iMac Depreciation

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rhythmkingrhythmking
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Here's the deal...



I own a PC right now, but I am going to buy an eMac (or equivalently priced machine) whenever I save up enough cash. The thing is though a lot of the money for my new computer will come from what I can sell my old one for. At this moment in time I feel confident that I can get around $500 for my current PC, but by the time I get around to getting a Mac (probably early 2003) this thing will be worth nothing!



From what I can see Macs hold there value MUCH better than PCs, so I was considering selling my PC now, maybe putting in a little extra money and buying a used iMac G3, and then selling that later to get a better machine.



So really I just wanted to get everyones thoughts on the depreciation in value of PCs vs. Macs.



Also, where are some good place to look online for used Macs? I know, eBay, but I'm looking for other sources as well.



Thanks for your time!

-Adam

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    mcqmcq Posts: 1,543member
    Macs do seem to hold their value much better than PCs. If you're looking to sell your PC and get a G3 iMac for the interim, that's probably fine, eventually you can step up to the new iMac or whatever you feel like getting.



    As for used computers, you can check out Powermax and Smalldog, they have some used and factory refurbished computers for sale.
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  • Reply 2 of 5
    idudeidude Posts: 352member
    There are 3 things about Apple I don't like. One is their bad marketing. Another is the fact that they never ship products when they say they will. The last is their prices.



    I really think that a mac is worth every penny it costs, but I completely understand how someone would be hard pressed to buy one, especially in this economy.



    I'm not sure if I think macs depreciate less than PCs. A five year old mac might be more expensive than a five year old PC, but the mac probably started out more expensive, and a five year old mac is still useful, where as a five year old PC is junk. Steve Jobs uses likes to compare the computer industry to the auto industry. Let's say the mac is a BMW and the PC is Ford. The BMW is better than a Ford, so it costs more. In the same way the Ford will more rapidly depreciate, because it was cheaper to begin with, probably isn't much good (at least compared to a BMW), and there are MUCH more of them on the market. The BMW also depreciates, but because it was more expensive and is better quality and are less driven, they seem to do so less. In terms of percentage dropped, they probably are almost the same, but the Ford seems to be more. If you factor in all the variables, they are similar. I may be wrong, but that's my theory.



    As for used macs: A good thing to do is pick up a copy of Macaddict or Macworld. In the back, they have a large advertising section with lots of vendors. Just to name a few: PowerMAX, poweron, macs4sale, mac-pro, megamacs, and macofalltrade. Also look at the Apple Store. They have some refurbished stuff. Another solution is to get one of the older type iMacs. Apple still sells a few models new, and they start at $749 at online resellers. Hope this helps.



    Philip
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  • Reply 3 of 5
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,445member
    Sadly PC's do depreciate a little more quickly. It's due to the more rapid evolution of the platform. My Pentium 450 and 700 machines feel like dinos even though I can easily remember kicking out the cash for the parts
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  • Reply 4 of 5
    klinuxklinux Posts: 453member
    Mac definitely depreciates less than PCs. The evolution of PC hardware occurs at a much faster pace.



    [ 08-05-2002: Message edited by: klinux ]</p>
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  • Reply 5 of 5
    cablecable Posts: 76member
    [quote]Originally posted by RhythmKing:

    <strong>

    From what I can see Macs hold there value MUCH better than PCs, so I was considering selling my PC now, maybe putting in a little extra money and buying a used iMac G3, and then selling that later to get a better machine.



    So really I just wanted to get everyones thoughts on the depreciation in value of PCs vs. Macs.



    Also, where are some good place to look online for used Macs? I know, eBay, but I'm looking for other sources as well.



    Thanks for your time!

    -Adam</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Macs do hold their value more than PC systems, today's $600USD PC is worth about $150USD in three years. But still, Mac Owners want to get the most of their used Macs. One had a Grape iMac, 266Mhz G3, 128M of RAM, CD-ROM, etc but wanted $550 for it. No way, I saw it selling on Ebay for far less than that, but he wouldn't budge. Plus for $300 more I could have gotten a newer low end Blueberry iMac with tons of more features.



    Maybe you will have better luck from a used Mac dealer:

    <a href="http://www.lowendmac.com/dealers/index.shtml"; target="_blank">http://www.lowendmac.com/dealers/index.shtml</a>;



    See what they are selling your model for.



    Or check out the Mac price list in email.

    <a href="http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/price.html"; target="_blank">http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/price.html</a>;



    Or check out this one:

    <a href="http://www.smalldog.com/SmallDogPriceList.txt"; target="_blank">http://www.smalldog.com/SmallDogPriceList.txt</a>;



    Or try the Apple iMac listings:

    <a href="http://listings.ebay.com/aw/plistings/ending/all/category4603/index.html?ssPageName=CompHubAppiMac"; target="_blank">http://listings.ebay.com/aw/plistings/ending/all/category4603/index.html?ssPageName=CompHubAppiMac</a>;
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