Apple dropping prices...

KimYeovil

wakandem wrote: »

Problem with apple is their depreciation is worse than a 4x4 . No one wants a 2nd hand mac . i have experience of old stock and a P3 computer is more sale able than a 3yr old mac. To even dispose of them is more expensive than a pc as they have kilos of added plastic 'style' that is no good to man nor beast.

Although a one or two year old Mac is difficult to sell the reason is is that much older Macs have a relatively high value. No-one wants to buy a two year old £800 iMac for £650 because they can buy a brand new one for £800. And no-one wants to sell a two year old £800 iMac for £500 because they see seven or eight year old machines being bought for £450!

If you wait three or four years then the process is much happier for the seller.

(Of course, the recent greater-than-20% price rises due to exchange rates has now scuppered this argument.)

And I face the not unenviable prospect of being able to, very likely, sell a five-month old mini for more than I paid for it!

Jaffa.

isofa wrote: »

Having owned PCs and Macs for 15 to 20 years, I can safely say with experience this is absolutely incorrect, I've a 9 year old G3 Powerbook which similar models are still fetching £300 on eBay, my 10 year old PC laptop is worth a tenna. I sold a G4 2 years ago for £350, I paid £1100 for it 5 years before.

Macs retain a lot of their value, and there is a booming second hand market, on eBay and other places.

Thats conspicuous consumption for you.

isofa

Jaffa. wrote: »

Thats conspicuous consumption for you.

As in owning a few Macs and PCs over 20 years?! In the past 16 years I've gone through a handful of PCs and Macs, important for me to have at least one of each, and preferrably a laptop and desktop too, I'm a fairly heavy user of both platforms for design, photography and development, so obviously one needs to upgrade to run newer software, (unless you are the sort who likes to use System 7 and DOS 5 for all your work...).

I've made mine last more than most people, and still get use out of older ones as servers and writing tools, before I sell. The Macs have definitely resold much, much higher than PCs, which are effectively junk after their main "working" life to me.

Surely reselling at a decent value is part of the process, to be able to see a 5 year old machine for a few hundred, is pretty good - buying quality goods is never a false economy as they also retain more of their value.

However they've been investments and have paid for themselves thousands of times over (PCs and Macs to be fair) in the companies I've run.

Marty_J

Jaffa. wrote: »

Thats conspicuous consumption for you.

I've purchased two computers in the last 10 years, both of them Macs. I know people who have spent more in that time on budget PCs.

That's wise purchasing for you.

Jaffa.

Marty_J wrote: »

I've purchased two computers in the last 10 years, both of them Macs. I know people who have spent more in that time on budget PCs.

That's wise purchasing for you.

Wise purchasing

Marty_J

lol....that's too funny.

But not as funny as what icon OS X will use for his computer if anyone else networks with him:

Percy1983

I would say right now they are overpriced hardware vs hardware, you pay the premium for the OS which personally I don't like.

So they cost more with a limited OS...

Before the Macalots tell me I am wrong, this is my personal opinion which is neither right or wrong just my current overview of how I see the whole thing.

Marty_J

Percy1983 wrote: »

I would say right now they are overpriced hardware vs hardware, you pay the premium for the OS which personally I don't like.

So they cost more with a limited OS...

Before the Macalots tell me I am wrong, this is my personal opinion which is neither right or wrong just my current overview of how I see the whole thing.

Just because you don't like the OS, it doesn't mean it's "limited".

It means you don't like it, for whatever reason.

As for the hardware being over-priced, it is certainly on the pricey side; but with their computers having LED screens, 802.11n wifi, back-lit keyboards, laser-cut metal bodies etc, it can pretty hard to compare them to other brands. There's more to a computer than the size of the HDD.

You pay for quality, whether it's computers or anything else.

david29dpo

I have buyers lining up to buy my old macs!

Lawbag_2

it would seem owning a MAC you are paying an extra £500 just for the Apple badge.