Macbook Pro Retina resale value

[Virgule82]

I was just thinking: The Macbook Pro retina is very expensive because of cutting-edge tech (display, large SDD). I'm guessing Apple is keeping the old macbook pro design precisely because of the cost issue.

It seems likely that as the tech matures, prices will fall drastically towards the normal Macbook Pro level. Wouldn't this mean that the resale value MBP retina will fall comparatively fast as well?

Just a thought.

 

[mattopotamus]

I was just thinking: The Macbook Pro retina is very expensive because of cutting-edge tech (display, large SDD). I'm guessing Apple is keeping the old macbook pro design precisely because of the cost issue.

It seems likely that as the tech matures, prices will fall drastically towards the normal Macbook Pro level. Wouldn't this mean that the resale value MBP retina will fall comparatively fast as well?

Just a thought.

IMO, in a year, you could still get $1600 for the base model in great condition. I sold my early 2011 w/ a SSD for $900 a month ago

 

[GoCubsGo]

I would imagine so. Similar to how much one paid for the first Aluminum PowerBook and such. Your resale value will still be higher than anything I've ever seen with a Windows laptop.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Apple's not keeping the optical drive MBPs out of cost issue. If someone wants a less expensive Mac laptop the Air is now just as capable as the MBs were. The optical MBPs are kicking around b/c Apple doesn't want to lose sales while its transitioning. The worst thing it could do is drop the tried and true MBPs during back to school season for the Retinas and then Sharp or whoever is making the screens can't make them fast enough.

Macs have a long tradition of good resale value so I don't expect the Retinas to be any different. PBs use to be hellishly more expensive than the Retina MBP -- I think one iteration set me back nearly $3000 and that was 15 years ago. But I got a decent coin when I sold it a couple years later so actual cost per month wasn't that much.

 

[beamer8912]

I was just thinking: The Macbook Pro retina is very expensive because of cutting-edge tech (display, large SDD). I'm guessing Apple is keeping the old macbook pro design precisely because of the cost issue.

It seems likely that as the tech matures, prices will fall drastically towards the normal Macbook Pro level. Wouldn't this mean that the resale value MBP retina will fall comparatively fast as well?

Just a thought.

Yea this was my issue as well. It'd be great to buy a new Retina MBP w/ the education discount and then resell it next year for minimal loss ($100-200). But if it follows the macbook air price, within a few years it will drop almost $1000 in base value. Next year we might see Retina MBP (13" and 15") at ~$1500 price points. In this case, your 1 year old MBP might lose almost half its value within a year

 

[Stetrain]

I doubt it will fall that much in the near future.

When the Unibody Macbook Pro was first announced, it started at $1999. Later there was a model closer to $1500, but it didn't have a dedicated GPU.

Four years later and it's only down to $1799 for a model with a dedicated GPU.

I think that we'll probably see starting prices stay right around the $1999 mark for a long time to come on the 15" Retina model with dedicated GPU. We'll just see better specs at that price.

A 13" Retina Macbook Pro might fill the $1500-$2000 bracket, with the Macbook Air models taking up the $999-1500 bracket.

The 15" Macbook Pro has hovered around the $1999 mark for years and years, I expect that to continue.