Since switching over to Mac from PC back in 2019, I’ve never looked back. While Macs aren’t perfect by any stretch, leaving behind my unreliable and often unpleasant Windows daily-driver has been nothing but a net benefit.
However, as I enjoy my third Mac since making the switch, it’s occurred to me that one of the best parts of Mac ownership comes when it’s time to say goodbye to your current machine, and sell it on to the next owner.
I Always Feel Cheated When Selling My Computer Stuff
I generally take good care of my gadgets. It’s not like I baby them, but I also try to think before I act, and I tend to avoid silly accidents that would require a call to my insurance company. Sometimes, however, I feel like I might as well have paid no mind, because for most electronics I resell it doesn’t seem to matter when it comes to resale value.
As a case in point, I tried to sell my beautifulMSI Stealth laptopthat cost nearly $3000 (because of a generous gift of an even better laptop), but couldn’t get anyone to bite at even a third of that price. The low-balling became such an issue, that I simply decided to keep the laptop. Instead, I offered it to my wife who was using an M1 MacBook Pro for her video editing, which meant that she no longer needed it.
Putting that now-five-year-old laptop up for sale resulted in getting exactly our asking price within 24 hours, while my fancy Windows laptop was up for sale for two months before I gave up. The exact same thing happened when I sold my 2019 Intel MacBook Pro, and when I sold my M1 Air model—no haggling over price, sold within a day of listing.
My Apple Stuff Always Seems to Sell Faster, and for More
It’s not just Macs that seem to have this magic resale value field around them. Selling my last Android phone—a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra—was also an exercise in futility. Despite the fact that it’s a more expensive phone than most iPhones of its year (at least where I live), people just don’t perceive it that way. I was able to sell my old iPhone 11 Pro formoremoney than anyone was willing to give me for a newer, better-specified Android phone.
My oldApple Watcheswere gone right after I listed them. My iPads might not even make it to a public listing because a friend or family member wants to snap them up. I make a point of offering my hold hardware to friends and family first. There’s simply no other brand of technology that I’ve personally owned and later sold that works like this at all.
Age Doesn’t Seem to Affect Mac Appeal Much
Perhaps the strangest thing about the used Mac and Apple hardware market is that the age of the device doesn’t seem to make all that much difference. I’ve been looking at what other people list, and it seems even if it’s an old Intel Mac from ten years ago, it’s not going to be available for long. Old dual-core Intel MacBook Air laptops that were too hot and too slow to be desirable even when they were new don’t hang around for long, for example.
I’d like to think that this is mostly just the strength of the brand, and that Apple doesn’t change the outer looks of its hardware for many years at a time. So perhaps a lot of people just want to be seen with afruit-themed laptop at their local coffee shop, even if it’s going to struggle to handle more than two web browser tabs.
It’s not like the buyers I’ve encountered personally were somehow tech-illiterate either. They knew what the specs were, and they knew to ask for a battery cycle count. So the appeal has to be something beyond simply technical needs.
For some people, there was definitely a need to access specific software, or some special purpose that meant it had to be a Mac, but prospective buyers have been as diverse in their needs as you can imagine, so I don’t think my anecdotal experience is going to help me figure out the exact universal reason Macs resell so well, assuming there even is one.
But Keep Your Boxes (and Your Stickers)
While I’ve generally had a good time reselling my Macs and other Apple stuff, I have realized there are a few small things that definitely help smooth things over. People seem to really like getting the original box the device came in. It doesn’t mean all that much in a practical sense, but it does seem to make them less likely to haggle. I keep boxes for warranty and shipping purposes anyway, but I know there are some folks who throw their boxes away as soon as possible.
It’s also been my observation that people like getting the stickers that come with the Mac, which is good because I never use them. However, sticking stickers on the Mac itself is, ironically, a great way to devalue it in the eyes of a prospective buyer. Go figure!
