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Re-sale value of your computer gear is important to you?

YS2003

YS2003

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Dec 24, 2004
2,138
0
Finally I have arrived.....
I see many posts asking the resale value of Macs/accessories/PCs to finance the next computer purchase. It seems those people are counting on current gear for the future purchase.

For myself, I consider computer purchase as consumable items. I use it up (or, not use it up, for that matter) and move on to the new one if I needs one, without even thinking about selling the old computer. I consider the money I spend on the computer as a "done deal" which is not to be recovered in a meaningful way. Also, I only buy new ones only. Maybe I should change this attitude (but for now I have been doing this as my finance has allowed).

Do you count on your current gear to finance your future purchase?
 
I used to count on resale value. That was a few years ago.

These days, computers are more of a consumable. Macs do tend to hold their value a bit, which is great for resale. But almost all equipment after 3-4 years is considered outdated. Most folks are interested in purchasing old equipment. New items are the rave it seems.
 
Yes, it's definitely important.

Leaving aside the money issue (I couldn't afford a new computer without selling the old one), if the new computer will replace the old one, as in, say a MacBook to replace an iBook, I wouldn't keep the old one.

Having said that, I do keep old games consoles and old cameras, but I think that's because they do something that a new one can't replace. I would happily sell an old digital camera to be replaced by a new one, because the old one will take better quality pictures, whereas an old polaroid camera is worth keeping because the old peel-apart film it uses gives a different kind of picture to the newer film.

I suppose if I'd used Macs in the day of the older operating system, I might keep an older Mac to run an older OS on, the same way I've got a NES and a SNES. But as for a computer to run OSX faster than the old one, no, I'd definitely sell it.
 
I absolutely view my products as disposable/upgradeable. Keeping the box, selling before the warranty runs out etc. all make for a higher resale value. I look at the investment like renting/leasing the equipment. Example:

Let's say with all the bells and whistles, my Mac Pro cost $3000. If I keep everything in good order and get the highest resale value in 10 months (to upgrade to an updated model) - I might get $2500 toward the new purchase. After the resale, I've only "spent" $500 to have my machine.

$500/10 months = $50/month to own my Mac Pro. That's worth it for me.

After the initial capital investment, you can keep gradually upgrading like this for relatively cheap -- if you want/need the latest & greatest.
 
I perused through my old computer receipts and shocked to find that I spent $450 for a 40GB hard drive back in 2000, which today would fetch $5-$10. This similar feeling for all my old receipts. It's amazing the amount of money I threw away on cutting edge computer equipment.

So now, I mostly buy year old and used computers because the price drops drastically after the first year or so, (new purchases also taxed at 14%) so I am trying really hard not to buy the latest and greatest. Definitely not an investment, by any stretch of the imagination.

So machine upgrades are 4-5 year events for me, and I always buy low to mid end gear. I'm due for an upgrade in 2008 but the recent Intel chips have got me hankering for one in summer 2007. :)
 
I don't think anyone buys a machine with a view to reselling it in the future - it is just something which makes sense when the time comes. I could not have made use of two iMacs and a PowerBook, so I sold my old iMac and put the money towards the new one.

A bonus of using Apple products is that the hardware holds its value for a longer time than other brands - my two year old 1.6GHz G5 imac sold for £435. My iPod Mini sold for £120 (original cost being £130!), since it was no longer being sold by that time and was a popular product - another bonus of some Apple products.

That said, it is not an especially good time to be selling PPC hardware on right now as the cost of x86 hardware is incredibly competitive and many people just hop straight on to buying new.
 
I'm a pack rat that hates capitalism. So, I'm not much of one for selling my "equipment."

I buy a Mac, I use it until it becomes wicked behind the times. I ran my 1999 clamshell until 2004 and, with the help of a much-better-with-her-money-than-me-then-fiancee, bought a PB. I "sold" my clamshell to a friend, missed it, and "wasted" $300 on a "new" clamshell on e-bay in June.

In other words, selling my stuff costs me money because I'll pay more to buy back something comparable.

I guess I build relationships with what I own, which makes me a bad consumer (and in part explains my loathing of the marketplace ...)
 
Resale value is very important to me. I usually buy higher-end computers, so at the end of my use - 1 or 2 years - they are still very good and I have no problem finding a friend who can find my computer as an upgrade and would be willing to pay good money for it. All this helps fund future purchases, and it really adds up in the long run.
 
