Pricing of Macs on ebay...

[oldmacfan]

To say I was happy with the intro of the Mini to the mac line up would be an understatement. I thought that it would bring an down the resale cost of used macs.

I still see first Gen. iMacs that are being priced at what I think is a high price and selling at an inflated price. Who wants an iMac with for mini mac pricing

Personally I am looking to buy a couple of used G4 PowerMacs to tinker with, but those prices are too high for tinkering with.

Any recommendations on where else to look?

[Luca]

Prices are probably high for two reasons... first, to offset the costs of selling things on eBay (Paypal takes 2.9%, eBay takes 5% or something, shipping is not insignificant), and second, because there are people willing to spend that much. It doesn't matter how inflated the price is, all it takes is one person to place that $300 starting bid on an iMac DV for the person to sell it. Then everyone else sells their junk at a similar price and it becomes the norm. It doesn't help that there are very few places where you can easily sell used stuff. If you want to buy stuff used, all most people know about is eBay and retailers. Retailers tend to overprice their stuff even more than eBay, so people see an iMac for $300 instead of $450 and jump on it.

EDIT: Case in point: http://www.powermax.com/cgi-global/generate_css_temp.cgi?p=c-u57584

[octavist13]

Case in point: http://www.powermax.com/cgi-global/generate_css_temp.cgi?p=c-u57584

That is absolutely ridiculous. What a rip...

[oldmacfan]

I had forgotten about that sight.

This one killed me:

Certified Pre-Owned PowerMac Mirrored Door DUAL G4/1.25 GHz

Vendor: Apple: c-u57559

512 MB of RAM
80 GB internal drive
internal SuperDrive
internal 56k modem
includes keyboard and mouse
Dual Boot
ATI Radeon 9000 Pro Video
$1819.00

Who is paying these prices? Businesses?

Although I did see a Cube for $499.00...

[Luca]

I wonder if they'd be open to haggling?

Just a thought. I can't imagine there are many people buying pre-owned (read: no warranty, cosmetically imperfect, older revisions) Macs for above retail price for new ones.

[macgeek2004]

PowerMax sells cheap used macs. You can get a G4 tower for like $500.

There G3 iMacs for $169. :)

[Luca]

Compare:

G4/400 on PowerMax (http://www.powermax.com/cgi-global/generate_css_temp.cgi?p=c-u57667) with 192 MB of RAM, 10 GB hard drive, DVD-ROM drive, $529 + shipping

G4/400 on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14912&item=5758439941&rd=1) with 512 MB of RAM, 10 GB hard drive, DVD-ROM drive, $200 + shipping

[Luca]

Ooh, another comparison!

Same exact machine. iMac 333 MHz, 6 GB hard drive, 96 MB of RAM.

$225 at PowerMax (http://www.powermax.com/cgi-global/generate_css_temp.cgi?p=c-u56754)

$119 on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=80039&item=5758365813&rd=1)

Looks like while eBay might not be the BEST place to pick up used Macs, it's a hell of a lot better than PowerMax.

Oh and let me follow this up with a nice big heaping spoonful of:

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~resc0030/owned.jpg

[sildani]

To say I was happy with the intro of the Mini to the mac line up would be an understatement. I thought that it would bring an down the resale cost of used macs.

I still see first Gen. iMacs that are being priced at what I think is a high price and selling at an inflated price. Who wants an iMac with for mini mac pricing

Personally I am looking to buy a couple of used G4 PowerMacs to tinker with, but those prices are too high for tinkering with.

Any recommendations on where else to look?
I bought my 12" PB on eBay a couple years ago, and there a few thing I've learned about dealing with eBay in general, maybe some of my experience can help you.

First of all, at least in regards to Apple products, there always seem to be more coming down the pike. So if you spot one you like, tag it to watch it and monitor it's price. If within 15 min. of it ending it's too high, don't sweat it. There's another auction just like it or better down the road, jump to that and follow the same tactic.

Be selective when considering purchasing such a valuable piece of equipment. Make sure the source is not foreign to you. Send the seller an e-mail, see if they respond. Do they accept PayPal? If they don't, look elsewhere. Check out their feedback rating, if they've sold other Apple products then that's a good sign (although first time Apple prod. seller isn't uncommon, not all auctioneers are resellers). Just make sure their feedback rating is high (over 50 is good enough for me, with at least 98% positive feedback rating). And pay with a Credit Card, not a Debit Card or direct bank debit, because if something goes awry you can dispute the charge with the credit card company. With identity theft being so hot these days, chances are you won't get duped.

Finally, be careful in considering shipping options. UPS Ground seems to give the best bang for the buck. Insure it, because you don't know how the auctioneer will package it. It's worth the extra money for insurance in my opinion. Always insist on a trackable shipping method (certified US Mail is OK too, I think).

So in a nutshell that's my eBay bit. In terms of alternatives, go to the different Mac stores available (apple store, macmall, local apple reseller, etc) and go straight to the discount/discountinued bin. I recently saw a PB G5 1.25Ghz w/ 4x Superdrive for $1600 at my local Apple Store! I would have purchased it, but alas I am married and no longer a free man with my money :P

Hope all this helps. Shoot me an email if it does.