Selling my quad ?

[naught@home]

Then they get no sympathy from me. I'm tired of this attitude that it is the sellers / lenders responsibility to look out for the buyer / borrower that has swept across society. People need to take responsibility for their decisions, it's not a sellers responsibility to ensure what they're selling meets a buyers needs.

Sometimes the shoe can be on the other foot and the buyer can feel like it's their responsibility to look out for the sellers' interests.

A few months ago I was looking to buy an old 5,1 Mac Pro. I found a local seller selling a single hex core Xeon X5690 3.46GHz CPU 5,1 for $700CAD (about $540USD). I thought the price was a bit high, but the seller offered to sweeten the deal by throwing in an extra X5690 he had for an extra $50. So I bought it with dreams of finding a dual CPU tray to put the CPUs in and have the 12 core 24 thread monster Mac of my dreams.

After a little research I found that even an empty dual tray with heatsinks can set you back $700USD in Canada and that trays laden with CPUs and RAM will cost you anywhere from $1250 to $2000CAD. Stupid ridiculous prices. So I came to the reluctant conclusion that the only way I'd find an inexpensive dual CPU tray would be finding a non working 5,1 on sale for parts and a seller who didn't realize what they had. Fat chance of that happening, eh?

Well, about 3 weeks later it did happen. I saw a local ad for a 'mid 2010 5,1 with a bad backplane for parts…comes with 24GB of RAM and two 2.4GHz Westmere processors'. "OMG," I thought. "It's a dual tray…how much does he want for it? $200CAD or best offer!!!" (about $155USD). I was on the phone to the seller in 30 seconds and less than an hour later we were both standing masked in their backyard where they had set up the 5,1 on a table. After checking the serial number (to maker sure it was a real 5,1 and not a 4,1 with the firmware upgrade) I told them I would buy it and all that was left to do was to dicker about price.

It was clear to me that the seller had not done their due diligence and didn't realize what their 5,1 was worth. I like a bargain as much as the next person, but I also don't want to rip someone off almost as much as I don't want to get ripped off (maybe that's a Canadian thing, I don't know… ) and I found myself in an ethical dilemma.

On one shoulder was a little demon, crazed with greed and pent up 12 core, 24 thread lust, who told me I should just pay the seller $200 right now, take the 5'1 and get out of there, and on the other shoulder a little angel, who insisted that I take a stand for human dignity (mine) and explain to the seller just what they had, and just how much people are willing to pay for just the dual CPU tray alone, and then take my chances…

But I couldn't bring myself to do either. Instead I told him, "You know what? This computer is worth more than $200 to me. Would it be okay to offer you $350 for it?" He immediately said 'yes', all the while eyeing me like I was a dupe…

So we both parted ways happy. I got a dual tray for a decent price and the seller got more than they were bargaining for. After a stop for some Arctic Silver 5 and some isopropyl alcohol and a couple of hours labour I had my 12 core monster…

If someday the seller realizes what they had and what they let get away I hope the seller doesn't think too badly of me…

 

[m1maverick]

Sometimes the shoe can be on the other foot and the buyer can feel like it's their responsibility to look out for the sellers' interests.

A few months ago I was looking to buy an old 5,1 Mac Pro. I found a local seller selling a single hex core Xeon X5690 3.46GHz CPU 5,1 for $700CAD (about $540USD). I thought the price was a bit high, but the seller offered to sweeten the deal by throwing in an extra X5690 he had for an extra $50. So I bought it with dreams of finding a dual CPU tray to put the CPUs in and have the 12 core 24 thread monster Mac of my dreams.

After a little research I found that even an empty dual tray with heatsinks can set you back $700USD in Canada and that trays laden with CPUs and RAM will cost you anywhere from $1250 to $2000CAD. Stupid ridiculous prices. So I came to the reluctant conclusion that the only way I'd find an inexpensive dual CPU tray would be finding a non working 5,1 on sale for parts and a seller who didn't realize what they had. Fat chance of that happening, eh?

