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Sealed iBook G4 value?
- Thread starter justin-mc
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2004 model or 2005 model?
There was a mid 2004 14" 1.33Ghz with Radeon 9200M GFX and a Late 2005 12" 1.33Ghz with Radeon 9550M GFX.
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If it has 256 MB RAM, it’s a 2004. 2005s have 512 MB soldered-on.
Ok, here is the thing, most of the value of the old Mac's are the nostalgic value. The 2004 Models can be hacked to run Mac OS 9 native, and they support it a lot better than the 2005 models do. Mostly because the 2004's have a hacked driver for the Radeon 9200M that allows full support for 2D/3D acceleration.
Full graphic acceleration is important when we start speaking of nostalgic value, as a lot of our memories of these old Mac's is tied up in gaming, as the human mind tends to remember 3D games, which trigger the endorphins we seek when we are being nostalgic.
It's hard to put a price on these thing because you have a unicorn, sealed/unopened and it's going to be hard to put a price on that because we don't really have any data on price discovery.
I would put the value right now about $300-$400 at auction, but you find the right buyer or trigger a bidding war between two or more of the right buyers, you may get a lot closer to the MSRP of this system when it was new.
PT Barnum once said there's a sucker born every minute. Ebay pricing can be misleading, first you need to use the advanced search an look at what items actually sold for, not what people are asking for in Buy it Now.
Next you have to take into account the sucker factor. Not everyone is tech savvy. People see Apple and laptop NIB and they may not know it's an obsolete computer, so buyers that think they are buying the equivalent of a modern Mac bid up prices and sometimes use the Buy it Now at way over the market rate, skewing true price discovery.
Lastly you have to factor in the bourgeoisie, to me your system is worth $300-$400, but I'm at the lower end of the middle class, someone with an income of $250k just has more disposable monies on hand and $800-$1000 is just a lot less of it than $300-$400 is to me.
So you need to be a salesmen, poorly written Ebay auctions tend to bring much less money, and you want to attract upper income buyers.
My advice to you is to wait, the longer you hold on to it in mint/sealed/unopen condition, the more it will be worth later. These systems are still far to new and abundant to have prime Retro Computing value.
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Thanks for the detailed response and advice! Your thoughts echo mine. I've been on ebay for 20+ years and have bought and sold thousands of items so I'm quite familiar with it. My plan with this message was to possibly get an idea if anyone had seen a similar item sell somewhere. I have no plans to sell cheap because as you said it's a bit of a unicorn and I don't mind waiting. I have other old computer equipment I've had for 30+ years.
That's likely wise, to hold onto it for a while. There is this thing about old tech, once the price drops below the shipping cost and time, people just start throwing them away or "recycling" them.
This leads to them becoming rare and what you have NIB is already rare, you just need to wait till the market catches up with the value. Once you can't buy a used one on Ebay for $20 the price will go up quite a bit.
BTW, pictures or it didn't happen.
If I can't buy it, at least let us have some tech p0rn.
Then you have the people like me. With certain, specific exceptions, to me no PowerPC system is worth more than $150 and that's including NIB with all the paraphernalia.
With, as you mentioned, the right collectors, it may go for what you've told OP. I wouldn't pay more than $100 and that's really pushing it to me. But everyone likes what they like, so that's to OP's benefit.
I have been accused of creating a Schrödinger's cat out of a NIB Newton on Reddit, so I might as well keep going.
Here's the thing for me. Most of your value in the device is going to be the fact that it's NIB. But can you guarantee that it's going to work if someone opens it and trys to use it?
Chances are it will work, but you cannot guarantee that. The only way to do that is to…open the box and test it. Which destroys the NIB value.
So, what you're putting value on isn't the Mac itself - it's the box. That whole opening a NIB device experience for the first time. Some people will hold on to these things because they want to increase the value of having a NIB device. But the longer they hold on to it, the greater the chance of it not working.
As I stated, it's very likely there is no issue and the device works right out of the box. But again, you have to destroy the value of NIB in order to know that and not just assume it.
Yes the risk is the battery starts leaking and it becomes visible on the external packaging.
I'd try and cut a deal with a retro Mac YouTuber to do an unboxing to see if they have enough adcents value to justify the costs, that way we all get to partake in the tech p0rn for pennies on the $.
you can always list it at a higher price than what you'd like to sell it for with "or best offer" with good pics and description.
then either it sells at a higher price than what you'd like if someone is willing to pay Buy It Now price OR someone makes an offer you'd accept and then ship it.
my 2-cents.
then either it sells at a higher price than what you'd like if someone is willing to pay Buy It Now price OR someone makes an offer you'd accept and then ship it.
my 2-cents.
