Need advice on Mac Studio M3 Ultra 512GB/4TB

[Kuma84]

I’m considering moving from a Mac Studio M3 Ultra (512GB / 4TB, like new) to a more portable setup, and trying to figure out the best place to sell it.
For those who’ve sold high-end Macs, where did you get the best balance between price, safety, and fees? eBay, local, or forums?
Also curious if these are actually selling near listing prices, or if the market is softer than it looks.

 

[dymac]

You really need to think about if you can live with less RAM. I made the mistake of getting the Studio M4 with 128GB of RAM and it is really limiting my workflow. I should have gone with M3 Ultra and at least 256GB. I considered selling it and getting the M3 Ultra but with the M5 coming soon I decided to live with the M4 for now.

 

[SDAVE]

FB Marketplace and Offerup/Craigslist (meet at a police station) is good to avoid eBay + PayPal fees

Also M5 Max could be a decent setup for you if you want portable, can always dock it when at the desk. Only downside is as someone said above lower amount of RAM.

 

[Kuma84]

I travel a lot, so I’ve decided to stick with my MacBook M5, makes more sense for my workflow. That’s why I’m letting the Mac studio go.

 

[Kuma84]

Yeah, I bought the MacBook M5 with 128GB RAM

 

[SDAVE]

Yeah, I bought the MacBook M5 with 128GB RAM

Base M5? Going to be a huge difference between the M3 Ultra and M5 base

 

[MacCheetah3]

Yeah, I bought the MacBook M5 with 128GB RAM

Base M5?

It would be the M5 Max, which is only available as a configuration option for the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

• The base M5 SOC is configurable up to 32GB of RAM.
• The M5 Pro:
- 15-core CPU, 16-core GPU (only available on the 14-inch MBP) is configurable up to 48GB of RAM
- 18-core CPU, 20-core GPU is configurable up to 64GB of RAM.
• The M5 Max is configurable up to 128GB of RAM.

Going to be a huge difference between the M3 Ultra and M5 base

Apple M3 Ultra (28-CPU 60-GPU) vs Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 32-GPU) - Benchmark, comparison and differences

Apple M3 Ultra (28-CPU 60-GPU) vs Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 32-GPU) – Benchmarks, Specifications & Comparison. Which CPU is faster, more efficient, and better for gaming & productivity?

www.cpu-monkey.com

Apple M3 Ultra (32-CPU 80-GPU) vs Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 32-GPU) - Benchmark, comparison and differences

Apple M3 Ultra (32-CPU 80-GPU) vs Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 32-GPU) – Benchmarks, Specifications & Comparison. Which CPU is faster, more efficient, and better for gaming & productivity?

www.cpu-monkey.com

Apple M3 Ultra (32-CPU 80-GPU) vs Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) - Benchmark, comparison and differences

Apple M3 Ultra (32-CPU 80-GPU) vs Apple M5 Max (18-CPU 40-GPU) – Benchmarks, Specifications & Comparison. Which CPU is faster, more efficient, and better for gaming & productivity?

www.cpu-monkey.com

 

[MacStudioPlease]

I have the same question. eBay seems to offer the best on price, some apple resellers getting close to apple store prices there. But also the most likely to get scammed as they can just take the item, say something else was sent/not working/not in condition described, and you're in trouble.

I'm considering looking at authorised Apple outlets, but so far all of them said they only take direct from Apple

And there's always Apple themselves, but that's for less than a quarter of the original price.

 

[SDAVE]

I have the same question. eBay seems to offer the best on price, some apple resellers getting close to apple store prices there. But also the most likely to get scammed as they can just take the item, say something else was sent/not working/not in condition described, and you're in trouble.

I'm considering looking at authorised Apple outlets, but so far all of them said they only take direct from Apple

And there's always Apple themselves, but that's for less than a quarter of the original price.

You're going to pay eBay + PayPal fees 13.25% to 15% as a seller.

 

[MacStudioPlease]

15% is nothing compared to the 80% depreciation offered by Apple.

 

[philipma1957]

I have the same question. eBay seems to offer the best on price, some apple resellers getting close to apple store prices there. But also the most likely to get scammed as they can just take the item, say something else was sent/not working/not in condition described, and you're in trouble.