Well, about 3 weeks later it did happen. I saw a local ad for a 'mid 2010 5,1 with a bad backplane for parts…comes with 24GB of RAM and two 2.4GHz Westmere processors'. "OMG," I thought. "It's a dual tray…how much does he want for it? $200CAD or best offer!!!" (about $155USD). I was on the phone to the seller in 30 seconds and less than an hour later we were both standing masked in their backyard where they had set up the 5,1 on a table. After checking the serial number (to maker sure it was a real 5,1 and not a 4,1 with the firmware upgrade) I told them I would buy it and all that was left to do was to dicker about price.

It was clear to me that the seller had not done their due diligence and didn't realize what their 5,1 was worth. I like a bargain as much as the next person, but I also don't want to rip someone off almost as much as I don't want to get ripped off (maybe that's a Canadian thing, I don't know… ) and I found myself in an ethical dilemma.

On one shoulder was a little demon, crazed with greed and pent up 12 core, 24 thread lust, who told me I should just pay the seller $200 right now, take the 5'1 and get out of there, and on the other shoulder a little angel, who insisted that I take a stand for human dignity (mine) and explain to the seller just what they had, and just how much people are willing to pay for just the dual CPU tray alone, and then take my chances…

But I couldn't bring myself to do either. Instead I told him, "You know what? This computer is worth more than $200 to me. Would it be okay to offer you $350 for it?" He immediately said 'yes', all the while eyeing me like I was a dupe…

So we both parted ways happy. I got a dual tray for a decent price and the seller got more than they were bargaining for. After a stop for some Arctic Silver 5 and some isopropyl alcohol and a couple of hours labour I had my 12 core monster…

If someday the seller realizes what they had and what they let get away I hope the seller doesn't think too badly of me…

Those dual CPU trays are ridiculously priced. Almost easier to find a low end, dual CPU Mac Pro and get an entire computer for the same, or possible less, price. I've wanted to upgrade mine to a dual CPU but I can't justify paying such high prices. Especially with the introduction of Apple Silicon Macs.

As for the purchase situation I think that was nice of you to do however I would not have faulted you if you had paid the asking price.

 

[Project Alice]

Sometimes the shoe can be on the other foot and the buyer can feel like it's their responsibility to look out for the sellers' interests.

A few months ago I was looking to buy an old 5,1 Mac Pro. I found a local seller selling a single hex core Xeon X5690 3.46GHz CPU 5,1 for $700CAD (about $540USD). I thought the price was a bit high, but the seller offered to sweeten the deal by throwing in an extra X5690 he had for an extra $50. So I bought it with dreams of finding a dual CPU tray to put the CPUs in and have the 12 core 24 thread monster Mac of my dreams.

After a little research I found that even an empty dual tray with heatsinks can set you back $700USD in Canada and that trays laden with CPUs and RAM will cost you anywhere from $1250 to $2000CAD. Stupid ridiculous prices. So I came to the reluctant conclusion that the only way I'd find an inexpensive dual CPU tray would be finding a non working 5,1 on sale for parts and a seller who didn't realize what they had. Fat chance of that happening, eh?

Well, about 3 weeks later it did happen. I saw a local ad for a 'mid 2010 5,1 with a bad backplane for parts…comes with 24GB of RAM and two 2.4GHz Westmere processors'. "OMG," I thought. "It's a dual tray…how much does he want for it? $200CAD or best offer!!!" (about $155USD). I was on the phone to the seller in 30 seconds and less than an hour later we were both standing masked in their backyard where they had set up the 5,1 on a table. After checking the serial number (to maker sure it was a real 5,1 and not a 4,1 with the firmware upgrade) I told them I would buy it and all that was left to do was to dicker about price.

It was clear to me that the seller had not done their due diligence and didn't realize what their 5,1 was worth. I like a bargain as much as the next person, but I also don't want to rip someone off almost as much as I don't want to get ripped off (maybe that's a Canadian thing, I don't know… ) and I found myself in an ethical dilemma.

