What's reasonable for a 27" imac?

[xheathen]

Hey all - I don't want to fall into these "If it's too good to be true" type things where I get screwed, so I'm just wondering what is a reasonable price for a 27" imac.

For instance, looking at ebay I'm seeing stuff like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/22085542451...AX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_500wt_1170. I'm really hesitant to buy big hardware purchases on ebay to begin with.

I don't need to have a quad core, but it'd be nice. But it just seems sketchy since it says it'll ship mid-Oct. And there isn't much info either. But it's enticing nonetheless.

I kind of see the 'best deal' around might be last year's quad core 27" imac for $1450. But I just don't know if I can spend that much.

 

[BurningJah]

meh

Sounds reasonable! but neither I would buy this of Ebay.

 

[cperry2]

Actually that's a great deal, not entirely unheard of... but a little too low to be believable. I am about to make the dive for one myself. I will be getting mine from Carbon Computing, Ottawa, and they sell the same model for $1250.

It IS just a great deal, in my opinion, when you consider the display alone is worth a grand... and for my work, having a display like that would be a godsend.

I personally keep fluctuating between this and a cheaping out on a mac mini, reserving cash for peripherals and whatnot. But then I think the 27 is a solid long-term investment in the end.

I would indeed be wary of this ebay link... I personally would rather buy refurbished from apple, even just for the reassurance and the guaranteed warranty (same warranty as what comes with new products).

All this said, I've seen a 2011 27" for 1450 in apple's refurb site. I would go for that unless you need 1gb video, in which case the 2010 goes for the same price but with a better graphics card.

----------

On the other hand, $1000 is super enticing. I'm going to have to think this over myself.

 

[xheathen]

Thanks for the feedback.

I personally keep fluctuating between this and a cheaping out on a mac mini, reserving cash for peripherals and whatnot. But then I think the 27 is a solid long-term investment in the end.

This is where I'm at as well. Ugh... it's agonizing! The only thing that kills me about getting it refurb is the extra $100 or so in taxes. So once it's all said and done, I spend about $1350 on the refurb model, while I can get the 2010 quad core with the better video for only $94 more.

What I really do not like about this type of deal is that it IS plausible for a shop to close up and liquidate. But at the same time, you purchase now and then wait until November to see if your items come. If they don't, you might be outside of your ebay buyer's protection window. So in some ways it sounds like a total scam, but also a plausible situation too.

 

[xheathen]

Just in case this helps anyone else struggling with the same decision, I think I made the right call.

I just bought one of the new mac mini's. Yes, they are far less powerful. But I'm going from Windows to OSx... I'm not 100% sure I'll like the transition. The mac mini is powerful enough to let me do my job. If I REALLY like it, the resale value ensures I can sell it for a good amount and buy next year's iMac (or even the 2010 quad core 27" for even less).

And one of the reasons I wanted the iMac was SL. But let's be honest - Lion is here to stay. I may not like all the features, but I've got to get over it because I'll have to upgrade some day.

This just makes sure I'm not financially strapping myself and it gives me plenty of headroom for software I might need.