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Upgrading every refresh?
- Thread starter wct097
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If you can claim the upgrade losses as a business expense, do it.
If you can claim that on your tax returns, just do it dangit.
If you have lots of money and/or care about "keepin' up with the Joneses", what else can I say.
Now, if you tend to upgrade systems once every few years, no.
If you can claim that on your tax returns, just do it dangit.
If you have lots of money and/or care about "keepin' up with the Joneses", what else can I say.
Now, if you tend to upgrade systems once every few years, no.
Not losing money, at all. If you actually read the thread I gave a perfect example that was worked for me for 6 gens now. Never sold for less than 500 off what I paid for it. And once more if you do the math, 500 dollars every year for 4 years is 2000, where as buying what I want straight out would be more than 2600.
Gee, upgrading every year sure is easier when you've got a 25% off discount!
Sure is!
I have the early 2011 high-end MBP which I got with a student discount so only paid £1571 for it (instead of £1849).
Should I wait until the new MBPs come out before I sell it or start looking for buyers now?
Also, would £1400 be a fair price?
Should I wait until the new MBPs come out before I sell it or start looking for buyers now?
Also, would £1400 be a fair price?
eBay normal have free insertion weekend, just listed it for free with £1500 price for as long as possible. You will get people offering cash in few days, so just find an acceptable price (i.e. £1400) and do the deal with the buyer outside eBay. That is how I sell expensive electronic gears.
You're forgetting to factor in the value of your time that is being wasted trying to sell your old machine. There's also the time value of money.
I mean, if you absolutely need the latest machine and/or enjoy the process of selling and getting the latest apple product, go ahead I have nothing against it. But do not justify base on the fact that you're not losing anything, because that's certainly inaccurate.
im questioning what's the value of upgrading every refresh. unless you are doing heavy duty work like A/V editing that requires heavy CPU load, the amount of money you end up spending cannot possibly justify the marginal improvement in performance. even if you could purchase on student discount for ex, the amount of tax you pay per unit (and the amount of fees you end up paying on the resell market on ebay for instance), you end up losing a couple hundred dollars per year which certainly adds up year to year.
for me, my thinking is AppleCare covers the MacBook Pro for 3 years. Apple typically comes out with a major refresh/redesign every 3-4 years (take MBP for ex, last major design change was in 2008) upgrading every 3 years makes sense for me. My 2009 MacBook Pro with 2.26 C2D has held up pretty well over the past 3 years. sure, there are faster MacBook Pros out there, but i never really stopped and thought my MBP was too slow that it's unusable (other than gaming).
in the end, how you spend your money, that's up to you. for me, it's definitely not worth the effort.
for me, my thinking is AppleCare covers the MacBook Pro for 3 years. Apple typically comes out with a major refresh/redesign every 3-4 years (take MBP for ex, last major design change was in 2008) upgrading every 3 years makes sense for me. My 2009 MacBook Pro with 2.26 C2D has held up pretty well over the past 3 years. sure, there are faster MacBook Pros out there, but i never really stopped and thought my MBP was too slow that it's unusable (other than gaming).
in the end, how you spend your money, that's up to you. for me, it's definitely not worth the effort.
Well here is a scenario.
This assumes that you could resell at 80% every year. Also assumes you are buying about the same level machine each time - in this case a $1499 13" MBP.
Bob purchased a 13" MBP (actually it would have been a aluminum MB then) for $1499 in 2008
Bob kept it for ~4 years and then sold it for $600
Bob purchased a new 13" MBP in 2012 for $1499
$1499 - $600 + $1499 = $2398.
Fred purchased a 13" MBP for $1499 in 2008
Fred sold the 2008 MBP for $1200 in 2009.
Fred purchased a 13" MBP for $1499 in 2009
Fred sold the 2009 MBP for $1200 in 2010.
Fred purchased a 13" MBP for $1499 in 2010
Fred sold the 2010 MBP for $1200 in 2011.
Fred purchased a 13" MBP for $1499 in 2011
Fred sold the 2011 MBP for $1200 in 2012.
Fred purchased a 13" MBP for $1499 in 2012
$1499 - $1200 + $1499 - $1200 + $1499 - $1200 + $1499 - $1200 + $1499= $2695
So in the end both Bob and Fred have identical machines. However Fred paid about $300 more than Bob, so yes in this case it did cost more. But Bob always had the newest technology AND a warranty.
Now lets say that in 2010 Bob had an issue with his then 2+ year old MB and it cost $300 to replace the logic board. So in this case they spent the same and Fred still had the latest and greatest every year.
For some the additonal $300 over 4 years is well worth it. Now maybe 80% resale is a bit high, or the resale of the 2008 at $600 is a bit low but I think it is in the ballpark.
I used to always have a desktop and a laptop and I'd replace each every other year (alternating years). This kept my urge to update constantly at bay by sticking to such a system. However I stopped buying desktops when Apple changed their philosophy and really got rid of a standard desktop (not a fan of all-in-ones, mini underpowered, and the Pro just kept creeping up in price point). But that is a different topic. So now I typically get a new laptop every 18 months or so.
This assumes that you could resell at 80% every year. Also assumes you are buying about the same level machine each time - in this case a $1499 13" MBP.