H…h… have you considered painting the box with polka-dots and listing it as a one-of-a-kind-prototype from Apple, still new-in-box and unopened? That way, you can list it for $4,999…
seems to me there are 14 powerbook G4 laptops available and 7 were broken.
i did see one unpoened for $5?? us dollar around the holidays
therefore
these are collector items as someone here quoted
therefore treat this as a babe ruth baseball card
or Jonh Lennon Yoko Ono 2 virgins album
which is not worth as much as in the 1980's
anyways
there is a MacBook air 1370 sitting in a box without a display cover i might sell if that is worth the troubles.
i have no idea what the thing i worth
i put in $70 from 2017-19 to run as a mac mini but the logic board goes for well more than an entire MacBook air
on eBay, as the display
ebay is like the store, lies, confusion and over-priced crap!
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It's just worth what you want. When you have something exclusive on the market, free from competition, you can demand the amount you want, whoever is interested has to be willing to pay what you want, or else you will be without. Money is easy to come by, you sell some junk from the garage, or work a few days and get your money, but a 20+ year old collector's item, sealed in a box?
I suggest you save a little more time, when ibooks start to disappear (and this is already happening) it will value even more. Don't worry about the battery, the ibook doesn't have an internal battery, it uses a capacitor instead of the internal battery, and the external battery (the notebook battery itself) if stored in a suitable environment can last a lifetime without leaking or swelling. .
Even if this notebook was a complete scrap, and hypothetically its display has vinegared, its battery has leaked and corroded the entire board and keyboard, it is still worth a LOT of money, for the simple fact of being preserved the way it came from the factory. Believe it or not, there was a city that buried a car in the 50's in a time capsule, the car was supposed to be dug up after 50 years, only there was water infiltration in the chamber, and the car was completely ruined, it was ruined to a point in which, even if spending thousands of dollars with the best restorers in the country, it still wouldn't be worth it (it would basically have to be rebuilt from scratch, losing its historical value) and even so, when the news got popular, people from the 4 corners appeared. in the world offering thousands of dollars for that wrecked car.
If it's any use to you, I sold a boxed iMac g3 snow last year, single owner, with receipt, warranty receipts, and everything else, for about $750 If it's any use to you, I sold a boxed iMac g3 snow last year, single owner, with receipt, warranty receipts, and all, for about $700, and some time ago, an iBook G4 with box, cds, manuals, and everything else for $370
I'm a collector of this kind of thing, I can give you a tip: In times of monetary crisis stay away from auctions, few people will risk spending money on surprising things, you won't get the bidding war. Simply create the ad for the high price, and leave it there, one day the guy you are looking for, and willing to pay, will find it. I sometimes take 2, 3 years to sell a very specific item, but I always sell for high prices (of course, over time the value is readjusted to compensate for inflation), many people will want to have your product, but not has conditions at the time of buying it, so they will add it to their shopping list, or favorites (and keep visiting your ad and looking at the photos every weekend) until one day they can buy it.
You will realize that there are 2 points of view that people will offer you: The first is what I gave you, you have something unique, and ask for what you want for it, whoever wants it will have to pay. The other (and what most interested parties will tell you) is the opposite extreme of this, that this is a very small niche item, few people like PPC, it will be difficult to sell, and it may be damaged, which is useless to spend a lot of money, and all that litany.
This kind of thing is very common to happen on automotive forums, about old cars, someone shows up with an old car they found in a barn, in like new condition, so the other guys on the forum fall like vultures claiming it will have rust, and costs freight, and they try to trick the victim into selling it like scrap metal.
being damaged is not a problem, they just pretend it is. The overwhelming majority of the public who would be interested in this certainly have advanced knowledge in repairs (I myself am a technician and collect), if the guy is not a technician, he has an excellent technician to keep his things running (as well as the guy who collects cars is either a mechanic, or has an excellent mechanic)
I suggest you save a little more time, when ibooks start to disappear (and this is already happening) it will value even more. Don't worry about the battery, the ibook doesn't have an internal battery, it uses a capacitor instead of the internal battery, and the external battery (the notebook battery itself) if stored in a suitable environment can last a lifetime without leaking or swelling. .
Even if this notebook was a complete scrap, and hypothetically its display has vinegared, its battery has leaked and corroded the entire board and keyboard, it is still worth a LOT of money, for the simple fact of being preserved the way it came from the factory. Believe it or not, there was a city that buried a car in the 50's in a time capsule, the car was supposed to be dug up after 50 years, only there was water infiltration in the chamber, and the car was completely ruined, it was ruined to a point in which, even if spending thousands of dollars with the best restorers in the country, it still wouldn't be worth it (it would basically have to be rebuilt from scratch, losing its historical value) and even so, when the news got popular, people from the 4 corners appeared. in the world offering thousands of dollars for that wrecked car.
