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Where is the best place on this site or somewhere else to sell my MBP?

joe777

joe777

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 14, 2020
3
0
Hello from Baltimore.
Where is the proper/best place to sell my MacBook Pro?

Forgive me if I'm posting this in the wrong place.
I've gotten an offer for $1k, but looking for a higher offer.
I'm a busy software engineer and barely used this laptop for maybe 30 times since I purchased it and it's in pristine condition.
I have original box and original everything.

Here are the specs
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro14,3
Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Core i7
Processor Speed: 2.9 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 8 MB
Hyper-Threading Technology: Enabled
Memory: 16 GB
Boot ROM Version: 204.0.0.0.0
SMC Version (system): 2.45f1
 
Basically, you're looking at three options
Craigslist: Highest price, no seller or buyer protection
eBay: More protections but there are sellers fees
gazelle, Cash for your Mac: Lowest price, money is guaranteed, super convenient

I typically do eBay for Macs, Swappa for phones
 
Craigslist isn't worth your time. Too many people that constantly low ball you (although I find it funny a lot of times) and too many idiot scammers who barrage you with "I need it shipped to my friend/fiance/niece/nephew/etc who lives out of state blah blah blah.

eBay is the best place, which they know, and they charge ridiculous fees for it.

Swappa has the least amount of fees and I've always had good success with them.
 
I use Craigslist but it can be a pain. Sometimes I just give them away to a relative or friend if I'm too lazy to sell them.
 
[MOD NOTE]
Just a reminder that asking where to sell is fine, but any buying/selling outside of Macrumor's marketplace forum is not permitted, so please no offers here.
 
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Cosmo M3 said:
Swappa for me
Click to expand...

Thank you, I got an offer from Swappa for $1164
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maflynn said:
[MOD NOTE]
Just a reminder that asking where to sell is fine, but any buying/selling outside of Macrumor's marketplace forum is not permitted, so please no offers here.
Click to expand...
Can they DM me?
[automerge]1584283507[/automerge]
Donnation said:
Craigslist isn't worth your time. Too many people that constantly low ball you (although I find it funny a lot of times) and too many idiot scammers who barrage you with "I need it shipped to my friend/fiance/niece/nephew/etc who lives out of state blah blah blah.

eBay is the best place, which they know, and they charge ridiculous fees for it.

Swappa has the least amount of fees and I've always had good success with them.
Click to expand...
I'm quickly learning that's the case.
I've gotten to the point that when they ask if I can ship, I just hit block 🤣
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maflynn said:
[MOD NOTE]
Just a reminder that asking where to sell is fine, but any buying/selling outside of Macrumor's marketplace forum is not permitted, so please no offers here.
Click to expand...
Link to MarketPlace?
 
One thing to note about Swappa

NOTHING about it is more secure than simple PayPal Goods & Services with direct connection on CL or Reddit or any other method.

If there is a buyer or seller issue/dispute, Swappa simply tells you to deal with PayPal.

(I have been through it on both sides of a transaction - worked out OK for me, but only because I have ample experience navigating the processes of PayPal disputes over many many many years now)

I only mention this because I think many get sucked in a bit by the "look and feel" of Swappa and think it's in some way more secure or offers better protection for either party - it does not.
 
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I find eBay is the safest but one has to be patient. It's best to wait for a 0$ selling fee offer which they offer about once a quarter. Secondly, you have to be accurate about your item description. Additionally, you have to monitor and remove bidders with new accounts and zero feedback. Sometimes you will think the auction is going really well only to realize that someone with no intention to complete the purchase has bid up the item beyond rational expectation. Otherwise over the last 15 years I've recouped about $40k by selling on eBay. It adds up. The best thing about eBay is that more people will see your listing.
 
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To me, reddit's hardwareswap or appleswap are the best places.

You connect and sell with PayPal G&S, just like Swappa, but there is reasonably good vetting there of known scammers, better reputation tracking methods and it's one of the few places you can still avoid sales tax, which can be a very meaningful amount of money when trading in computers.

You can also message in private, pre-transaction, to ask all the questions and get all the information you might want.

That's great on the buyer and seller side. Everybody knows that of course, but the platforms like Swappa & eBay don't want you communicating directly as the first thing many will want to do is cut them out (understandably so).

eBay charges too much for what they do and what they (don't) offer.

Swappa's fee is "ok", but again, they don't offer even a LICK of protection, so even what they charge is on the high side in my opinion.
 
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Donnation said:
Craigslist isn't worth your time. Too many people that constantly low ball you (although I find it funny a lot of times) and too many idiot scammers who barrage you with "I need it shipped to my friend/fiance/niece/nephew/etc who lives out of state blah blah blah.
Click to expand...

