Should I sell my brand-new ibook, for a powerbook?

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I have had my ibook for three weeks on Monday, but I've lived these weeks wishing I had purchased a Powerbook. Yes, the ibook does everything I need it to, but I wish I had the features of the Powerbook.



I wish I had the aluminium case, I wish I had the slightly smaller size, I wish had the 333MHZ more power, I wish I had the faster system bus, I wish I had double the VRAM, I wish I had the superdrive, etc.



Should I try to sell my ibook on ebay, and then order a Powerbook. I purchased my ibook under the educational price, so would I get in trouble for selling it? I would only be selling it so I could buy a Powerbook. I wouldn't qualify for another computer purchase being under the educational, but others in my family would qualify for the educational price, so I give them the money to buy it for me.



Any idea how much I could get for my ibook on ebay? I search there, but the money people get varies so greatly. I have the 12 inch, 1 ghz machine, 768mb RAM, 60 gig hard drive, airport extreme, bluetooth. I paid something like $1182 plus tax.



What do I think? It might be a crazy thing to do, but once more time passes, it would be even more expensive to do. What do you think? Thanks!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    One thing you could do....



    Put it on eBay, with a reserve of like, $5000. That way, you'll keep the iBook, but you'll see how much people would be willing to pay for it. Then, put it up for sale at the same amount as your highest bid



    Just a thought
  • Reply 2 of 20
    ibook911ibook911 Posts: 607member
    That isn't a bad idea psgamer, but I find people don't really want to even bother bidding on reserve auctions. It might be worth a try, but it would make the ibook even older by the time I finally did sell it. We'll see what happens. I might keep it. Oh, how I wish I had purchased the Powerbook. haha. We all do stupid things though, so I try to get a good laugh out of it all.



    Even if I keep the ibook, there will come a day when I will get to buy a new Powerbook, so there is always something exciting in the future. As I said, I like how the ibook performs. However, there are things the Powerbook has that I would certainly take advantage of (particularly the Superdrive). Yes, I can get an external, but that is not the same, and there is some of the money that would have purchased the Powerbook.
  • Reply 3 of 20
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Flip question. And perhaps proposition for you ibook911. I have the original PowerBook. Should I trade it for a new iBook? You can't get a SuperDrive in 12" iBooks right? (I mean aftermarket) The chip in the iBooks now is also superior to the GeForce4 Go in my PB 12" right? iBook911 mine has a SuperDrive, 640 RAM, 60 Gig drive, etc. Lemme know if you're interested! I'll throw in the logitech cordless, a Keyspan remote, a case, and some other stuff!
  • Reply 4 of 20
    ibook911ibook911 Posts: 607member
    Aquatic - That sounds like it would be a pretty good trade, but I think I would just keep my ibook than do that, since it is only three weeks old and has only been in my hands.



    Your machine sounds very nice, so I'm sure you could get a decent amount if you sold it.



    I don't know if you should want an ibook though. Your machine sounds fantastic, and it has the appeal/professionalism that the Powerbook carries. I wouldn't part with it. haha.



    For myself, I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess it is best to keep the ibook from a saving money point of view, but then again a new Powerbook would give me more of a machine as time goes by. I would always be 333MHZ less behind the other people (than if I still had ibook), I would be 32MB less behind on VRAM, and I would have a superdrive.



    I saw a website that does put a superdrive in the ibook I think, but I'm not sure. I'm not sure if it was for 12 inch or 14 inch. It was like $300, but I wouldn't want to void my warranty this early.
  • Reply 5 of 20
    madmax559madmax559 Posts: 596member
    keep the ibook

    from what i understand the pbook 12" runs a lot hotter

    while the ibook is dead silent & wont fry your nuts
  • Reply 6 of 20
    quagmirequagmire Posts: 558member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by madmax559

    keep the ibook

    from what i understand the pbook 12" runs a lot hotter

    while the ibook is dead silent & wont fry your nuts




    Not really and yes it runs hotter. Not really because you are feeling the heat the aluminum absorbs like a heat sink. No, because it runs at a faster clock speed. The pbook is also dead silent and won't fry your nuts. It will just make your nuts toasty. I say keep the ibook. Unless you absolutly hate how the ibook performace.
  • Reply 7 of 20
    banchobancho Posts: 1,517member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by madmax559

    keep the ibook

    from what i understand the pbook 12" runs a lot hotter

    while the ibook is dead silent & wont fry your nuts




    I have a 700MHz iBook and a 1.33GHz 12" PowerBook. The heat dissipation in both is about the same (when using on the couch with each in my lap -- not at the same time ). To date, my nuts are still fine. Each is also silent (or very near so).



    edit - I agree with quagmire. The iBook is a great machine. You won't be disappointed with the PowerBook though so it's your call.
  • Reply 8 of 20
    pbg4 dudepbg4 dude Posts: 1,611member
    iBook911,



    As part of the educational purchase agreement, you agreed not to sell your computer for at least 1 year from purchase.



