View Full Version : Buying and selling macs strategy
stevegong
2004-08-11, 14:05
I know that some people get a new mac every year or every few months, selling their old one on Ebay. It's nice to always have the latest computer, but is it always guaranteed you get the right deals on ebay? Meaning, what's the general price depreciation of macs every year?
What do YOU do? Do you get a new mac every year and sell the old one, or do you get a new mac and use it for 4 years, keep it and get a new one?
Which is a better way of life?
DMBand0026
2004-08-11, 14:43
I keep mine till they are way too out of date to sell, so I hold onto them. I still have every Mac I've ever owned, including an Apple II, so it's not even a Mac. :)
stevegong
2004-08-11, 14:59
A guy over at .com said he gets a new mac every 8-12 months, and sells his old one on ebay.
I sent him an email asking if one saves more this way than doing what you, DMBand and I have been doing.
He replied with an attachment
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~rg8s/1-3year.tiff
But I have not the foggiest clue as to how that's a good example, because you need years that correspond when talking about a same subject. You change 1 variable. He's introducing a bunch of variables, length of use and price of the new mac.
Can anyone tell me what this guy is trying to say? :confused:
I don't feel like asking him again as I risk him calling me a shitbrain.
I tend to keep the computers that I buy.
I still have a B&W as primary computer at home.
Of course, work gives me a Dual G5 and 12" PB to use so I have "no need" to buy another computer.
Back a few years ago I started buying IBM Thinkpads on ebay.
I bought a new one every 6 months and sold the old one. All this over 2 years.
I figured that I ended up spending $120 for 5 thinkpads over 2 years. Not bad.
Of course, I never got attached to them the way I've gotten attached to my smurf.
thuh Freak
2004-08-11, 16:36
i got a b&w g3/350 myself. i think that was '98 or '99. the 'bot is known around these parts for swapping comps pretty often. i dont know the economics of it, but its a tempting idea. my g3 does everything i need of it; my only complaint is its slow. but alas, the gods which govern the bank haven't endowed me. buying a new computer is on my todo list though, a few lines below "pay for college" and just above "get a motorcycle".
BarracksSi
2004-08-11, 19:15
A guy over at .com said he gets a new mac every 8-12 months, and sells his old one on ebay.
Can anyone tell me what this guy is trying to say? :confused:
He's saying that, at a net cost of 500 bucks at a time, it's cheaper for him to get a new Mac about every year than it would be to get one every three years.
He'll sell the old one when the difference in its eBay price and an equivalent computer's new price is 500 bucks. Over four years, with that method, it costs him less to own four computers than buying three computers over six years (and selling them at half their original cost).
Really interesting that he came up with that, and it seems to work out.
Me? I've only owned TWO -- an original RevA blueberry iBook and an 800 MHz G3 iceBook. I might want a significant bump in the next year or two, but the most important thing I need now is disk space (all these music & photo files really add up!).
torifile
2004-08-11, 19:29
I'm selling my Rev. A powerbook after owning it for 18 months. My longest computer life ever (well since I became independent and bought my own computers). I almost ALWAYS do very well selling my computers. The only time I spent more than a couple hundred $$ on the new computer was when I went from a first edition iBook dual USB to a powerbook. Every other time it's cheaper to buy a new computer than to get AppleCare. That's been my philosophy for years. And it's worked out....
Torifile, do you post your laptop as you are ordering the new one, or do you wait till you have the new one? What do you suggest, I am contemplating doing this but with delivery time, I'm not sure if I can be w/o a laptop during college for so long.
torifile
2004-08-11, 19:45
Torifile, do you post your laptop as you are ordering the new one, or do you wait till you have the new one? What do you suggest, I am contemplating doing this but with delivery time, I'm not sure if I can be w/o a laptop during college for so long.
I can't go without a computer so they overlap a little. Besides that, I just clone my old drive to my new computer so I just keep right on going without so much as a hitch. It takes a little of free cash lying around to pay for the computer up front but it seems to work out ok.
He's saying that, at a net cost of 500 bucks at a time, it's cheaper for him to get a new Mac about every year than it would be to get one every three years.
He'll sell the old one when the difference in its eBay price and an equivalent computer's new price is 500 bucks. Over four years, with that method, it costs him less to own four computers than buying three computers over six years (and selling them at half their original cost).
Really interesting that he came up with that, and it seems to work out.
... [snip] ... That table looks all well and good - but I have a morbid fear that I will not be able to sell at the price as hypothesized and thus, it would throw the "freakishly positive" spin on the constant upgrade process out the window.
This is not to say that I don't believe it can be done and some people do manage to do it succesfully, but for myself - I have not felt confident (or driven enough) to ride the upgrade path each year. :|
Thus, I end up holding on to my Mac until a "quantum" change is introduced which suits me at the time - or a bargain/promo comes along which I think I should not ignore. I don't actually know how well this serves me financially, but I do claim depreciation and would probably claim loss on sale for tax purposes when (if) I actually trade in a computer for a new model.
BarracksSi
2004-08-11, 21:28
That table looks all well and good - but I have a morbid fear that I will not be able to sell at the price as hypothesized and thus, it would throw the "freakishly positive" spin on the constant upgrade process out the window.
Yeah, I know what you mean. I go a bit further and become sorta attached to my iBook, and I don't really want to get rid of it. When I got my iceBook, it took me a couple months before I could comfortably leave my Blueberry tucked away in a laptop bag.
I think this guy would keep an eye on the going price on eBay of his soon-to-be-sold computer, and when it's in the target range, he'd move to sell.
stevegong
2004-08-12, 14:41
Sorry, just to clarify.
4 years... total cost = 2495
6 years... total cost = 2797
Aren't we saving more money in the second case, selling the computer every 3 years? (since over a 6 year period your total cost is only marginaly more than the 4 year cost of the first case)
BarracksSi
2004-08-12, 17:46
Actually, that's correct -- the cost per year is cheaper in the 6-year example.
Well, doggone, I knew I was being as cheap as possible by buying one new computer every... oh, what is it... every FOUR years (so far, that is).
What hasn't been mentioned is whether the new computer is better than the old one. I'm guessing for the most part, it would be.
But consider this scenario. I have been contemplating trading in a FP iMac 15/700 for an eMac 1.25ghz for a mere extra $200. While I almost double the speed and get a host of other improvements, the trade off is that I lose the LCD display, and coolness factor.
And there's something to be said about nostagia. It's always wonderful to remember how much you paid for that doorstop Macintosh IIci. :)
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