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Why does no one want my rMBP Late 2013?

sunsetblow

sunsetblow

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 6, 2013
171
25
I'm having an incredibly hard time selling this laptop. I mean, yeah it's an old model obviously but it's 2.4 ghz, retina, 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM. It outperforms half of the entire lineup that's come after it. I mean this thing is still a beast.

People have been lowballing me like crazy or not even biting, even at $850.

I've come to realize two things:

1) The general public do not realize that Apple products retain value like mad. I've had so many indignant comments saying "THAT'S WHY TOO MUCH. I could buy a new PC for that much!"

2) Maybe it doesn't make sense to buy specced out Macbooks. No one seems to care about 256GB/8GB iterations... only the 128GB/4GB ones. That caught me completely by surprise.

I have no idea what to do. I guess I just have to reduce it to $800?
 
My quick eBay search came back with one at top of list $730USD plus shipping (which was also under $30USD).

You'll probably have to lower your asking price or wait till closer to Xmas. There will be lots of people looking to pickup a used one as a gift for Xmas. So maybe wait until next month and then re-list it.

All you're probably going to get right now are college kids looking to get a really good deal, and trying their hardest to lowball (I know I would if I was back in college looking to get one right now.)
 
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duervo said:
My quick eBay search came back with one at top of list $730USD plus shipping (which was also under $30USD).

You'll probably have to lower your asking price or wait till closer to Xmas. There will be lots of people looking to pickup a used one as a gift for Xmas. So maybe wait until next month and then re-list it.

All you're probably going to get right now are college kids looking to get a really good deal, and trying their hardest to lowball (I know I would if I was back in college looking to get one right now.)
Click to expand...

Good strategy.

Although $730 seems to be an anomaly. It seems to be trending at $900... but that's still crappy when you factor in eBay fees and PayPal fees. Ugh.
 
That's the funny thing with eBay, or any place like that. Things go up and down. You can get somebody trying to buy something for $500 one day, and the next week another will come along and get the same thing for loser to $1000.

I would go to pcpartpicker.com (I know ... It's not a pc. Data is still relevant though from a purely electronics point of view) and look at their pricing history over the last year for system components, and use it as a guideline for what times of the year prices tend to go up and down. Failing that, try to sell it closer to Xmas season.

On a related note, one interesting thing I noticed last year is that prices tend to go up around this time of year. They slowly creep up and up until just before Black Friday. Then, they drop right down to prices that they were going for earlier in the year. The sudden drop though is what fools people into thinking it's an awesome sale. Don't get me wrong ... There are still some decent deals to be had for BF, but that strategy is there for most things that go "on sale" at that time.

Same pattern close to tax time too ... Gotta get people to spend those tax refunds.
 
sunsetblow said:
I'm having an incredibly hard time selling this laptop. I mean, yeah it's an old model obviously but it's 2.4 ghz, retina, 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM. It outperforms half of the entire lineup that's come after it. I mean this thing is still a beast.

People have been lowballing me like crazy or not even biting, even at $850.

I've come to realize two things:

1) The general public do not realize that Apple products retain value like mad. I've had so many indignant comments saying "THAT'S WHY TOO MUCH. I could buy a new PC for that much!"

2) Maybe it doesn't make sense to buy specced out Macbooks. No one seems to care about 256GB/8GB iterations... only the 128GB/4GB ones. That caught me completely by surprise.

I have no idea what to do. I guess I just have to reduce it to $800?
Click to expand...
IMO your rMBP is too new and too old :) . You can get a new 2015 13" rMBP in the US for 1299 USD ( 8/128 GB ) and probably cheaper, which is not soo far away from your 2 years old machine and which has the better specs. Things may change when you keep it longer and can sell it for lower. As for me, I´d go with a new one.