I'm considering looking at authorised Apple outlets, but so far all of them said they only take direct from Apple

And there's always Apple themselves, but that's for less than a quarter of the original price.

selling on ebay is very hard when you sell hi end items. a m3ultra 512gb ram with 4tb ssd is very costly.
I checked on ebay and found a few for sale . there where 3 sellers with ones under 2000 all likely to be no good as price is too cheap.
I do not see anyone selling a 512gb 32 core 4tb ssd model that is asking a 'real' price all saying they have your model want unreal low numbers that are too low to trust.

I would not sell yours on ebay if I owned it.

 

[MacCheetah3]

I have the same question. eBay seems to offer the best on price, some apple resellers getting close to apple store prices there. But also the most likely to get scammed as they can just take the item, say something else was sent/not working/not in condition described, and you're in trouble.

I'm considering looking at authorised Apple outlets, but so far all of them said they only take direct from Apple

And there's always Apple themselves, but that's for less than a quarter of the original price.

I checked on ebay and found a few for sale . there where 3 sellers with ones under 2000 all likely to be no good as price is too cheap.
I do not see anyone selling a 512gb 32 core 4tb ssd model that is asking a 'real' price all saying they have your model want unreal low numbers that are too low to trust.

Those are most likely scams, typically via fresh, 0 ratings, or hacked accounts — often abandoned and had passwords, etc., land on dark web lists.

10 common eBay scams to watch out for

Learn about the most common eBay scams every buyer and seller should know about, and the key warning signs you’re dealing with a scammer.

lifelock.norton.com

eBay has fallen far from the typical “sold as-is”, some negotiation allowed, wide audience marketplace to the now common “power seller,” ‘hit and run’ mainstream cesspool.

 

[TechnoMonk]

It’s hard to sell a high end model given the trust issues on both sides. Is the studio still under AC+ that can be transferred to the buyer? If I am spending anything more than 5-6 k, I would look for warranty left over.

 

[bobmclearning]

Do not sell that computer for less than $20,000. The 512 GB models have become rare and coveted among AI enthusiasts. Do not take into account any eBay listings with 0 feedback. They are universally scams in which no item is shipped. How it works is eBay takes a couple weeks to refund buyers in these cases. The scammers immediately transfer the money so that when eBay tries to debit their account for the refund, the money is already gone.

That is a $20,000 machine in the current market based on legit eBay listings that have recently actually sold. Those computers are slower to sell due to high cost but worth the wait for you as a seller. If you have an established eBay account with a record of good feedback, list that computer for 20 grand and be somewhat patient. It will sell.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Do not sell that computer for less than $20,000. The 512 GB models have become rare and coveted among AI enthusiasts. Do not take into account any eBay listings with 0 feedback. They are universally scams in which no item is shipped. How it works is eBay takes a couple weeks to refund buyers in these cases. The scammers immediately transfer the money so that when eBay tries to debit their account for the refund, the money is already gone.

That is a $20,000 machine in the current market based on legit eBay listings that have recently actually sold. Those computers are slower to sell due to high cost but worth the wait for you as a seller. If you have an established eBay account with a record of good feedback, list that computer for 20 grand and be somewhat patient. It will sell.

20 grand? Lucky to get 7-8 K.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Do not sell that computer for less than $20,000. The 512 GB models have become rare and coveted among AI enthusiasts. Do not take into account any eBay listings with 0 feedback. They are universally scams in which no item is shipped. How it works is eBay takes a couple weeks to refund buyers in these cases. The scammers immediately transfer the money so that when eBay tries to debit their account for the refund, the money is already gone.

That is a $20,000 machine in the current market based on legit eBay listings that have recently actually sold. Those computers are slower to sell due to high cost but worth the wait for you as a seller. If you have an established eBay account with a record of good feedback, list that computer for 20 grand and be somewhat patient. It will sell.

20 grand? Lucky to get 7-8 K.

