Fair price for an "old" 800 MHz iBook?

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
For the hell of it I called a local shop to see if they had any of the last 800 MHz iBooks in stock. I thought they'd be somewhere between the current $1499 CAD 800 MHz model and the $1999 900 MHz one.



Their amazing price? $1949.



*ahem* Excuse me? I mentioned that the new high end 12" model is 100 MHz faster, has a 10 GB larger HD, a new graphics chip with DDR memory, and a new 24x Combo Drive. I'd be giving up all of this to pocket a measly $49 CAD?



Then he says "Well yeah, I can maybe do a little bit better than that, just so we don't get stuck with it in the store - but we're getting close to our cost."



Sounds like if I get this guy down to $1899 CAD it would be an accomplishment. I can sympathise with them eating some dough on this, but come on. No one is going to buy this thing for $1949.



Comparing it to the new low end, it's configured the same, but with the DDR video memory (maybe not much difference at all though, not sure), and it's got a Combo Drive. An extra $450 CAD just to up the optical drive? No thanks.



OR... maybe these guys are smart. Maybe they know that these new iBooks are all opaque white like the old low end 700 was - with the area around the keyboard solid white instead of silver. It's popped up on a few boards, and some posters over at MacNN are saying they've seen the new models and they are in fact all white. Maybe these guys will get $1949 for it - I'd think long and hard about getting the full white treatment. MAJOR bad idea if you ask me.



So - anyone here have a new iBook on order? I'd like to have this color thing confirmed by someone I trust...



And on the pricing - I've never really followed what prices do after a new product rolls out. I've always thought it would be a good idea to get a new "old" model after an update - cash in on a good deal. When it's a matter of $100 or so though, do you think it's really worth it? What kind of pricing are others here seeing on the 12" 800 MHz Combo now?



OK enough rambling. Discuss.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    That's strange. Here in the US, most places are selling "old" 800 MHz iBooks for $1199, a $100US discount from the new 900s. And in fact... it seems like kind of a crappy discount, but acceptable. I'd expect the old ones to be $1099 to $1149.



    Think about it... $50CAD is much, much less than $100US, so I think they're ripping you off. If they're not willing to drop the price by another $50 on the old models, just get a new one, or look elsewhere.
  • Reply 2 of 13
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    They should use eBay, HAHA...



    Apple has a long history of stiffing their resellers with high cost (and volume!) with little/no warning of impending updates, and little if any revenue, like perhaps a credit against new machines, when they do.



    No wonder then that many Apple resellers are very careful about keeping particular models in stock in only low quantities.
  • Reply 3 of 13
    kennethkenneth Posts: 832member
    murbot.. you are looking for last revision of Apple product? Strange...
  • Reply 4 of 13
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Does it have something to do with how the new ones are all the "opaque white" color scheme? You seemed pretty pissed about that at MacNN.
  • Reply 5 of 13
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Are they all now Opaque?



    Oh my, that sucks hard. The white looks absolutely awful. Wow, the iBook just lost a whole lot of style points as far as I'm concerned.
  • Reply 6 of 13
    stoostoo Posts: 1,490member
    Maybe they aren't allowed to be as stylish as the PowerBooks?
  • Reply 7 of 13
    jante99jante99 Posts: 539member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Stoo

    Maybe they aren't allowed to be as stylish as the PowerBooks?



    Since Apple is trying to court Windows users they must have made the new iBooks look similar to PC labtops to allow switchers to feel at home.
  • Reply 8 of 13
    jaynyjayny Posts: 15member
    Macwarehouse canada is selling it for $1799 (Cad), they have been around for awhile and I've always been happy with their customer service.



    http://www.microwarehouse.ca/product.asp?sku=CPU1822
  • Reply 9 of 13
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Thanks for the link.



    Hmm... a nice looking old 800 with 4x CD burning for $1799 CAD, or a new toyish looking 900 with hopefully 24x CD burning for $1999 CAD.



    heh
  • Reply 10 of 13
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    What's the deal with the combo drives in the iBook? Are they tempermental, I hear some discouraging things around these parts.
  • Reply 11 of 13
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Apparently if you get one that can burn at 16x, you should be out buying lottery tickets left and right.



    I had mine such a short time that I never really bothered with it - but yeah, it lets you select 16x in Toast, for example, and even gives you the correct time remaining if it were burning at 16x, but the seconds will tick down one every 4 seconds. If you just go by the time on the display it reads like it's 16x, but time it yourself and you'll see it's only running at 4x.



    Some people get around it by starting the burn, popping the disk out, then putting it right back in... using certain media... but others are stuck at 4x no matter what. Oh, and a real shocker - Apple is being less than understanding over the whole issue.
  • Reply 12 of 13
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Once I get my external hard drive so I can easily back stuff up, I'm going to bring my iBook into the Apple Store and show them the problem and make them fix it... and if I get another 4x burning drive I'll repeat that... and if I get yet another, I'll demand a new 24x one and hopefully it'll get at least 8x.
  • Reply 13 of 13
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by jayny

    Macwarehouse canada is selling it for $1799 (Cad), they have been around for awhile and I've always been happy with their customer service.



    http://www.microwarehouse.ca/product.asp?sku=CPU1822




    Hmm... London Drugs has them for $1699!
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