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MacBook experts... I need your help selling my old MacBook Pro

G

Guapple

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 1, 2020
21
5
I have a MacBook Pro (2012) that I’m looking to sell, and I’d like some help in setting a correct/fair price. I’ll list some specs and details below:

MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012)
Processor: 2.6ghz Intel Core i7
Memory: 8GB 1600MHz DDR3
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GT 650M 1024 MB, Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB
Storage: 500GB SSD

The screen has a couple of dead pixels/temporary burn-in, and it needs a battery service, but otherwise it operates fine.

Looking to not rip anyone off, or short change myself. Thanks. I’m in the UK if that also helps.
 
I always look at the sold eBay listings to get an idea of realistic prices. If you subtract the eBay fees that amount should be what you’re willing to accept.
 
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Go to swappa.com>Laptops>Macbook Pro, scroll down to the 2012 models and poke around there. Even if there are no 2012's currently for sale there's a list of recently sold units, plus a button to click for price history. That should give you some idea. If the battery needs to be replaced, Apple will charge $199, which will need to be factored into your asking price (which may or may not, at that point, be a whole lot more than zero),
 
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I would recommend you selling it in terms of parts instead of selling it as a laptop as a whole as you would make more out of it. For example, you can most likely more money out of selling the logic board than selling the entire laptop as a bundle. You could check on eBay to see if you can sell your MacBook Pro in terms of parts.
 
arche3 said:
Hate to break it to you but it's not worth anything.
Click to expand...
Damn, it sounds like I basically got scammed by the guy who sold it to me then 🤦‍♂️.

I can’t remember if it was eBay or Gumtree, but I only bought it around 4 years ago, and it was sold to me as “excellent condition”. At this time MacBook Pro’s at that spec were going for around £700-£800, so let’s just say it wasn’t cheap 🙁.
 
I'd definitely try selling it for parts or "as-is" as suggested - in that respect, it's still worth something.
 
Guapple said:
Damn, it sounds like I basically got scammed by the guy who sold it to me then 🤦‍♂️.

I can’t remember if it was eBay or Gumtree, but I only bought it around 4 years ago, and it was sold to me as “excellent condition”. At this time MacBook Pro’s at that spec were going for around £700-£800, so let’s just say it wasn’t cheap 🙁.
Click to expand...
You were not scammed. The seller offered you a working device at a particular price and you accepted. You have had 4 years of service from what then was a five year old laptop so I don’t see any scam.
 
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Amethyst1 said:
I'd definitely try selling it for parts or "as-is" as suggested - in that respect, it's still worth something.
Click to expand...
Just been checking eBay actually. There’s a few MacBooks on there, in seemingly worse condition than mine, and the seller is asking for over £200.

This one is the 2013 model, and the screen on this one doesn’t work at all:
www.ebay.co.uk

Apple MacBook Pro Retina 15" Intel Core i7 2.7GHz 16GB Ram 512GB SSD 2013 Laptop | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple MacBook Pro Retina 15" Intel Core i7 2.7GHz 16GB Ram 512GB SSD 2013 Laptop at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk

Perhaps I could get around £150 for it 🤔
 
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Expos of 1969 said:
You were not scammed. The seller offered you a working device at a particular price and you accepted. You have had 4 years of service from what then was a five year old laptop so I don’t see any scam.
Click to expand...
It was also listed as “excellent condition” which it quite clearly wasn’t. It has done what I’ve needed it to do over the past 4 years though, at least when it’s plugged in 😂.

I’m looking to upgrade to a MacBook Air M1 soon (New, won’t be making this mistake again). Was just hoping to recoup some money against it.
 
Guapple said:
It was also listed as “excellent condition” which it quite clearly wasn’t. It has done what I’ve needed it to do over the past 4 years though, at least when it’s plugged in 😂.

I’m looking to upgrade to a MacBook Air M1 soon (New, won’t be making this mistake again). Was just hoping to recoup some money against it.
Click to expand...
Well, chalk it up to a learning experience.

I recently (2 months ago) replaced my early 2013 MacBook Pro with a new MacBook Air M1 and I am pleased so far. I don’t edit video or develop apps so I chose the base level MBA this time. My MBP was overkill for my needs but I chose it over the MBA in 2013 because until recently in my opinion, the MBAs had very poor screen displays. Dull and fuzzy compared to Retina.

Enjoy your new MBA.
 