I think Bob is referring to listings such as:

RARE Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra 512GB RAM 80 GPU Cores 4TB SSD | eBay

There are very few of them floating around out there. The 4TB SSD provides plenty of headroom to keep a wide array of models on hand. Amazing machine for LLMs. If you're reading this, you probably know why you want to buy this machine, so I won't bore you with a lengthy sales pitch.

www.ebay.com

2025 MAC STUDIO M3 ULTRA 512GB RAM 32-CORE 80-CORE GPU 4TB NYC PICK UP ONLY | eBay

I can disconnect from my Apple ID (original owner here). Got this puppy to run local LLMs. Will be sad to see him go, but apple did discontinue the 512ram model. so here we are.

www.ebay.com

Mac Studio M3 Ultra 512GB RAM 4TB SSD 32 Core CPU 80 Core GPU 2yr Warranty | eBay

Mint Mac Studio M3 Ultra 32 Core CPU 80 Core GPU 512GB RAM 4TB SSD (2025). It's in like new condition. Works perfectly. It's wiped and ready for a new owner with Mac OS Tahoe. 2 years left of AppleCare warranty.

www.ebay.com

APPLE MAC STUDIO M3 ULTRA 512GB RAM 32-CORE 80-CORE GPU 4TB SSD - Excellent | eBay

Storage: 4TB SSD. GPU: 80-core. Chip: Apple M3 Ultra. Computer has been fully tested to insure full functionality. iCloud account has been removed, and device is factory reset. Ready for a new owner.

www.ebay.com

Mac Studio M3 Ultra 512GB RAM 4TB SSD 32 Core CPU 80 Core GPU 2yrs AppleCare+ | eBay

Mac Studio M3 Ultra 32 Core CPU 80 Core GPU 512GB RAM 4TB SSD (2025). It's in like new condition. Works perfectly. It's wiped and ready for a new owner with Mac OS Tahoe. 2 years left of AppleCare+ Apple care expires April 28th 2028.

www.ebay.com

APPLE MAC STUDIO M3 ULTRA 512GB RAM 32-CORE 80-CORE GPU 4TB SSD | eBay

Bought three of these just before Apple quit selling this one. My wife says we need a new car instead. Sad day for me. This is only for one studio. Please don’t be the guy that thinks I would sell 3 for this price

www.ebay.com

2026 APPLE MAC STUDIO M3 ULTRA 512GB RAM 32-CORE 80-CORE GPU 512 GB 4TB SSD | eBay

This configuration no longer exists. Apple stopped offering the M3 Ultra 512GB build due to the global RAM shortage. DRAM prices have surged over 300% since mid-2025, and manufacturers have redirected capacity almost entirely toward AI datacenter chips. The M4 Max tops out at 128GB. It is...

www.ebay.com

APPLE MAC STUDIO M3 ULTRA 512GB RAM 32-CORE 80-CORE GPU 4TB SSD - Excellent | eBay

Lightly used M3 Ultra 512gb 4tb version. Currently has Apple Care One

www.ebay.com

APPLE MAC STUDIO M3 ULTRA 512GB RAM 32-CORE 80-CORE GPU 4TB SSD | eBay

Storage: 4TB SSD. GPU: 80-core. Chip: Apple M3 Ultra. Ports: 6x Thunderbolt 5, 2x USB-A, HDMI, SDXC card slot, headphone jack. Serial Number: FRJ241NQ7D (verifiable directly with Apple). Apple Part Number: Z1CE.

www.ebay.com

Mac Studio M3 Ultra 512GB RAM 4TB SSD - Rare! Box And Has AppleCare+ Works Great | eBay

The Mac Studio M3 Ultra with 512GB RAM and 4TB SSD is a rare and high-performance desktop designed by Apple. The ample storage capacity ensures you have plenty of space for storing large files and running multiple applications simultaneously.

www.ebay.com

2025 MAC STUDIO M3 ULTRA 512GB RAM 32-CORE 80-CORE GPU 4TB SSD LOCAL PICK UP | eBay

Bought this to run local LLMs.

www.ebay.com

Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra 512GB RAM NEW SEALED 32-Core 80-Core GPU 4TB SSD 2026 | eBay

NEW SEALED and in hand. I purchased this unit back in February and received it a week ago. Available for local pick up if you are in the South Bay (San Jose) or Santa Cruz.

www.ebay.com

I looked through some of the sellers’ feedback and other (recently) listed items, if any. A few looked like they could be legit, with somewhat recent transaction history and a related item (e.g., XDR display). However, there was still enough missing that would certainly cause me hesitation — assuming I could afford such a purchase.

