn't suck.
People buy and sell for a multitude of reasons
Some sell to have the "best"
Some sell because their machine no longer does what they need
Some sell because they need the money
Some sell because ________
Some buy looking for a deal/steal
Some buy looking for value
Some buy looking for specific hardware
Some buy to collect
Some buy ________
You can't stereotype any of it
But you can say the price will always be what the market will bear
If you are willing to pay the price... buy it
If you aren't, then don't... but don't complain the price is too high
Because either someone will pay the price, the price will drop, or it won't sell
Pretty simple actually
Woof, Woof - Dawg
Some sell to have the "best"
Some sell because their machine no longer does what they need
Some sell because they need the money
Some sell because ________
Some buy looking for a deal/steal
Some buy looking for value
Some buy looking for specific hardware
Some buy to collect
Some buy ________
You can't stereotype any of it
But you can say the price will always be what the market will bear
If you are willing to pay the price... buy it
If you aren't, then don't... but don't complain the price is too high
Because either someone will pay the price, the price will drop, or it won't sell
Pretty simple actually
Woof, Woof - Dawg
So are Honda owners more attached than Ford owners? Hondas hold onto their value more than Fords do. There is a market that places a higher value on Macs and similarly equipped PC's. Over time, the PC will be worth less to the market than the Mac.
Are Mac owners emotionally attached to their machines...yes. Does emotional attachment color what one is willing to sell ANY item for...of course. Does emotion color what a buyer will pay for a product...often times, yes. Is it the reason for higher prices for used Macs across the board...no.
Are Mac owners emotionally attached to their machines...yes. Does emotional attachment color what one is willing to sell ANY item for...of course. Does emotion color what a buyer will pay for a product...often times, yes. Is it the reason for higher prices for used Macs across the board...no.
if you go to craigslist right now. there are about 3 ads that will say "i thought being a mac user will be cool ,but im not a mac guy so im selling my mac."
how do you read that statement
but just like "macdawg" said, there are many reasons why people sell stuff.
it sounds like you are assuming one only sells something just because they dont like it.
1) I'm inflexible and just can't change my PC ways
2) I'm impatient and didn't give MacOS time
3) The Mac wasn't the chick magnet I'd hoped it would be (it didn't overcome my flawed looks, or bad personality, or inherent dorkiness)
aww man. you had me going until the last sentence. lmao.
okay ppl. lets stop with the boring economic talk. we all GET that point.
Usually it means someone switched and was disappointed because they couldn't cut/paste files in the finder, couldn't delete selected items from the trash, couldn't resize windows from the side, et. al. In other words, it didn't work like Windows, so they were uncomfortable and switched back without taking the time to understand that OSX isn't Windows.
Woof, Woof - Dawg
How do I read that statement?
stolen Mac
Woof, Woof - Dawg
LMAO . prolly so.
okay macdawg. dont get serious on me now.
i read your longgggg reply Hehehe.
no. im not saying one sell stuff cause they dont like it. just the opposite they love it tooo much. lol.even when the ad says they have already bought a new mac. the price is still high for the used one.
just my observation.
well thanks all to a lively discussion
i look forward to chating with you again sometime.
ciao
You are wrong in thinking that the true resale value of a Mac has anything to do with emotional attachment. The reason being is that while the starting price or the price one hopes for is usually higher than what they wind up getting, the final value is usually well within the going rate of a used Mac. So technically yes, the starting price likely has some emotion behind it but the final price usually does not. In order for your elementary theory to be proven true you would have to locate which sale offset all future sales. I seriously doubt many can do that.
When I buy a used Mac or anything used I search various websites to see if the asking price is at all in line with what the going rate happens to be. I use craigslist, eBay, MacRumors, and a few other sites (if the item is Mac related). I will make an offer based on use, fair market value (look that one up if you're lost), need, and how much life is left in the item being sold.
Now, I will say that when someone buys something they're usually buying it with hard earned money. Some have to save, some put it on a credit card and pay over time, some pay cash outright that comes easy to them. However they pay for their merchandise can further dictate the emotional value. Emotional value is not a term neither you nor I coined. It's a valid way of saying that owners generally do have an emotional attachment to things that they've purchased because they had to actually work for it. Even if it was bought for them, they likely had to work for it in some way. Therefore, when a Mac user or an owner of just about anything decides to sell something their asking price may have a hint of emotional value sunk in.
However, there is no such thing and never will be such a thing as emotional economics. What you are likely referring to are trends. That is another term that you see often, a term that you cannot "coin". A 12" PowerBook holds a special place in the Mac collector's lineup because it is the only 12" Mac laptop available. Apple moved away from the 12" screens and continued to bring plastic 13" MacBooks and Aluminum (or once Titanium) 15" MacBook Pros. Later they introduced a 13" MBP leaving the 13" MB to tread water in the "non pro" camp. Either way, the 13" MB or MBP in no way compares to the 12" PB in terms of value. The value behind a 12" PB has little to do with emotions more so than it has to do with trend, supply and demand. Many believe a 12" PB can do what a $300 Windows netbook can do. Again, not based on emotion.
I believe you are wrong because you are incapable of defining emotion as it relates to economics. I also believe that you are going to take any statement here that goes against your wild inane thoughts and call them sensitivity statements. Where I am most sensitive is where people such as yourself fail to comprehend how the price point of a good comes to be and that you consistently try to force your theory by comparing apples and oranges.
Some key terms to perhaps google are:
Fair Market Value
Emotional Value
Supply and Demand
Trends
The problem with this entire thread is that it was not started so that you could engage in mature discussion over why Macs have a higher resale value. In my opinion you started it to get a rise out of people. If I go to your favorite Windows site I am certain I could get a similar reaction. The problem is the resale value of a windows computer is nothing to discuss because there is no real resale value.
I think MacDawg has said it the best throughout the thread.
And am I the only one who sees no real point in this thread? Seems sort of troll-ish to me.
And am I the only one who sees no real point in this thread? Seems sort of troll-ish to me.
They are emotionally attached, but not to their Macs, but to their wallets. Prices for used Macs _cannot_ be inflated, because the price is exactly what someone is willing to sell for and someone else is willing to buy for.
This "sentimental attachment" that you are phantasizing about is in reality cold bargaining. Or do you think you will find a seller who is stupid enough to sell cheaper to you because of your pseudo-psychologically arguments?
Three clever guys trying to make you think you'll get a bargain buying their computer. That's what I'll write in my own ad when I sell my Mac on its fifth birthday. For original price minus 20 percent
About the most idiotic thing you could have written.
I sold a revision A G3 blue and white tower on ebay a year ago starting at $1 w/no reserve and fetched $100 for it. Pretty impressive considering that revision had major issues running OS 10 (300MHz model).
This is clearly a boring economic issue.
I fear that you have an emotional attachment to this very topic which prevents you from grasping the very simple concept of a "market."
I think it's both ways.
One, sometimes people just aren't willing to wait to buy a refurb mac.
I've seen used Mini's, the same or similarly spec'd, go for more at ebay than what you can get it for at Apple refurb. So yes, there's some emotional attachment(maybe to winning the auction and bidding more than you should) and maybe some naive buyers(and/or shillers)
Could you keep us updated? I'd really like to see what it goes for, as I have one myself.
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