Bob purchased a 13" MBP (actually it would have been a aluminum MB then) for $1499 in 2008
Bob kept it for ~4 years and then sold it for $600
Bob purchased a new 13" MBP in 2012 for $1499
$1499 - $600 + $1499 = $2398.
Fred purchased a 13" MBP for $1499 in 2008
Fred sold the 2008 MBP for $1200 in 2009.
Fred purchased a 13" MBP for $1499 in 2009
Fred sold the 2009 MBP for $1200 in 2010.
Fred purchased a 13" MBP for $1499 in 2010
Fred sold the 2010 MBP for $1200 in 2011.
Fred purchased a 13" MBP for $1499 in 2011
Fred sold the 2011 MBP for $1200 in 2012.
Fred purchased a 13" MBP for $1499 in 2012
$1499 - $1200 + $1499 - $1200 + $1499 - $1200 + $1499 - $1200 + $1499= $2695
So in the end both Bob and Fred have identical machines. However Fred paid about $300 more than Bob, so yes in this case it did cost more. But Bob always had the newest technology AND a warranty.
Now lets say that in 2010 Bob had an issue with his then 2+ year old MB and it cost $300 to replace the logic board. So in this case they spent the same and Fred still had the latest and greatest every year.
For some the additonal $300 over 4 years is well worth it. Now maybe 80% resale is a bit high, or the resale of the 2008 at $600 is a bit low but I think it is in the ballpark.
I used to always have a desktop and a laptop and I'd replace each every other year (alternating years). This kept my urge to update constantly at bay by sticking to such a system. However I stopped buying desktops when Apple changed their philosophy and really got rid of a standard desktop (not a fan of all-in-ones, mini underpowered, and the Pro just kept creeping up in price point). But that is a different topic. So now I typically get a new laptop every 18 months or so.
My time is minuscule. I send a text to my buddies, who love apple just as much as I do telling them I'm selling my gently used 11 month old laptop, at a price they aren't able to find anywhere else. They know how I treat my electronics and are happy that I'm able to help them out, as well as them helping me out.
And when there are no friends who want? I still Craigslist it for the price I paid and negotiate a couple hundred dollars down. Once I got away with selling it for 400 more since I have several corporate versions of software that I load them up with.
Id say in my case, i rarely lose even 20% upgrading every year.
We've got a bunch of Macs and there is no way we would upgrade every year! As it is, the refresh rate is a minimum of 3 years, the old ones usually get passed on to relatives, friends, or charity, and most are bought refurbished to begin with. I don't lust after new boxes and technology isn't advancing nearly as fast as it did 2-3 decades ago -- computers are a mature technology.
When you're using your computers to earn a living, every little bit of performance improvement counts, so it makes 110% sense to upgrade every year... and lower the amount of taxes you pay!
This is true. In my case, I'm a developer and use it to run a number of virtual machines. I can take all the power I can get. I use it daily and count on it to earn a living. I was pretty pissed when the 2011 MBP refresh didn't include USB3.0. As I predicted, Thunderbolt won't be used on my current machine prior to me selling it. Crossing my fingers that USB3.0 shows up on the next gen.
I prefer to look at it as leasing a machine for about $1-2 a day. Or about $2200/year over five years. With Time Machine backups, downtime is only a few hours per year. It really all depends on your workflow, how soon you sell, and how long you can be without a computer.
Because some people want to validate the fact that they have waited years to upgrade. And their AppleCare is gone.
i dont get that though. Applecare gives you additional 2 years? upgrading every 3 years isn't so bad and probably makes sense since in theory you do actually run out of warranty then but in everyone's hypothetical expense difference no one factors in having Applecare from day 1 or before the offer to upgrade to it lapses. Where the argument of having 'no warranty' or no X has warranty cause he bought the refresh becomes void.
also the argument of being technologically present makes little sense. a 20% gain next year wont change your world completely; at the very least the year after (aka when your Mac turns 2 lol) will the jump become more meaningful.
alas to each their own.
I find that upgrading every other refresh is the sweet spot (for myself) between my compulsion of needing to have the very best, vs what I actually need and the hassle of having to reconfigure my working environment. Except of course if there's a redesign which happens only one refresh after my purchase - then I make an exception. I make sure each machine lasts me so I generally max out my options, within reason. ie I'm not going to spend $200 for an extra 100MHz of performance. But I will take up RAM, SSD, hires display BTOs and all that.
The other view to look at is with yearly upgrades, you'll always have 1 computer. If you upgrade every 4 year you'll get to keep that older machine to repurpose for something else or sell it if it still worth anything.
You are losing money, that's a fact.
I can't find your strategy in this thread, but I can guarantee it's biased in some way. Are you arguing a completely different point regarding pre-owned laptops? It was from my understanding that 'upgrading every refresh', meant an upgrade all of us can take part in e.g. brand new, for a set price. Therefore if you're saying "you can upgrade every refresh" but referring to arbitrary items you've bought, well, that's not a benchmark is it?
Therefore I'll reiterate my point: You will lose money. But the money you lose is the price you pay for the upgrade in performance, which for some (like me), is what it's all about.
Contradiction? Yes indeed.
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Since it works for Camwin, there is no contradiction. It is already clear to him that losing money by upgrading every year is irrelevant.
You're arguing on semantics.