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arche3 said:
Hate to break it to you but it's not worth anything.
Click to expand...
Hate to break it to you but your post is highly misleading! Here's a reality check......
The MacbookPro10,1 A1398 referred to is certainly worth something, as an aquintance of mine sold one last month for 500€ (approx US$593), and that is approx the current going price here. Now that amount may be peanut pocket-money to you, but to many it's serious cash.
Granted it's not a sought-after MBPro by collectors, due to GPU related issues etc, and notwithstanding it's retina screen, imho it was not a match on the previous mid 2012 MBPro9,1 (A1286) which was the last of the 'golden-age' MBPros - which on other forums here I've highly recommended to anyone looking for the last of the dependable and fully upragedable unibody MBPros, and in terms of desirability and future longevity could imho be rated alongside top Bordeaux grand crus such as Chateau Petrus or Chateau Margaux - which are indeed also great 'keepers'! It's simplicity itself to swap the HD for an SSD and transforms the performance of the 15" MBPro9,1.
 
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Guapple said:
Just been checking eBay actually. There’s a few MacBooks on there, in seemingly worse condition than mine, and the seller is asking for over £200.

This one is the 2013 model, and the screen on this one doesn’t work at all:
www.ebay.co.uk

Apple MacBook Pro Retina 15" Intel Core i7 2.7GHz 16GB Ram 512GB SSD 2013 Laptop | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple MacBook Pro Retina 15" Intel Core i7 2.7GHz 16GB Ram 512GB SSD 2013 Laptop at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk

Perhaps I could get around £150 for it 🤔
Click to expand...
You can ask anything but good luck getting.
 
CooperBox said:
Hate to break it to you but your post is highly misleading! Here's a reality check......
The MacbookPro10,1 A1398 referred to is certainly worth something, as an aquintance of mine sold one last month for 500€ (approx US$593), and that is approx the current going price here. Now that amount may be peanut pocket-money to you, but to many it's serious cash.
Granted it's not a sought-after MBPro by collectors, due to GPU related issues etc, and notwithstanding it's retina screen, imho it was not a match on the previous mid 2012 MBPro9,1 (A1286) which was the last of the 'golden-age' MBPros - which on other forums here I've highly recommended to anyone looking for the last of the dependable and fully upragedable unibody MBPros, and in terms of desirability and future longevity could imho be rated alongside top Bordeaux grand crus such as Chateau Petrus or Chateau Margaux - which are indeed also great 'keepers'! It's simplicity itself to swap the HD for an SSD and transforms the performance of the 15" MBPro9,1.
Click to expand...
Needs new battery. Screen issues. Not worth anything. It is literally not working as a laptop. What happens when you don't have a wall outlet?
 
Since you have a monitor with dead pixels, realistically your target audience is somebody who is looking for a working logic board for the MBP they already have. Long shot I would say as it is 9 years old and nobody should want to repair it unless the repair is dirt cheap.
 
You will at least get something for it. Put it on eBay and be honest about the condition and you will probably get £100+ for it. It’s definitely worth something to someone.
 
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Always amazes me what people think they can get for 2013, 2014, and 2015 MacBook Pro 15". Every now and then, even though I shouldn't I give some thought to picking up a 15" MacBook Pro, and almost jumped on one for $450 over the weekend, until he showed me that he was at 920 battery cycles!

That, plus the fact that the 2015 MBP's likely won't get any macOS updates past Monterey, tells me it's time to stop looking on CL, FB Marketplace, and ebay!

Still, people asking a grand for a 2015 15"?
 
dantracht said:
Always amazes me what people think they can get for 2013, 2014, and 2015 MacBook Pro 15". Every now and then, even though I shouldn't I give some thought to picking up a 15" MacBook Pro, and almost jumped on one for $450 over the weekend, until he showed me that he was at 920 battery cycles!

That, plus the fact that the 2015 MBP's likely won't get any macOS updates past Monterey, tells me it's time to stop looking on CL, FB Marketplace, and ebay!

Still, people asking a grand for a 2015 15"?
Click to expand...

In my area, it's only stores asking $1,000 for 2015 15s. You generally get a 90-day to 1-year warranty and the models are usually pristine. That said, I'm seeing the store sales stagnate - in iMac 27s as well. The individual sales are usually more reasonable, typically half or a bit more than half of what the stores are asking. Some individuals price at higher than market and their stuff just sits. You can tell because they repost their ads every other day.

You had some people dumping their Macs ahead of WWDC this year worried that the M1X announcements would tank used prices. I have heard of regrets from doing that. The big problem was that the leakers sounded so convincing in the certainty of new models this summer. The 2015s may hold their value better for the next six months if we have to wait until 2022 for the M1X MacBook Pros. I didn't think that was going to happen but supply chains might really be that bad. I really don't want to buy an Air as I like bigger screens and the 16 sounds fantastic.
 
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