Assuming, as a seller, you shouldn’t get scammed, I would predict a person could fetch the original cost, that is, $11 to $12K for the 512GB RAM + 4TB SDD config.

 

[SDAVE]

Do not sell that computer for less than $20,000. The 512 GB models have become rare and coveted among AI enthusiasts. Do not take into account any eBay listings with 0 feedback. They are universally scams in which no item is shipped. How it works is eBay takes a couple weeks to refund buyers in these cases. The scammers immediately transfer the money so that when eBay tries to debit their account for the refund, the money is already gone.

That is a $20,000 machine in the current market based on legit eBay listings that have recently actually sold. Those computers are slower to sell due to high cost but worth the wait for you as a seller. If you have an established eBay account with a record of good feedback, list that computer for 20 grand and be somewhat patient. It will sell.

No one's gonna pay $20k for that when M5 Ultra is around the corner lol

Also these super high RAM version of Mac Studio are very niche, will be difficult to sell without a huge loss.

 

[MacStudioPlease]

Assuming, as a seller, you shouldn’t get scammed

That was the whole point of this thread, to find credible sources and methods to SELL a Studio, somehow it's turned into where not to buy them from. 😅

 

[deepu1314]

Is there a price you have in mind.

 

[chars1ub0w]

Also these super high RAM version of Mac Studio are very niche, will be difficult to sell without a huge loss.

It really depends on the amount of Unified RAM one needs to run the latest open source models, which are supposed to be nearly as good as the (closed) frontier models.
If it just fits, great. If not, you still have to buy two. This is from hugging face.co:

For example, Deepseek V4 Flash has 284B parameters (mixture of experts means 13B active at a time) and an incredible context length 1M tokens (about 500K words)!
It would be nice if it fit in a single Mac Studio but maybe not, does anyone know?
Using Thunderbolt RDMA would slow things down, but maybe a cluster of two/three/four could do it?

 

[keksikuningas]

FB Marketplace and Offerup/Craigslist (meet at a police station) is good to avoid eBay + PayPal fees

Also M5 Max could be a decent setup for you if you want portable, can always dock it when at the desk. Only downside is as someone said above lower amount of RAM.

thermals should be considered when sidegrading to a laptop. My macbook is hot and loud and will throttle in prolonged use compared to a Studio (I haven't actually checked but I am confident a Studio would spend a while longer before starting to throttle)

 

[SDAVE]

thermals should be considered when sidegrading to a laptop. My macbook is hot and loud and will throttle in prolonged use compared to a Studio (I haven't actually checked but I am confident a Studio would spend a while longer before starting to throttle)

Agreed, but M series runs much cooler than any Intel MacBook Pro 🙂

 

[rb2112]

No one's gonna pay $20k for that when M5 Ultra is around the corner lol

Also these super high RAM version of Mac Studio are very niche, will be difficult to sell without a huge loss.

I wonder why you said this, "no one is going to", if you look at those listings by MacCheetah3 above, and select "sold listings", they ARE sold for this much. And selling for a wide range of prices too.

​

 

[SDAVE]

I wonder why you said this, "no one is going to", if you look at those listings by MacCheetah3 above, and select "sold listings", they ARE sold for this much. And selling for a wide range of prices too.

​

They don't look legit. You have to be crazy to pay that much.

 

[rb2112]

It really depends on the amount of Unified RAM one needs to run the latest open source models, which are supposed to be nearly as good as the (closed) frontier models.
If it just fits, great. If not, you still have to buy two. This is from hugging face.co:
View attachment 2625410
For example, Deepseek V4 Flash has 284B parameters (mixture of experts means 13B active at a time) and an incredible context length 1M tokens (about 500K words)!
It would be nice if it fit in a single Mac Studio but maybe not, does anyone know?
Using Thunderbolt RDMA would slow things down, but maybe a cluster of two/three/four could do it?

All the 4bit quants are about 160GB so they clearly (1) will fit on a 192, 256GB or 512GB studio but (b) will not fit on a 128GB. I wonder why you want this model in particular, I have been trying to load these DeepSeek v4 (four different ones this morning) via LM studio but none of them will load, they all give the error message "Failed to load model. Error when loading model: ValueError: Model type deepseek_v4 not supported." Perhaps it's just an LM studio problem.