Retina Macbook Pro 15" 2012 - what would you pay for it?

[masotime]

I'm interested in selling my 2012 Retina Macbook Pro 15" on Craigslist, but I'm not getting much responses.

I've set a price of $1400, but it might be too high. What would you pay for it?

(note: I would post this in Marketplace, but I don't have enough of a post count)

Specs:

15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display
Part Number: Z0ML
• 2.6GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
• nVIDIA GeForce GT 650M Graphics (1GB)
• 16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
• 512GB Flash Storage

The Macbook is still until Applecare warranty till July 2015 and has undergone only 80 battery cycles (battery was replaced sometime last year)

 

[Naimfan]

Mid-2012, and, to a lesser extent, Early 2013 models seem to be plummeting in value. I think it's a combination of Ivy Bridge, the well-known screen issues with ghosting, etc., and so on. And they are expensive to fix, so that puts people off of them, as well as running hotter (at least subjectively) than the Late 2013 models onward.

So to answer your specific question, I'd try lowering the price to $1295 and take anything above $1100 or so. I've seen the base 15" Mid-2012 rMBPs sell for as little as $750, so $1100-1200 sounds about right. YMMV based on your area.

 

[masotime]

Mid-2012, and, to a lesser extent, Early 2013 models seem to be plummeting in value. I think it's a combination of Ivy Bridge, the well-known screen issues with ghosting, etc., and so on. And they are expensive to fix, so that puts people off of them, as well as running hotter (at least subjectively) than the Late 2013 models onward.

So to answer your specific question, I'd try lowering the price to $1295 and take anything above $1100 or so. I've seen the base 15" Mid-2012 rMBPs sell for as little as $750, so $1100-1200 sounds about right. YMMV based on your area.

Thanks for the feedback! That's very useful.

 

[tillsbury]

I sold my day-one 2.6/16/768Gb rMBP15 in October for NZ$2700, which was slightly over the $2500 I was looking for. It's about 20-25% lower than the current "refurb" price for the identical machine, just over half its original cost. I think prices are significantly lower now, of course.

 

[campyguy]

OP, two pieces of advice that may or may not help - and I've got a similar rMBP to sell too.

First bit of advice - wait a while. April 15th is fast approaching, with savvy buyers waiting for sellers who need cash today to cover their tax bill. Lots of cheap computers out there in CL land right now. And HDTVs, etc.

Second bit. I've placed two ads for the same Mac on CL - with one difference. I always sell my older Macs with AC, which you have. The ad that includes AC rarely gets real hits. The ad that includes AC and clearly states that it's a warranty that guarantees a working computer until (date) and states that I have used ## allotments of the AC plan almost always works right away.

Savvy buyers know that you'll get two repairs with your AC plan before you're SOL. Not-so-savvy buyers will see that you get - in essence - a guaranteed working product that offers no excuses until (AC end date). A friend of mine bought a rMBP from CL that had AC - but he didn't know until it had a problem that both AC allotments were used by the original owner, so he ended up spending $500 to get his shiny used laptop fixed. By offering that you've used 0 or 1 of those allotments shows you're a knowledgeable seller too. I figured this out on my own and I've never had an ad go longer than a week, and I've never been lowballed either. Good luck!

 

[NathanA]

Savvy buyers know that you'll get two repairs with your AC plan before you're SOL.

What the heck are you talking about? Are you sure you aren't confusing AC (for Macs) and AC+ (for iProducts)? AC for Macs is just an extended warranty (3 years instead of 1) with no provision for any "insurance policy" like coverage (if YOU break it, it doesn't get repaired for free; if it was a manufacturing defect, they will repair it). AC+ for iThings is an extended warranty (2 years instead of 1) PLUS up to 2 repairs possible in case of user-induced accidental damage (i.e., not Apple's fault), each with what amounts to an $80 "deductible".

There is no "limit" to the number of manufacturing-defect-related repairs that you can claim under either the original 1 year warranty or the AC-extended 3 year warranty. It's just like any other manufacturer's warranty: Apple has guaranteed, during that time, the machine against defects in workmanship...they don't get to say "oh, well we will only fix up to 2 things that we screwed up during the manufacture of your product, and after that it's your responsibility." No: if it is their fault, and you are within the warranty period, they will fix it. In fact, although I don't believe it is documented anywhere officially, it's fairly well known amongst Mac users that after a machine has been dubbed a "lemon" (3 or more repairs, especially if to the same component), they usually offer to just replace the entire machine with a new one at that point.

I don't know what to say about your friend's anecdote, either, other than maybe you (or your friend) confused a laptop purchase story with an iPad purchase story? AC+ is not offered on Macs and AC is not offered on iDevices, so it's not like he had a laptop with AC+ and that's what he is talking about.

-- Nathan

 

[campyguy]

What the heck are you talking about? Are you sure you aren't confusing AC (for Macs) and AC+ (for iProducts)? AC for Macs is just an extended warranty (3 years instead of 1) with no provision for any "insurance policy" like coverage (if YOU break it, it doesn't get repaired for free; if it was a manufacturing defect, they will repair it). AC+ for iThings is an extended warranty (2 years instead of 1) PLUS up to 2 repairs possible in case of user-induced accidental damage (i.e., not Apple's fault), each with what amounts to an $80 "deductible".

There is no "limit" to the number of manufacturing-defect-related repairs that you can claim under either the original 1 year warranty or the AC-extended 3 year warranty. It's just like any other manufacturer's warranty: Apple has guaranteed, during that time, the machine against defects in workmanship...they don't get to say "oh, well we will only fix up to 2 things that we screwed up during the manufacture of your product, and after that it's your responsibility." No: if it is their fault, and you are within the warranty period, they will fix it. In fact, although I don't believe it is documented anywhere officially, it's fairly well known amongst Mac users that after a machine has been dubbed a "lemon" (3 or more repairs, especially if to the same component), they usually offer to just replace the entire machine with a new one at that point.

I don't know what to say about your friend's anecdote, either, other than maybe you (or your friend) confused a laptop purchase story with an iPad purchase story? AC+ is not offered on Macs and AC is not offered on iDevices, so it's not like he had a laptop with AC+ and that's what he is talking about.

-- Nathan

You're right and I was wrong, sorry for that. He was confused, and I didn't get the story straight. I did my AC+/AC mixed up. Nice missive...

 

[masotime]

Thanks for all the responses! I do have AC and I've stated so explicitly in the ad (also included screenshot with the serial number partially blurred).

AC+ for Macs would be cool though haha, although it would probably cost Apple quite a bit in spilled coffee repairs.

 

[mauka]

FYI - I sold the same model MacBook Pro 15" 2012 with 3 months of AC remaining for $1400 on Amazon. It was 2nd lowest priced and sold within 5 days. Next lowest listing was $1550. Could have gone higher, but for me there's value in getting on with things.