As you can see... i always have all the latest and greatest apple machines in my room. None of them are older then 6 months or so... except the wired & wireless mighty mouses + wired & wireless apple keyboards.
... and the 10 months old iPhone 3G.
Sounds like you don't lose much on the resale value then. Wonder if there's a lots people doing the same thing.
I would say the resell value of Apple hardware the comes down to a number of things.
1: Cost of information.
While information online may be free, the time spent finding the information is not. So a buyer may have decided to spend 500 “utility”, where 1 “utility” equals one dollar or one minute. This is what we do everytime we use a taxi or hire a professional, trading money for sparetime. Or opposite when we work, trading sparetime fore money. Apple have an extremly easy lineup compared to most companys and especially compared to the industry as a whole. So the consumer may spend $500 on a used Mac (assumed cost of information zero) or 100 minutes and $400 in finding a proper used PC. All numbers used is of course only for illustration.
2: “Speculation”.
A buyer of used Apple hardware is prepared to pay a premium compared to a buyer of PC hardware because she knows that she will be able to charge a premium also when she sells the hardware. No one but Apple gains on this though.
3: Aesthetics
Most of the Apple lineup from 1999 and onwards have been looking good. Men crave for good-looking things, from women to clothes to cars to computers. And we’re ready to pay a premium for good looks. So even if the hardware is dated the looks remain and add value. This can be seen with the titanium/aluminium powerbook where the Al PB command a premium which can’t be fully explained by its newer technology alone.
4: Lack of lowend-offering
For someone wanting a Mac laptop, the least expensive start at $1100 while the least expensive pc laptop start at the $500 mark. If you can’t afford $1100 you’re forced to buy a used laptop, increasing demand and raising prices in the sub-$1000 market.
5: Operating System
PC users find this hard to believe but each Mac OS actually makes your older machine faster - I know you think this is a lie as PC users who try and install even XP2 over XP find it’s not worth the bother - just buy a new machine while I have a laptop I mostly just used to surf while watching TV or for when guests are at the house, I’ve upgraded from 10.2 to 10.4 and damn if the thing isn’t actually faster ... I know Pc users will find it hard to believe but it’s true - one reason why Macs hold up their value.
6: Supply and demand
There are roughly 19 PCs for every 1 Mac on the used market. That is a HUGE glut of used PCs compared to Macs, which makes the used PC market a buyer’s market compared to the seller’s market with Macs. As a consequence, used Macs retain their value more. And while this is great for sellers, it can be frustrating for those who would love to get their hands on used Macs but find themselves priced out of that market as much as they are for brand new Macs.
7: Collectors
Apple machines are collection items.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmoc4dd_LnE
8: Nostalgia
Once there was a time... a time when computers had soul... computer had character... it wasn't all about graphics... it wasn't all about Capitalism... it was about experimenting... it was about fun & learning... all we have left now are the Nostalgia... of the times we all loved... but we still remember the music. I'm honored to have been alive at that time, I know computers are now much more advanced, but back then everything was new, it was an amazing feeling.
o basically you sell your Mac right before (hopefully) a new model is announced, which makes your resale price higher than it would be after the announcement ? If so, what do you do while you don't have a computer ? Or did I get it wrong and you sell it as soon as the new model is out ?
I sell my Mac right before the new one is in stock... That's why I'm here at Macrumors watching and reading the probability of future apple machines. That way, my Mac keep it's resale value as new. After it's sold i can buy a new one. If it's not sold yet, i will keep buying the new and leave the old "for sell" till someone buy it.
Hey Pika - after thinking about it for a while, I opted for the other strategic option. In August my 12" PowerBook will be 5 years old, so it's cost me less, but on the other hand you've benefited from speedy machines. One question: how do you sell your used machines?
I use eBay + I make a deal with a store reseller. I simply leave my Mac to the reseller store with my price on display and if a costumer decided to buy it they call me.
happy waiting
