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Will my base 15'' MBPr be worth $1000 after in two years?
- Thread starter eminemead
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It's hard to say exactly, given that we don't know what improvements or new features will come with future versions, but I think $1000 is pretty safe for a like-new 15" retina in a couple of years.
It might be worth taking a look on Ebay or similar for what 15" MBPs from two years ago are selling for now.
It might be worth taking a look on Ebay or similar for what 15" MBPs from two years ago are selling for now.
Yes. It will. But after 2 years of hyperinflation, $1000 will only buy a small Latte at Starbucks. 
I find Apple gear retains value better than almost any other tech gear. I bought a top of the line HP laptop about 6 months before buying an iPad 1 for less than 1/4 the cost. The purchase was mandated by my daughter's school. Somebody must have been getting a kickback. After 2 years, the HP laptop was worth $50 but my iPad 1 was still worth closer to $300. So something that started out costing 4 times more was worth 1/6 as much! Ouch! I recently replaced my iPad 1 with an iPad mini and I expect it will retain much of its value despite being at the bottom of the iPad food chain.
I replaced a 2008 white Macbook with a late 2011 15 in HIRES MBP. I see Macbooks still selling for $300-500 even though I paid just over $1000 for mine close to 5 years ago. Now that's retaining value.
One thing that could undermine the value of your rMBP is if Apple comes out with something a whole lot better. Apple recently lowered the price for rMBP and that can also hurt. But these losses are still minor compared to the bleeding you do if you buy a non-Apple product and try to turn it into cash after 1 to 2 years.
I find Apple gear retains value better than almost any other tech gear. I bought a top of the line HP laptop about 6 months before buying an iPad 1 for less than 1/4 the cost. The purchase was mandated by my daughter's school. Somebody must have been getting a kickback. After 2 years, the HP laptop was worth $50 but my iPad 1 was still worth closer to $300. So something that started out costing 4 times more was worth 1/6 as much! Ouch! I recently replaced my iPad 1 with an iPad mini and I expect it will retain much of its value despite being at the bottom of the iPad food chain.
I replaced a 2008 white Macbook with a late 2011 15 in HIRES MBP. I see Macbooks still selling for $300-500 even though I paid just over $1000 for mine close to 5 years ago. Now that's retaining value.
One thing that could undermine the value of your rMBP is if Apple comes out with something a whole lot better. Apple recently lowered the price for rMBP and that can also hurt. But these losses are still minor compared to the bleeding you do if you buy a non-Apple product and try to turn it into cash after 1 to 2 years.
Probably, if not less.
A1260 Macbooks that retailed for $2k were lucky to catch over $750 in 2010.
A1286 2009 model Unibodies with an upgrade to an anti-glare LCD and 8 GB of memory went on eBay for $900 in 2011.
Keeping in mind that you can't upgrade anything on the Retina, I believe its value will go down at the same rate as other Apple laptops.
A1260 Macbooks that retailed for $2k were lucky to catch over $750 in 2010.
A1286 2009 model Unibodies with an upgrade to an anti-glare LCD and 8 GB of memory went on eBay for $900 in 2011.
Keeping in mind that you can't upgrade anything on the Retina, I believe its value will go down at the same rate as other Apple laptops.
Well, if Apple starts releasing hardware faster, then it won't just be a 2 year old model, it may be 3 or 4 product revisions old. Apple maintained it's resale value because the changes came slow. If they crank them out like Dell, it'll be worth less than the current averages.