If it's any use to you, I sold a boxed iMac g3 snow last year, single owner, with receipt, warranty receipts, and everything else, for about $750 If it's any use to you, I sold a boxed iMac g3 snow last year, single owner, with receipt, warranty receipts, and all, for about $700, and some time ago, an iBook G4 with box, cds, manuals, and everything else for $370
I'm a collector of this kind of thing, I can give you a tip: In times of monetary crisis stay away from auctions, few people will risk spending money on surprising things, you won't get the bidding war. Simply create the ad for the high price, and leave it there, one day the guy you are looking for, and willing to pay, will find it. I sometimes take 2, 3 years to sell a very specific item, but I always sell for high prices (of course, over time the value is readjusted to compensate for inflation), many people will want to have your product, but not has conditions at the time of buying it, so they will add it to their shopping list, or favorites (and keep visiting your ad and looking at the photos every weekend) until one day they can buy it.
You will realize that there are 2 points of view that people will offer you: The first is what I gave you, you have something unique, and ask for what you want for it, whoever wants it will have to pay. The other (and what most interested parties will tell you) is the opposite extreme of this, that this is a very small niche item, few people like PPC, it will be difficult to sell, and it may be damaged, which is useless to spend a lot of money, and all that litany.
This kind of thing is very common to happen on automotive forums, about old cars, someone shows up with an old car they found in a barn, in like new condition, so the other guys on the forum fall like vultures claiming it will have rust, and costs freight, and they try to trick the victim into selling it like scrap metal.
being damaged is not a problem, they just pretend it is. The overwhelming majority of the public who would be interested in this certainly have advanced knowledge in repairs (I myself am a technician and collect), if the guy is not a technician, he has an excellent technician to keep his things running (as well as the guy who collects cars is either a mechanic, or has an excellent mechanic)
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It seems as though new in box isn't important to you otherwise it would have a premium like it does for other people.
Just like mint sports cards and other things unused or unopened a lot of people see large value in that.
That's my usual method for selling. Just a matter of picking a high enough starting price.
Where did you see the unopened one? I didn't see any in the sold listings on eBay.
Yes I'm confident the right buyer will pay the right amount at the right time if I decide to sell.
I've sold many older computers for more than most get just by being patient. I also take multiple years to sell some items.
As you say rarity overcomes damage or other problems. If someone was looking for a guaranteed working system then they would buy a used system that had been tested.
Thanks for your advice and opinion.
Possibly the funniest thing I've read all week
Personally, NIB doesn't work for me unless it's a ridiculously low price (because of the risk,) what I'd go for is "only opened to test" followed by a confirmation that everything works as it should - but then again, I'd be buying to use not display on a shelf or do an unboxing video on Youtube.
As others have said, put the BIN price that you want and it will sell eventually.
don't be too greedy. I understand trying to get maximum value but just list it for what you believe its worth + a little extra.
or if you want to keep it for higher profit later that's cool too.
or just go to Vegas and get on the TV show "Pawn Stars" and get it appraised.
end of discussion.
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NIB is not important to me when it comes to computers, devices, things with batteries, etc that are well over two to three years old. There's no guarantee that what's inside is going to work and the NIB experience becomes very depressing when you discover that had you opened the box much earlier the device would have worked or could have been saved. The kick in the head is that you spent a lot only to get a broken device.
Mint sportscards and other things unopened that don't have a possibility of failure are a different matter.
I presented the same argument there as I did here. Someone asked, "Did you just Schrödinger's cat a NIB Newton?"Possibly the funniest thing I've read all week
It had never occurred that way to me, but…yeah.
The same thread I was involved in on Reddit, that user was looking to pass his NIB Newton on to someone specifically for unboxing videos - so that all could enjoy the experience of the unboxing. I'm cool with that, but the same problem still exists. What if the device doesn't work?
No, I get the whole NIB thing, I just prefer knowing that a device is going to work when I buy it. If the seller wants to toss in all that other stuff or it's part of the deal so much the better.
I totally agree. Any electrical device that uses or has batteries in them has the potential for that battery to corrode overtime and cause a lot of internal damage. Has the cmos battery in that NIB machine corroded. What about the main battery, has it 'bloated' (cells damage causing the cells to swell). All of this is unknown because the box is sealed and because of that it's way way to much of a risk.
There are collectors out there who specifically target NIB machines who never have the intention breaking the seal but they are rare and it is more of a case of you finding them rather than them finding you.
Whilst 'sealed NIB' meant something many many years ago, in todays society it does not mean much because it is so easy to fake stuff. Look at what happened to Logan Paul recently with the supposedly autheticated limited edition pokemon boxed set he purchase, sealed NIB and it turned out to be a fake. There was also the reported incidents of newly released iphones being bought, the iphone removed and replaced with rubbish, resealed and being sold as 'sealed NIB'. The risks are too great.
A question some potential buyers will ask is does the box contain everything that it is supposed to contain. The OP will probably says any potential buyer will have to trust his word that the box contains all the original items.