eBay Mac Prices: Frustration
Anyone else notice the RIDICULOUSLY high prices Macs are going for on eBay? Two year old Macs with their original configurations are going for only a hundred dollars less than the current Dual 867 PowerMacs. What gives? Is it impossible to find a resonably priced AGP Graphics or newer machine? It should be possible to find a two year old Mac for under $1000, shouldn't it?
Ugh.
-Andor
Ugh.
-Andor
Comments
1. Macs retain a great resell value for a very long time, unlike PCs. This has historically been true for nearly ALL Apple computers.
2. Lots of ebay shoppers are suckers and will pay much more than they really should.
feh.
Unfourtunately (well, not for murbot
<strong>i would guess it also has something to do with the software that's coming "bundled" with the machines. not everyone has faster internet connections, and Mac software tends to be harder to find if you happen to want to pirate it.</strong><hr></blockquote>
That's true. On the other hand, eBay is starting to crack down on pirating and is starting to only let people sell computers with software packages only if they come with the original media and licenses (a good idea).
<strong>Two year old iMac maybe.
Unfourtunately (well, not for murbot
Unfortunatly for me, too! If anyone wants to sell a QS 733 or know of a reseller or something that has them let me know!!!
I wasted so much time at EBay. Either just looking or actually bidding. Always the winning price went up to virtually new price in the end. Buyers are just plain nuts. For any mainstream, name-brand product, stay away from the 'Bay. If you want an old, metal Schilling spice box of cardamom seeds, it may be worth a look.
Im a teacher and I ended up getting my 733 for only $1202 and 17" ASDisplay for $667. It was a great deal. Apple often continues to sell a Power Mac from the previous series in the education store when the update the line.
If youre not a teacher or student, try the clasifieds in the local paper or some specialty classifieds weekly's. (Do you get the Recycler?) Anyway, people who sell there are not pros and dont want to deal with the whole auction thing like photos, shipping, Pay-pal, etc. The prices are fairer and once in a while--great! Not the selection of eBay, but if your patient, you might find something.
Finally, I seem to recall Apple having a refurbished option. No better than eBay probably, but less risky.
<a href="http://www.powermax.com/cgi-global/generate.cgi?i=PM_CR_G4"; target="_blank">http://www.powermax.com/cgi-global/generate.cgi?i=PM_CR_G4</a>;
Really though, eBay is great for sellers, not so great for buyers. I've tried to get a good deal on quite a few things there only to be beaten out in the end.
People don't use common sense there for the most part. They've been watching the auction for THEIR iMac for 5 days, and it's just about to end when someone outbids them. "You're not getting MY iMac you bastard!!" they scream as they bid, bid, bid. They probably don't want to have to waste another 3-5 days tracking yet another iMac...
The place is insane. I love it.
i picked up a 24" Sony CRT, widescreen off e-bay for a great price.
the thing sold for over $1,200 (at the time) refurbished. i got it for $450.
best deal i ever got, even though i didn't need it at all.
oh well.
-alcimedes
Like in my cases. I got the new 3.1 MP digital camera and an ultra small Samsung MP 3 player for half the price (compared to buying them locally)
I just successfully sold couple of my 'excess inventory' off eBay at a very decent amount of money.
I will have a bit more money to spend when I am on my trip to Denmark this holiday
ebay is a paradise only for spammers...
[ 10-22-2002: Message edited by: Thereubster ]</p>
Needless to say, the deal was very very shady, some guy claiming he was in spain (location said brussels) and he wanted to send me and so on, till I got an email from some american (US that is) authority saying that I should suspend all deals with this person as they were seeking him out.
(I mean, 'twas probably one of them powerbooks stolen in NYC Apple Store he tried to push me, and for the record, it appears that those are the only pwb's sold on ebay.be).
I would ask that you consider what would happen on eBay if apple chopped prices on all machines, across the board, by 50%.
Now, do you think people on ebay would still be selling a 733 quicksilver for $1200? I think not. Apple computers retain their value *because* of the high prices apple charges, as opposed to the conventional wisdom that apple can charge high prices *because* of the the high resale value (and implied quality).
Also... (hey, while I'm being trollish, why don't I continue in the same vein)... it doesn't help used Mac purchasers that the progress in performance of Macs is pretty darn slow in comparison to the rest of the computing world.
Actually, let me amend that. Apple's progress may be close to the others, however because of the way that it happens, it is not confidence-inspiring to mac buyers and sellers. For one, it happens in a stairstep pattern compared to the relatively smooth ramp in the PC world. every 6 months people have been trained to expect *something*. However, and here's where the second aspect kicks in, if and advance *doesn't* happen at MWNY, MWSF (or possibly MWB, depending on the IDG situation), then there's so much frickin' secrecy that people are still in the dark as to what happens if the next MW* has the long awaited chip of the promise land.
Ok, I'm starting to ramble. I'm watching "The Young Ones" while typing this. It's probably the funniest t.v. show I have ever seen in my life. In fact, I'm fairly certain it is. Anyone else a young ones fan?
neye
I've been wanting to ask you if you could post some of your "secrets" on here. Where you buy new hardware from; how long you keep it before selling; etc. I recall you saying that, in some cases, you ended up getting more when you sold on eBay than you paid for the machine.
Care to share?
The bad part is M$ had ebay cancle the auction 12 hours after I sent payment out because the computer had software on it but no install disks. Well the seller is being cool so I will still get my computer but ebay is on crack. If they want to filter the auctions they should do it before they are posted or at least before they are ended.