On one shoulder was a little demon, crazed with greed and pent up 12 core, 24 thread lust, who told me I should just pay the seller $200 right now, take the 5'1 and get out of there, and on the other shoulder a little angel, who insisted that I take a stand for human dignity (mine) and explain to the seller just what they had, and just how much people are willing to pay for just the dual CPU tray alone, and then take my chances…

But I couldn't bring myself to do either. Instead I told him, "You know what? This computer is worth more than $200 to me. Would it be okay to offer you $350 for it?" He immediately said 'yes', all the while eyeing me like I was a dupe…

So we both parted ways happy. I got a dual tray for a decent price and the seller got more than they were bargaining for. After a stop for some Arctic Silver 5 and some isopropyl alcohol and a couple of hours labour I had my 12 core monster…

If someday the seller realizes what they had and what they let get away I hope the seller doesn't think too badly of me…

Those dual CPU trays are ridiculously priced. Almost easier to find a low end, dual CPU Mac Pro and get an entire computer for the same, or possible less, price. I've wanted to upgrade mine to a dual CPU but I can't justify paying such high prices. Especially with the introduction of Apple Silicon Macs.

As for the purchase situation I think that was nice of you to do however I would not have faulted you if you had paid the asking price.

I have two dual CPU Mac Pro 5,1s (they’re both actually 4,1sI flashed, but theres no difference unless you need a tray swapped).
My first one, I paid $50 (USD) for. I almost felt bad. But, I think the damn things are so overpriced anymore that I decided that if they didn’t do their research that isn’t my problem. I didn’t actually know it was a dual CPU till I got it in my car to check. Even a single CPU was a steal at 50 bucks.

The second one I got for $150, that included a ThinkPad x230t with an i7.
That guy knew exactly what he was doing but wanted a quick buck because his college dorm was kicking everyone out due to covid. He had a lot of other machines in there, too many to not have done research on the MP. He mentioned he knew he could get more for it but time was of the essence.

Perhaps my PSU going out in the first one (after 2 years) was karma. But the PSU in the other one was right there ready to be pulled out. I hadn’t really used the second one for anything much, I hadn’t upgraded to 6 core CPUs, still had the original quads and was being mostly used as a test bench, a task given back to my 3,1MP until I get around to finding another PSU for it.

i have not had that good of luck since. In fact, I’ve had the opposite luck. Most Macs I’ve seen for sale locally have been G5s at about $400 more than they should be. All were 1.8Ghz models too. Some people🙄

 

[naught@home]

Those dual CPU trays are ridiculously priced. Almost easier to find a low end, dual CPU Mac Pro and get an entire computer for the same, or possible less, price. I've wanted to upgrade mine to a dual CPU but I can't justify paying such high prices. Especially with the introduction of Apple Silicon Macs.

As for the purchase situation I think that was nice of you to do however I would not have faulted you if you had paid the asking price.

I couldn't do that, knowing what I did. To my mind it would have been a rip-off…a rip-off in reverse, but still a rip-off…and I would have been the rip-off artist. And that didn't sit well with me.

If I'm honest with myself I did not choose the path of full disclosure either, lest the seller reconsider and price the dual tray higher than I was willing to go to acquire it ($500CAD, about $385USD).

So to my mind I chose the middle path between user unfriendly and virtue.

I know full well that I can load the dual tray with the two X5690 CPUs I previously acquired, fill the RAM slots with 128GB of 1333MHz dimms inexpensively and put it up for $2000CAD. I likely would wait awhile for it to sell, but eventually someone who hasn't done their due diligence will come along and pay the price (and, had I known about the new ARM Macs at the time, I would have been sorely tempted to do just that. Hello M1!!! ). But I haven't done that and I likely won't. That's not how I roll…

For now I have the 12 core CheeseGrater of my dreams and don't feel too ashamed of how I acquired it, and soon it will sit proudly beside my late 2005 G5 Quad with all the bells and whistles, in whom I live in abject terror of. It's condition is near museum quality. It's clean enough to eat off of, both inside and out. I've thoroughly inspected it and there are no signs that it's ever leaked (no stains, no corrosion). I don't think it's been serviced anytime in it's life. It has 16GB of RAM, powers on, and runs like a dream. It heats the room up to uncomfortable levels in a very short time and whenever I run it I'm filled with morbid dread that it's suddenly going to start spewing liquid and short out all over the place…

And I would rather swim naked in a pool of toxic waste, festooned with razor wire and stocked with mutant radioactive piranha fish, than ever sell my Quad…

First world problems…

 

[m1maverick]

I couldn't do that, knowing what I did. To my mind it would have been a rip-off…a rip-off in reverse, but still a rip-off…and I would have been the rip-off artist. And that didn't sit well with me.