    I don't know if Apple will go after you if you do sell it, but it could give the buyer trouble if they need warranty service within that first year.
  • Reply 9 of 20
    a10t2a10t2 Posts: 191member
    Can you return it? With the 15% restocking fee you would be out $180 or so, but that might be less than you would lose selling it on eBay. Just a thought.
  • Reply 10 of 20
    ibook911ibook911 Posts: 607member
    I thought you could only buy one per year at the educational price. I can't find where it says you cannot sell it for a year, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did somewhere. I guess, if that is the case, I will keep the ibook.



    The agreement does say it is for your personal use, and it was, but now I want a Powerbook. haha. I cannot return it because I had the airport extreme, bluetooth, and larger hard drive added, and they do not take returns on customized products.



    Well, maybe in like three years I'll be able to buy a Powerbook. haha
  • Reply 11 of 20
    Just sell it and buy the PowerBook. You'll get it off your mind and you won't be thinking "should I sell the iBook?" for the next three years. Just get it out of your system. Now, you'll probably lose a few bucks by selling an opened, used item, but you'll be happy you did what you wanted to do in the first place.
  • Reply 12 of 20
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by psgamer0921

    Put it on eBay, with a reserve of like, $5000. That way, you'll keep the iBook, but you'll see how much people would be willing to pay for it. Then, put it up for sale at the same amount as your highest bid



    Bad idea. He'll have to pay the eBay reserve fees even if the iBook doesn't sell. That, and the whole "bad karma for jerking bidders around unnecessarily" thing.



    Search the recently completed items, get an idea for what they're going for, and sell it. Either start it fairly high, or set a reasonable reserve.
  • Reply 13 of 20
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    If you sold the iBook, you're member name wouldn't be true anymore!
  • Reply 14 of 20
    ibook911ibook911 Posts: 607member
    Does anyone know for sure if you cannot sell an educational purchased item for one year? Thanks for the help.
  • Reply 15 of 20
    pbg4 dudepbg4 dude Posts: 1,611member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ibook911

    Does anyone know for sure if you cannot sell an educational purchased item for one year? Thanks for the help.



    I dug through the terms and conditions on Apple's website, and I couldn't find anything that states what I posted before. The closest thing I found was that educational purchases are not for resale. But, I would think that's more for people who think they can buy a new computer and then sell it as new on eBay for more than the .edu price.



    Sorry to lead you astray but I could've sworn I saw that statement when I bought my AlBook last Fall using the student discount.
  • Reply 16 of 20
    ibook911ibook911 Posts: 607member
    Thanks PBG4. Perhaps I will even call Apple, tell them that I want a Powerbook, and so I need to sell the ibook. They don't let you return it, so they should at least let you sell it. haha. We'll see...



    Thanks for everyone's support/advice. I appreciate it.
  • Reply 17 of 20
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    ibook911 there are a few key differences. I got mine because it's smaller and sturdier. If you're near a store go check one out and you'll see what I mean. They keyboard is a good example. Mine has proved very rugged. 12" PowerBooks are I think one of the most rugged Macs since the Mac Classics. They should make a ruggedized line of PowerBooks! Also the SuperDrive option...They should add that option BTO to 12" iBooks. I'd buy one, now, or soon, and sell my PB if they did. And yes it's hotter, but I use it on desks. The new PowerBooks are nice but still use NVIDIA...hrm perhaps that's why they're so hot.
  • Reply 18 of 20
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Dump the ibook, after two more weeks of ownership the thing will look like you used as a puck on shuffleboard. It?s just to scratch prone; you?ll enjoy the 12? much more. Feels like its worth something, plus the speed of the 1.33 version is great. I play Soldier of Fortune, Medal of Honor and Call of Duty just fine on it. It does get a little warm on occasion but I?m not hugging it while I?m sleeping so who cares (well sometimes). Plus the fact that the iBooks video spanning is crippled is just inexcusable if not down right arrogant of Apple. F---k the iBook, f---k it with a big rubber d---k.
  • Reply 19 of 20
    ibook911ibook911 Posts: 607member
    I called Apple today. They said there is no problem if I sell the ibook. Furthermore, they said the warranty is good no matter who calls in on the computer. So, I guess I may go ahead and sell it then.



    Thanks for the support.
  • Reply 20 of 20
    ibook911ibook911 Posts: 607member
    I may have decided to keep the ibook. Another thing is, it just seems rather slow to me. I think I would have welcomed the bit better speed of the Powerbook. However, at this point, I calculate that I would have to spend about $600 more. If I had ordered the Powerbook, it would have only been $400 more.
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