Why is the 2014 Mac Mini still so expensive?

[mattwestside]

I was looking at the Apple Refurb store and saw a few 2014 Mac Minis for almost $1200. When I refreshed the page, they were gone.

Curious, I went to eBay and saw a ton of them selling for almost full original retail price, especially the ones with the Core i7 config. Some of them are even more expensive than the 2018 Core i7 128GB/256GB Minis which, I thought, were better in every measurable way. Am I missing something here...what's so good about the 2014 considering the press raked it over the coals for essentially being a neutered version of the 2012?

 

[F-Train]

I think that you don't understand e-Bay. Outrageous pricing is pervasive. I can only assume that some buyers are either so stupid, or in such unique circumstances, that they'll buy.

I haven't been following Apple refurb prices on 2014 minis, but I was recently given one and my view is that with the right specs it is a very capable computer. That said, I would expect Apple refurb prices on the 2014s to be pretty good. Also, given that the 2014 is discontinued, I wouldn't expect them to be available as refurbs much longer,. If someone knows that Apple sells refurbs of discontinued models for an extended period, that would be great to know.

I do want to add, as the owner of several Mac computers, including a 2018 mini, that in my view much of what is said on this site about the 2014 is rubbish. As a buyer, the question is all about specs, condition and price. I am using my 2014 as my day-to-day computer and my 2018 only for demanding projects.

For detailed info on how I worked out the respective roles of the 2014 and 2018, see this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2018-mini-2014-mini-luna-display-music.2171149/

For specs, see my signature.

 

[mattwestside]

Thanks, and I have seen you cross-promote that thread at least half a dozen times elsewhere on this forum.

My point was trying to illustrate a use case for the 2014 Mini that would keep its value artificially high, but in reality since Apple still sold it as new up until late last year the retail depreciation model is probably still factoring that in, as well as refurbs being available directly from them. And that trickles down into the second-hand/used market. It's just insane seeing them right next to a refurb 2018 i7 Mini for the same price, or in some cases, higher.

 

[adamk77]

 

 

[skipjakk]

A used 2014 Mac mini 2.6ghz, 1TB 5400rpm drive (standard configuration) goes for about $320-370 on eBay. A lot of listings are overpriced and don’t sell, you have to look at the sold listings to get a sense of the price.

 

[c47v3770]

I snagged a used 2014 with 2.8 Ghz, 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD on ebay for $400 yesterday. Figured it was a good enough price.

 

[Boyd01]

The higher end models seem to still be rather expensive. But you can get a new base model 1.4ghz/4gb/500gh HD new from B&H Photo for $379. That is one of the cheapest prices for a new Macintosh that I've ever seen. Granted, that model is pretty much useless as a general purpose computer, but I've been using one as an iTunes server for a number of years and it's perfect for that.

B&H also has the 2.8ghz/8gb/1tb Fusion model new for $629. I wouldn't buy one, but it's $120 cheaper than the entry level 2018 model, should be more than adequate for general usage and the 1tb Fusion drive will be more useful for some people than the 128gb SSD in the base 2018.

B&H pricing is weird, they also have a 2.6ghz 2014 mini with 8GB and 1tb hard drive. That model is currently going for $649 - $20 more than the version with a faster processor and fusion drive. Makes no sense... unless maybe they have more of the 2.8ghz models in stock and want to get rid of them?

 

[twalk]

Business buyers

There's a decent number of companies that depend heavily on the Mini and buy them in large number. Many of them frequently hit up Ebay and other place that sell used Minis