I don't consider it a rip off to pay what someone is asking for the item they're selling.

That said if you're going to take this position then you did rip him off because you knew the fair market value was higher than what you offered him. Offering him more, but not informing him of the true market value doesn't make you any more virtuous than having paid what he was originally asking. You still relied on his ignorance to your advantage.

 

[Amethyst1]

And I would rather swim naked in a pool of toxic waste, festooned with razor wire and stocked with mutant radioactive piranha fish, than ever sell my Quad…

So an old computer is worth more to you than your health? Well - suit yourself I guess.

 

[Amethyst1]

I don't consider it a rip off to pay what someone is asking for the item they're selling.

It is still a rip off - the fact that some idiot paid way too much for something doesn't change anything.

 

[m1maverick]

It is still a rip off - the fact that some idiot paid way too much for something doesn't change anything.

My philosophy is if both parties are satisfied with the transaction then who am I to question the terms. As long as there was no fraud, material misrepresentation, or coercion buyers and sellers can do as they please.

I think these 5,1 dual CPU trays are ridiculously over priced. But then people are buying them at these prices so if I were a seller of them I'd be happy.

 

[eyoungren]

My philosophy is if both parties are satisfied with the transaction then who am I to question the terms. As long as there was no fraud, material misrepresentation, or coercion buyers and sellers can do as they please.

There was one time I was browsing eBay just to see what black MacBooks were going for and one vendor had one for a ridiculously low price in good condition and fully working.

The vendor was unfamiliar with Macs, but they were also a charity. I wasn't buying, but I did message them that the value of the MB they were selling was much greater than what they were offering.

They thanked me and then ignored me.

I've learned a couple of things. 1. Some people don't care to know and 2. if they do learn, they still don't care. People are willfully ignorant of some things because those are things they just do not care about, even if they have the time and will to learn. Some people are just out to flip the stuff they have and they don't need or want a history.

I don't think I'd feel too bad buying from a clueless vendor. They could have done their research, but based on the above they haven't.

I've bought plenty of Macs cheap off eBay that were listed 'For parts, not working" because of a flashing question mark at boot - where the vendor was a PC person and had zero idea about what that meant on a Mac. They could easily find out, that info is out there, but they didn't.

Just like buyers need to take the initiative to learn, so do sellers.

 

[naught@home]

I don't consider it a rip off to pay what someone is asking for the item they're selling.

That said if you're going to take this position then you did rip him off because you knew the fair market value was higher than what you offered him. Offering him more, but not informing him of the true market value doesn't make you any more virtuous than having paid what he was originally asking. You still relied on his ignorance to your advantage.

Oh please, please, please don't cast allusions as to me being some sort of 'Prince of Virtue'. While it would be most gratifying to be recognized as such by one of the common people, it is most assuredly not true.

You, yourself, said (post #27,this thread) you would not have faulted me if I'd paid the asking price and now you call me 'rip-off artist' because I willingly, knowingly paid more…

Such grand hypocrisy…

Such brilliant illogic…

The farce is strong with this one…

 

[m1maverick]

Oh please, please, please don't cast allusions as to me being some sort of 'Prince of Virtue'. While it would be most gratifying to be recognized as such by one of the common people, it is most assuredly not true.

You, yourself, said (post #27,this thread) you would not have faulted me if I'd paid the asking price and now you call me 'rip-off artist' because I willingly, knowingly paid more…

Such grand hypocrisy…

Such brilliant illogic…

The farce is strong with this one…

What is it with this site where people cannot refrain from lobbing insults at others due to their inability to follow a discussion?

Let me see if I can clear up your confusion. Yes, in post #27 I did say I would not have faulted you had you paid the asking price. In post #30 I reiterated that stance when I said I don't consider it a rip off to pay what someone is asking.

In that same post I then said "...if you're going to take this position...". Note the key word "you're" referring to an argument being made by the person I was responding to (i.e. you). I didn't change my argument, I merely applied your argument.