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MacBook-MF839LL-13-3-Inch-Display/dp/B00UGBMRQ8?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAJIYMMIJN7RU7KVJQ&tag=reviewedcom03-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00UGBMRQ8

P.S. very light used 2015 13" rMBP´s start at USD 970, same link.
 
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sunsetblow said:
The general public do not realize that Apple products retain value like mad.
Click to expand...
It's you that doesn't realize that it's not as true anymore. The value of Mac computers has taken a hit in the last year or two. There simply is too many in the market now that Apple sells a lot more than they used to.

I'm assuming yours is the 13"?
If you can get an offer of $800 cash, you should take it. That's what its value is. You may get $850 or at most $900 on eBay but after the 10% selling fee and 3% paypal fee you end up with less than $800.

I sold a late 2013 13" model like yours for $820 on CL three months ago. It just wasn't going to sell for any higher. I took the offer and moved on.

The days that you get 70% of the new price for your two year old Mac are over.
 
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z31fanatic said:
It's you that doesn't realize that it's not as true anymore. The value of Mac computers has taken a hit in the last year or two. There simply is too many in the market now that Apple sells a lot more than they used to.
.
Click to expand...

Agreed!

Rant time: The asking price that some people start with on sites like Craigslist are sometime equal or higher than a newer model I could get from the Apple refurb store, which also comes newly packaged and in absolute 'new' condition - WITH a 1 year warranty direct from Apple!

CASE IN POINT: There's a 2012 13-inch macbook air a guy in Atlanta is trying to sell right now and his price is $900. Apple is selling a 2015 13" macbook air in the refurb store for $849!!! (perfect condition mind you, with full Apple warranty). We know how laptops are more subject to wear and tear and little dents and scratches anyway - so how on earth this guy thinks a laptop he's been using for 3 years is worth more than one you can get from Apple that is less than a year old and in virtually brand new condition is beyond me.

All over craigslist are asking prices that are similarly stupid for used mac laptops. It's like these people just heard the vague sentiment that 'Macs retain their value' so they ask for 80% of the price they paid for the thing 3 years ago without even checking the market.

Sadly, there's a few fools who actually but at these asking prices, but hopefully they're few and far between.
 
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I would be wondering why you are selling it.

And yes, buying ram and cpu upgrades does not pay off at all when it comes to resale value.
 
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It can take a while to sell some things on eBay.

From experience, I have better chance of selling things at higher prices if I put them up as auctions with starting price of 0.99, this can backfire though and you end up selling it lower than you wanted to but I haven't had that happen yet.
 
IMHO - Macs USED to hold their value much more. With the inability to upgrade macs, you can no longer get a machine in it's original config, then upgrade it to a much more capable device. ZERO user serviceability, means I'm not taking a chance on a completely soldered mac that is out of warranty anymore.

But maybe that's just me.

Also, as others have said, added memory/storage never pays for it self when reselling. Unless it's the TOP of the line upgrade, don't expect more than $100 total on any upgrade.
 
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Lesson learned! It didn't used to be this way when I last sold my laptop... my how the times have changed.
 
Currently selling one rMBP with almost 6 months warranty remaining. 99p (UK) start and it has 47 bids. Fingers crossed. :p
 
I think your price is close, but you will have to wait till the right person wants to save between the Apple Price of $1499 and your price. Even then I have seen some BBY discounts of atleast $150 on the new model. Some significant upgrades in the 2015 model. See below. SO $1499-$150 = $1349-$850= $500 saving. I would think that is significant enough of a saving to buy used.

Compared to its predecessor, this model looks nearly identical externally, but it has a more advanced processor and architecture, more advanced graphics processor, faster RAM, a faster SSD, and a higher capacity battery as well as the aforementioned more advanced "Force Touch" trackpad.

For what it worth, a few months back I bought a 2013 CMBP 13' for $499 from Best Buy Private Auctions. Wanted the upgrade ability and Retina not a concern to me. And at the time it was still being sold by Apple for around $1200. Lower now I think. Just me though but on USED electronic with no warranty I start at 50%, and if it gets close too 75% of new, I just buy new. Not worth the risk.
 
