Used iMac Pricing - Too High?

[ellisongs]

I've been looking at iMac G4's on ebay and it seems to me that most of them are selling for more than I expected. Since you can buy a Mac Mini for $500.00 and good 17" LCD display for under $300, why would someone pay $800.00 for an 800Mhz G4 with a 15" monitor?

Is there a better place to shop for iMac G4's with better pricing?

 

[JzzTrump22]

Your right, it does seem overpriced. But before the mini came out, those macs were not overpriced. The mini is indeed a better buy then the old 800mhz iMacs.

 

[gallivant]

The used market hasn't gotten used to the presence of the mini yet, and minis are still in short supply. Once that evens out, prices will drop bigtime, I suspect.

 

[jaw04005]

Its the design of the iMac G4, not necessarily its power. The iMac G4 is a collector's item much like the G4 Cube. I would expect them to hold a decent resale value for at least the next few years.

 

[miloblithe]

It's a general problem with the iMac line: the computer part becomes out of date far before the monitor part does. But your right. The mini should make that problem more clear.

 

[iGary]

It is more of a collector's item issue I think.

I'd love to have one with a bluetooth adapter and a wireless key board for the living room, just to do my writing (done on the iBook right now), and to have as a "decorator" item years down the road.

Obviously I'm not alone. 😀

 

[ellisongs]

It's a general problem with the iMac line: the computer part becomes out of date far before the monitor part does. But your right. The mini should make that problem more clear.

It's a shame that you can't take those 17 and 20 inch monitors to a new computer. Thats the problem with an integrated system.

 

[jsw]

It's a shame that you can't take those 17 and 20 inch monitors to a new computer. Thats the problem with an integrated system.

But within a few weeks I'm sure someone will publish a hack in which they put a mini's guts into and older iMac.

And the display cable is, I think, accessible inside without too much effort, so it's theoretically possible to add a video-in port to the back and use it as a monitor with a big useless base.

 

[ellisongs]

But within a few weeks I'm sure someone will publish a hack in which they put a mini's guts into and older iMac.

And the display cable is, I think, accessible inside without too much effort, so it's theoretically possible to add a video-in port to the back and use it as a monitor with a big useless base.

I have to admit that I like the old G4 design better than the current iMac's. The G5 monitor looks a bit chunky. Too bad Apple didn't continue the G4 design and make the monitors removeable. That way they could have sold the bases without the monitor for those that wanted to upgrade.

 

[andiwm2003]

I've been looking at iMac G4's on ebay and it seems to me that most of them are selling for more than I expected. Since you can buy a Mac Mini for $500.00 and good 17" LCD display for under $300, why would someone pay $800.00 for an 800Mhz G4 with a 15" monitor?

Is there a better place to shop for iMac G4's with better pricing?

i have the feeling that used imacs (maybe all macs) are simply to expensive. when i looked into buying a mac i realized that the prices of used machines are proportional to the processing power. that means a 800MHz machine is ~30% less expensive than a new 1.25 GHz machine. so if you are not too limited by the absolut amount of money it seems always to be the better deal to get a new machine for $300-400 more. you get more power, more extras, more ram, new warranty, new system. you simply get more bang for the buck.

maybe the mini finally brings the used macs to a more reasonable price range.

andi

 

[ellisongs]

i have the feeling that used imacs (maybe all macs) are simply to expensive. when i looked into buying a mac i realized that the prices of used machines are proportional to the processing power. that means a 800MHz machine is ~30% less expensive than a new 1.25 GHz machine. so if you are not too limited by the absolut amount of money it seems always to be the better deal to get a new machine for $300-400 more. you get more power, more extras, more ram, new warranty, new system. you simply get more bang for the buck.

maybe the mini finally brings the used macs to a more reasonable price range.

andi

What I find interesting is that I paid $729 for my G3 iBook at the apple store right after the G4 iBooks came out. I also bought my wife and kids an eMac with a superdrive and 512 ram for $749 at the apple store. The eMac was a floor model that had only been up for a couple months and was sold to make room for iPods over Christmas.

Both of these machines were selling for much more on ebay at the time I purchased them. I guess there are many buyers that don't shop around and get caught up in the auction thing.