The hypocrisy is yours. The only difference between what you paid and what the seller offered was a matter of degree. So you didn't rip him off as much as you could have had you paid his asking price. You're trying to walk the line between ripping him off and being a nobel buyer. You offered him more but you did not inform him of the true market value of what it is you were buying.

This is your argument not mine. My position is, and always has been, you weren't ripping him off with either price.

 

[naught@home]

What is it with this site where people cannot refrain from lobbing insults at others due to their inability to follow a discussion?

Physician, heal thyself…

Let me see if I can clear up your confusion. Yes, in post #27 I did say I would not have faulted you had you paid the asking price. In post #30 I reiterated that stance when I said I don't consider it a rip off to pay what someone is asking.

In that same post I then said "...if you're going to take this position...". Note the key word "you're" referring to an argument being made by the person I was responding to (i.e. you). I didn't change my argument, I merely applied your argument.

I took no such position. You took up the position for me and implied it was mine.

The hypocrisy is yours.

What arrant nonsense…

The only difference between what you paid and what the seller offered was a matter of degree. So you didn't rip him off as much as you could have had you paid his asking price. You're trying to walk the line between ripping him off and being a nobel buyer. You offered him more but you did not inform him of the true market value of what it is you were buying.

Finally, you've said something honest and mostly truthful, but the 'real' difference was between wanting the 'deal' and not wanting the 'steal'. The sellers' asking price was '$200 or best offer' and as far as they knew they were selling a broken 5,1 for parts. The other salvageable parts were nice, but of secondary consideration to me. My motivation was the dual tray and I freely admit I used deception, deflection and misdirection in our discussions to acquire it, but I never coerced or lied to the seller. My sins were of omission, not commission…

My 'best offer' was $350 and it was accepted without let, hindrance, or coercion. I chose the 'deal', not the 'steal'…

This is your argument not mine. My position is, and always has been, you weren't ripping him off with either price.

And now the desperate back-pedalling begins…


From my brief encounter with this forum I've learned that, while the predatory seller is almost universally reviled, it's the uninformed buyer that we scorn the most seemingly simply because of their ignorance. The predatory seller gets to skate…

And, if we flip the 'transaction' coin over, the predatory buyer is seldom scorned, in fact they're lauded, especially if they get the 'steal', and they too get to skate, while the uninformed seller is similarly scorned for their ignorance.

Something wrong with the symmetry here…

Anyway, I'm out of here now. It's been immensely gratifying and informative to learn that my moral compass is not as desperately askew as others, and for that I offer my most profuse thanks.

Sala…

 

[m1maverick]

Physician, heal thyself…

And thus begins the childish banter which is endemic in this site. I won't allow you to rope me into your childish banter.

 

[MrVitalic]

Sometimes the shoe can be on the other foot and the buyer can feel like it's their responsibility to look out for the sellers' interests.

A few months ago I was looking to buy an old 5,1 Mac Pro. I found a local seller selling a single hex core Xeon X5690 3.46GHz CPU 5,1 for $700CAD (about $540USD). I thought the price was a bit high, but the seller offered to sweeten the deal by throwing in an extra X5690 he had for an extra $50. So I bought it with dreams of finding a dual CPU tray to put the CPUs in and have the 12 core 24 thread monster Mac of my dreams.

Thats a great story! I'm glad you find one. My plan is also to find a smashed or broken dual tray for a low price to salvage the tray. At least I hope. Speaking of overprice mac, that remind me of a post on marketplace. A girl was selling a white 2009 macbook for 450$ ahahah. The listing was titled 'computer' And dont worry, I'm a bit like you. Sometimes I prefer to eat ramen for a week to afford pc parts. Oh and I have some ocd. My quad is pristine BUT I painted the entire iner frame and its not perfect. Its on my bucked list to take appart the machine yet again (including the frame) and seek a professional to paint these parts.

 

[MrVitalic]

Sometimes I get stuff for next to nothing as a buyer, sometimes I sell to a low ballers and loose a bit of money. Not my problem if the seller dont know what he got.

I recently flipped a macbook for double the price. The original owner sold it to me as unnusable. The battery was brand new with new powerbrick... Problem was; magsafe connector full of crap...