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Rhinoevans said:
I think your price is close, but you will have to wait till the right person wants to save between the Apple Price of $1499 and your price. Even then I have seen some BBY discounts of atleast $150 on the new model. Some significant upgrades in the 2015 model. See below. SO $1499-$150 = $1349-$850= $500 saving. I would think that is significant enough of a saving to buy used.

Compared to its predecessor, this model looks nearly identical externally, but it has a more advanced processor and architecture, more advanced graphics processor, faster RAM, a faster SSD, and a higher capacity battery as well as the aforementioned more advanced "Force Touch" trackpad.

For what it worth, a few months back I bought a 2013 CMBP 13' for $499 from Best Buy Private Auctions. Wanted the upgrade ability and Retina not a concern to me. And at the time it was still being sold by Apple for around $1200. Lower now I think. Just me though but on USED electronic with no warranty I start at 50%, and if it gets close too 75% of new, I just buy new. Not worth the risk.
Click to expand...

Not exactly ;) . If you look a little bit you can get the 2015 rMBP 13" i5 2.7/8/128 in the US and in the UK for $1200, new. Now subtract some value for a used system and in case it´s a 2014 or 2013, some more for the previous hardware. Then you get the price.
 
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I haven't tracked values since I sold it, but at the beginning of the summer I sold that exact machine on CL locally (so no eBay or PayPal fees) for $875. Having said that, they're right: the market sets the price. If it's not selling you need to lower the price.
 
If you go eBay, I generally start my auctions at $0.99. That gets people bidding and when they start bidding, they feel more affinity to spending more on it. Also, you'll end up with a ton of bids, giving it credibility over the others. The downside is that while you may get the highest for it from eBay, the fees and paypal fees and shipping all kill it.

I prefer selling through Craigslist... just be patient. List it with a story (buying a new one or upgrading to larger screen) and put a reasonable price with room to negotiate.

If you're looking to lower your price and sell on here though... i MIGHT have a friend in need. Lemme know!
 
With eBay, I experimented with Buy It Now prices which then become auctions if the item isn't sold within a day or two. Usually, the final price is more than the Buy It Now price. Strange but human.
 
sunsetblow said:
I'm having an incredibly hard time selling this laptop. I mean, yeah it's an old model obviously but it's 2.4 ghz, retina, 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM. It outperforms half of the entire lineup that's come after it. I mean this thing is still a beast.

People have been lowballing me like crazy or not even biting, even at $850.

I've come to realize two things:

1) The general public do not realize that Apple products retain value like mad. I've had so many indignant comments saying "THAT'S WHY TOO MUCH. I could buy a new PC for that much!"

2) Maybe it doesn't make sense to buy specced out Macbooks. No one seems to care about 256GB/8GB iterations... only the 128GB/4GB ones. That caught me completely by surprise.

I have no idea what to do. I guess I just have to reduce it to $800?
Click to expand...

The days of Apple products holding their value are long gone. There's just so many used Macs/iPhone's for sale compared to years ago so obviously their resale value is now crap.

I couldn't let that MacBook go for $800 as it's peanuts. I'd rather give it away to family than sell it to someone for that price.
 
robeddie said:
All over craigslist are asking prices that are similarly stupid for used mac laptops. It's like these people just heard the vague sentiment that 'Macs retain their value' so they ask for 80% of the price they paid for the thing 3 years ago without even checking the market.

Sadly, there's a few fools who actually but at these asking prices, but hopefully they're few and far between.
Click to expand...
Part of the problem is people remember what they paid and think that has anything to do with what something is worth. Loss aversion kicks in and they don't price realistically. It's not just computers I have a friend in the jewelry business and he regularly gets people who are upset to find their $10K Rolex is worth about $3K as a used 2 year old watch.
 
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