Also maybe people still value the optical drive? We probably don't but I bet the majority of Craigslist browsers aren't as tech savvy as we are.
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Why AIR's take a harder price drop than any other model!!!?
- Thread starter GadgetGeek407
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It doesn't have as much to do with the purchase price as the current price. If you are referring to an Air that cost $1,799, when SSDs were quite pricey, then that was before the Air price came down. With the new Airs so affordable in the $1,100 to $1,600 range, of course a used Air will fetch $800-$1,000. The MBPs have been relatively stable in their price points. And not much has changed other than chipset, cpu speed, etc. The Air has also been upgraded, but SSD and other components have gotten cheaper, bringing the price down.
Would you buy a used Air for $1,300 when a new one cost the same or less. It's relative to prices of new machines. You can't look at it in terms of what that machine originally cost.
Would you buy a used Air for $1,300 when a new one cost the same or less. It's relative to prices of new machines. You can't look at it in terms of what that machine originally cost.
People seem to be offended by his terminology, but miles does make a good point and it might apply to the rMBP. In 2 years then will the value of the $2100+ rMBP take a significantly larger hit than the older yet more upgradable MBP's? Even though eBay is a community full of scavengers who gladly overpay for other People's junk, when the starting price point is that high then the dropoff in price will still alienate the typical value-seeking ebayers and the limited upgradability pushes away the pros in need of a used powerhouse.
"Throw away machine" sounds demeaning for such new computers, but it does seem accurate in the eyes of the resale market.
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In general I think that the resale value (compared to original purchase price) of upgraded / top-of-the-line machines is worse than the base models.
You pay a lot when you purchase one to go up to things like the top-spec processor and larger SSD, but people buying a used computer probably won't put as much value on those things.
You pay a lot when you purchase one to go up to things like the top-spec processor and larger SSD, but people buying a used computer probably won't put as much value on those things.
That's exactly the case. Base models do keep more of their value, particularly on the MacBook Air line. Remember, the top models have the highest profit margins for Apple. The extra 4GB of RAM cost them about $20, but adds $100 to the purchase price. The i7 ads about $75 to the cost of the 11" (following Intel's list price), but $150 to the price. 2 years from now, both the 1.7GHz i5 and 2.0GHz i7 will seem out of date, so the i7 model won't fetch much more than the i5 model.
Exactly. Also, for most non-techies, they can't understand why a MacBook Air with an SSD that has less capacity costs more then a MacBook Pro w/ a regular HDD. On top of that, the 256GB or 512GB SSD options for Airs run $300-$600 more. On the used market, people just want cheap and don't care about how much you paid for the upgrade. So like some other people said, unloading a maxed out Air is a loss because of these reasons
And yes, I'm one of those who sold a 2011 11" Air Ultimate on EBay for $1050(before fees).
The 2012 Airs are really the first models with reasonable specs, so I don't foresee this being a problem moving forward.
How do u figure that one out? There's next to no difference between them and the 2011 models.
I understand what you mean and agree thay 4GB is going to be good enough for most casual users. but The base model of the 2012 11" Air is 64GB and 13" is 128GB. We may find creative ways to justify and cram our data to fit those drives but Those are hardly "reasonable" siZes for long term usage and will heavily impact resale.
To them it is.
Before I bought my 2012 MBA, I looked online for a lightly used MBA. People wanted as much sometimes MORE for a used one.
I do agree that a Mac holds its value better than a Dell, but I am not going to spend the same on a used one when I can get a new one. Ridiculous.
This sums it up well, all I would add is that there are lots of stupid people who buy used. Still does not explain why one would pay more for a core 2 duo pro then a refurbished i5 with better specs and warranty.
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I've been bugging this guy on craigslist for a 20" g5 iMac, he is firm at $1000 lol. Then you have the people trying to sell there 2011 model as a 2012. With stupid buyers and dishonest sellers I guess anything is possible.
sorry I dipped on you guys, dad had surgery this morning, which btw went successful. This was definitely entertaining to read. I have a loaded 13 Air 2011 model I am trying to sell. I have a 2012 loaded 13 Air I just bought, I could have gone for the base retina but the extra weight was a pain. I would love to see a 13 pro retina at which point I would sell this Air and change over and probably have some money to get back in my pocket.
Amazing how the computer market has been evolving over the last couple decades. I remember buying my first computer a Packard Bell at Best Buy in 1996 for close to $3,500 WOW lol
Amazing how the computer market has been evolving over the last couple decades. I remember buying my first computer a Packard Bell at Best Buy in 1996 for close to $3,500 WOW lol
Oh man that sucks. I hope your dad is okay. It's easier to just regard computers as sunken costs. Regarding their depreciation, you have a number of factors. The first macbook airs didn't sell that well. They were expensive. They still had HDDs and a throttled core2duo era cpu. More recent models are considerably more responsive. The 2012 model is actually quite nice. A used early macbook air must compete against newer refurbished market hardware sold by Apple around the $1000 mark. Right now Apple charges $929 for a refurbished 2011 13". Both cater to the market of "want a mac laptop yet can't truly afford one". Anyway macbook airs have limited means of repair. If you're outside of the original warranty and going back several generations, good luck if anything starts to fail. Newer ones may retain their value a little better, but Apple still charges a significant premium on ram and ssds in the Air, so expect used values to decline relative to newer things where the standard features of the newer one outpace things that were previously cto upgrades.
Apple's refurbished pricing seems to shift around quite a bit at times. Right now you can get a late 2011 2.2 ghz 15" for $1359. The cpu performance of the early 2011 2.2 was marginally higher, and gpu performance was slightly lower, yet it was $2200 at its debut. If you bought the machine one year ago, it was $2200. Today you're looking at maybe $1200. If some of the features of the rMBP trickle down to lower models, it will absolutely reduce its value. This doesn't mean it's something to throw away, but it will naturally impact what others will pay for it. If you want to lose less, you can consider it at the time of purchase. You could wait for a 13" rMBP or a 15" at the $1800 mark, then wait for that to show up refurbished, apply 0 upgrades, etc. That is capable of delivering something with relatively stable value. You'll still take a hit, but it won't be bad. In the end nothing is throwaway technology if it's still in use. It becomes junk when something that can't be efficiently repaired breaks. Batteries and hard drives are likely to be major sticking points on these when it comes to aging machines.
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