I have to admit, if I have one particular downfall (read as, being particularly anal about anything) then it's that I like to keep my Macs looking nice, and shiny and new and stuff. :D

It also helps when you come to sell it too... ;) :D
 
Not at all... will probably end up giving my current Mac away to some lucky London-based MR member... watch the marketplace come this time next year (depending upon MacBook Pro announcements).
 
Blue Velvet said:
will probably end up giving my current Mac away to some lucky London-based MR member...
Click to expand...

*pokes head up, sniffs the air* so what Mac's that then??? :)

I forgot to say... your hair looks beautiful today. ;) :D
 
I pretty much run them until they drop. If I have the room and a reason to keep the old machine I will. If not I'll try to scavenge it for parts. If I can't do that then I'll give it to Good Will or a friend. There's someone out there that could use my old computer/stereo equipment more than I could use the relatively little money I could sell it for.


Lethal
 
YS2003 said:
Do you count on your current gear to finance your future purchase?
Click to expand...

I'd always assumed that computer equipment basically has a resale value of $0, except maybe for monitors, and that's only because a decent new one is rather pricey. New stuff is cheap enough that, really, it almost isn't worth it to get something used, unless it's a real steal.

having said that, I got my G4 used for about $350. Considering that it retailed for about $1300 two or three years before I bought it, I think I got a pretty good deal.
 
With the purchase of my PowerBook I did not sell my Dell. However, I would sell my powerbook if I was to buy a new apple laptop right now. I don't need two apple laptops at the same time. If I was to buy an apple desktop I would consider keeping my PowerBook.

It depends.
 
I dont tend to sell on old computers or anything, it just keeps building up on my desk and the loft. Some things i dont regret selling like my PB 100, 140 and 3 wallstreets, ill keep them.
 
Not really. I buy what I need and keep it as long as I need it. I'm sure by the time I sell my current MBP it will not be worth much! I may just keep it instead :D Doesn't really concern me. Only thing that concerns me is that it does exactly what I need it to do
 
Yes. But only because I think it's kinda stupid to basically throw away something of value. Even getting $50 for a old piece of hardware is worth it in my opinion.

Probably around January of next year I'll be upgrading at least one machine of mine, (probably getting a 20" iMac to replace my iMac G4 as my main unit) and I'll sell my G3 iMac. I don't really have the need for four computers in my house (granted one's a laptop - that's always useful), so why not make a few bucks on an old one?
 
When I buy electronic/computer stuff, I want it to last 5-6 years. When it's time to upgrade, the old computer, phone, camera, etc. finds a new home with a family member or charity. Nothing I do on a computer requires that I always have the newest and best.
 
Resale is a pretty big deal for me, especially because it funds nearly 40-50% of the cost of my upgrade. For example, I went from an Athlon XP setup to my current Opteron setup.
I sold the CPU/Mobo combo for $105, GPU for $110, PSU for $35. This helped fund my upgrade:

CPU/Mobo/HSF = $266
GPU = $220.
PSU = $85
Total upgrade cost = $571.

My sales accounted for $250/$571 >> 43.78% of my upgrade cost. Of course, only avid upgraders should consider what I do. Spending a net cost of $250-300 every 1.5 years or so is not a bad way to go. Admittedly your initial case/HD/RAM/optical drives are meant to last a VERY long time (through at least a couple upgrade cycles).

*Considering Macs don't "part out" easily, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that many of you don't bother selling-to-upgrade.
 
Mav451 said:
Resale is a pretty big deal for me, especially because it funds nearly 40-50% of the cost of my upgrade. For example, I went from an Athlon XP setup to my current Opteron setup.
I sold the CPU/Mobo combo for $105, GPU for $110, PSU for $35. This helped fund my upgrade:

CPU/Mobo/HSF = $266
GPU = $220.
PSU = $85
Total upgrade cost = $571.

My sales accounted for $250/$571 >> 43.78% of my upgrade cost. Of course, only avid upgraders should consider what I do. Spending a net cost of $250-300 every 1.5 years or so is not a bad way to go. Admittedly your initial case/HD/RAM/optical drives are meant to last a VERY long time (through at least a couple upgrade cycles).

*Considering Macs don't "part out" easily, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that many of you don't bother selling-to-upgrade.
Click to expand...

Hmm, it seems that what you're doing is slightly different than what the original poster asked. But then as you point out, Macs don't "part out" very readily. I think the point is though that Macs generally generally last longer than PCs as well as keep their value better. When I bought my PB last Feb., my iMac still had a value of around $350 even though it was 5 years old.

Do you have a Mac? If not, may I ask why you're here?
 
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