In advertising on Craigslist, I found that patience is necessary. Yes, there are quite a few folks who will "blindly" make an inquiry or offer, but they turn out to be flakes. However, for both of my Macs I have "recently" sold there, the process turned out quite well. When I recently (late January) put my late 2012 Mac Mini on craigslist, it got a good amount of "valid" action, and I quickly sold it to a buyer in Portland (I am located near Seattle) for $250. I had it advertised for $275, but of course I am somewhat flexible with the prices I advertise stuff for. Considering I used the machine to well over 6 years, and paid less than $900 for it, I think that was a very good selling price.

However, I am also trying to sell 2 Samsung phones, and for them, most of the inquiries have been from flakes. I did, though, recently have 2 "legitimate" ones. One of them, I asked for his full, correct name and phone number. But he balked, and we actually "argued" back and forth about it. Turns out he would have been legitimate. The other day, I had another one, and this time I did not press him for any additional identifying information. I came close to a sale, but he had put out a number of offers for some other phones, and I fell just short of a sale.
 
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@honestone33

I agree about CL - I sell a LOT on there.

Your points are great

With CL, I only and ALWAYS meet in the lobby of any local bank. Without fail, you will scare off any potential complete con artist or shady character with the promise of being on about 50 CCTV cameras being recorded.

It's actually easy to spin it as a positive for the buyer and seller in the interest of safety and security for both parties. Also, if you're the buyer, you can reassure the seller with getting cash out right then and there where they can see it happening so they know they are getting legit money (if not doing Venmo or something I mean).

But - CL does require patience and also good pricing.

I never understand the people trying to charge too much. Make it a good price people. Everyone is saving on shipping and tax, etc - make it attractive and move the product!
 
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turbineseaplane said:
@honestone33

I agree about CL - I sell a LOT on there.

Your points are great

With CL, I only and ALWAYS meet in the lobby of any local bank. Without fail, you will scare off any potential complete con artist or shady character with the promise of being on about 50 CCTV cameras being recorded.

It's actually easy to spin it as a positive for the buyer and seller in the interest of safety and security for both parties. Also, if you're the buyer, you can reassure the seller with getting cash out right then and there where they can see it happening so they know they are getting legit money (if not doing Venmo or something I mean).

But - CL does require patience and also good pricing.

I never understand the people trying to charge too much. Make it a good price people. Everyone is saving on shipping and tax, etc - make it attractive and move the product!
Click to expand...
Well stated! And excellent idea about meeting inside a bank. Unfortunately, sometimes deals occur over the weekend or in the evening, which makes meeting inside a bank an impossibility. Myself, I typically require the buyer to meet at a public place close to my home. In this way, I don't waste too much time.
 
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honestone33 said:
sometimes deals occur over the weekend or in the evening, which makes meeting inside a bank an impossibility.
Click to expand...

I always try to do weekday lunchtime in that circumstance.

It surely depends upon what's being sold also (the value).

But for me, for computers and expensive things, I don't EVER waver on the bank meeting point.
To me, rules for protection like this only work if you strictly adhere to them...sort of like takeoff checklists for pilots.
 
Nobody except scammers on CL anymore...I don't have a FB account or I'd use Marketplace
 
honestone33 said:
Well stated! And excellent idea about meeting inside a bank. Unfortunately, sometimes deals occur over the weekend or in the evening, which makes meeting inside a bank an impossibility. Myself, I typically require the buyer to meet at a public place close to my home. In this way, I don't waste too much time.
Click to expand...
There are local police departments who allow buyers/sellers to meet. Our local PD allows transactions to be done in their lobby - 24/7.
 
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turbineseaplane said:
I always try to do weekday lunchtime in that circumstance.

It surely depends upon what's being sold also (the value).

But for me, for computers and expensive things, I don't EVER waver on the bank meeting point.
To me, rules for protection like this only work if you strictly adhere to them...sort of like takeoff checklists for pilots.
Click to expand...
Well, I'm retired, and thus have a lot more flexibility regarding when and where to meet someone.

For the two Macs I sold, for the MacBook Air I sold about 3 years ago, I had the individual's Name, address, and phone number, and I met him at a close-by K-Mart parking lot (store has since closed). Worked out very well. And as I mentioned above, for the late 2012 Mac Mini, it was done through the mail.
 
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jerryk said:
Not going to do that for a while. Here all of them are closed to walk ins. Phone orders or drive up only. May close completely starting tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Hence, a bank lobby is an excellent idea, as long as it's during "banking hours".

I might need to use that today, as I have an offer from an individual for both of the Samsung Cell Phones I am selling. We'll see how all that goes.
 
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