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Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

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Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#41

Post by r00fus »

cscotta wrote: post #17

I'd like to offer a counterpoint to the author's suggestion that "you'd be an idiot not to buy [and dispose of] a new laptop every year." I'm a software engineer and put a lot on my computer's shoulders, running an entire cluster's worth of software as part of my development environment. I value longevity and durability in products I buy. It's nice to pick a machine and stick with it. It's a long-term companion. It's…

Apple makes it VERY easy to migrate your entire system across machines, thus lubricating this entire process.

That combined with resale make this kit very attractive to their customer base who can instantly choose to be in your camp or the author's camp.

On the other hand, the market probably doesn't value modifications or add-ons as well, so re-selling my year-old MBP with optical replaced by SSD, 750GB 7200RPM rust platter, and 8GB RAM would probably not be "cost effective".

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#42

Post by kami8845 »

jeffclark wrote: post #6
atacrawl wrote: post #2

I'm considering trying this with the MacBook I bought a few months ago (to upgrade back to the 15" MBP that I miss), but to be honest, I've heard so many horror stories about trying to sell computers on Craigslist and eBay that I'm a little spooked by the prospect.

Don't be. If you follow the rules to a T (ship only to confirmed U.S. addresses, ship with tracking, require a signature) you're covered in the eyes of PayPal. I've probably sold 5 laptops and (easily) 10 phones for myself and friends on eBay. Cover your bases, require PayPal and a confirmed address. Don't budge on these points and you'll be fine. PROTIPS: * Absolutely start with a $1 lowest bid, no reserve. The mark…

Are they really protips? When I started out on eBay I just looked at what the most succesful auctions did and the above points were all included. Granted someone with not a lot of time might find these useful. A nice line I like to drop at the end of the text is:"all fun-bidders will hear from my lawyer" (this is translated from German so it might not work as well in English)

This shows that you're serious and has raised the price people are willing to go for to about 90% of what I originally paid, which is pretty impressive when you consider that it's used.

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#43

Post by sorbus »

DanI-S wrote: post #39
cscotta wrote: post #17

I'd like to offer a counterpoint to the author's suggestion that "you'd be an idiot not to buy [and dispose of] a new laptop every year." I'm a software engineer and put a lot on my computer's shoulders, running an entire cluster's worth of software as part of my development environment. I value longevity and durability in products I buy. It's nice to pick a machine and stick with it. It's a long-term companion. It's…

As much as I agree with you about 'disposable computing', he's not really advocating disposing of the computer - he's selling it to somebody else. In the process, he's allowing somebody who couldn't otherwise afford it to buy a long-lasting machine like yours. It may even be true that he's helping the environment by allowing more people to buy longer lasting machines.

> he's allowing somebody who couldn't otherwise afford it to buy a long-lasting machine like yours.

Only very slightly. He's selling it for almost the same price he bought it for, but happens to have a student discount that makes it 15% cheaper.

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#44

Post by afterburner »

wtandy wrote: post #10
nevinera wrote: post #4

Doesn't add up. The only way you can keep this with the numbers given here is if you buy near the start of a release cycle and always sell before it ends . In order to do both, you have to both predict the release schedule well AND spend a month or more with no computer while you wait for the new release. The numbers in the long run are weaker, since some of your purchases will invariably cross release cycle boundari…

My thoughts exactly. However, this works VERY well with iPhones. I have had every iPhone starting with the 3G, and have upgraded each year. Both times, I have sold my previous phone on ebay for at least $100 MORE than the subsidized cost of my new one.

You know the unsubsidized cost of the phone is about $800-$900 right? Those people you're selling to are buying it at one third the price.

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#45

Post by jsz0 »

albedoa wrote: post #14
jeffclark wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't be. If you follow the rules to a T (ship only to confirmed U.S. addresses, ship with tracking, require a signature) you're covered in the eyes of PayPal. I've probably sold 5 laptops and (easily) 10 phones for myself and friends on eBay. Cover your bases, require PayPal and a confirmed address. Don't budge on these points and you'll be fine. PROTIPS: * Absolutely start with a $1 lowest bid, no reserve. The mark…

For someone who has only sold two or three things, it is always awesome to hear this type of advice from experienced sellers. Can you explain why you recommend passing on the reserve? Even if the product will sell for a price that the market considers acceptable 100% of the time, what is the harm in setting a reserve regardless?

I've benefited before from eBay flukes so I always set a reasonable reserve price. I wouldn't suggest setting it too high but I think people understand there is a minimum price you're willing to sell at. I also usually set a buy it now price, requiring immediate payment, at about a 5-10% discount of other recently completed auctions for the same item. If someone is willing to save me the hassle of answering tons of questions, or re-listing the item when inevitably the first few buyers don't pay, I'm happy to give them a discount. In my experience with eBay in the last few years don't be surprised at all if you have to list the item several times before you find a paying buyer.

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#46

Post by astrange »

msbarnett wrote: post #31
kenjackson wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Destroying your files is a single step, well-implemented in Mac OS, and you don't even have to do this if you simply install a fresh OS and use the right settings I don't think installing a fresh OS will remove personal data sufficiently. But maybe there is a setting to do a secure clean?

There's a secure wipe option. You can crank it up to some absurdly paranoid set of passes, although it takes a day or two to complete at that level given a reasonably large drive.

There is no physical reason to use more than one pass on an HD.

And of course erasing an SSD is near-instant.

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#47

Post by nagrom »

buckwild wrote: post #34
brosephius wrote: post #20

according to ebay, my 2-year-old macbook is worth half the original purchase price. not quite free for me :(

I think the key is selling it in a year. A year old macbook retains most of its value. It's actually the same thing with BMWs ;-).

The real trick would be obtaining the 15% student discount with a BMW. If I could figure that out, I'd have a beemer in a flash.

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#48

Post by FrojoS »

Apple's Computers are getting faster and cheaper with every release. Almost as fast as the competition, in some cases faster. The difference is, that used Apple products don't loose their value as fast.

I got my first Mac this year and I have to acknowledge, this company earned their high profit margins very well.

Oh, and I agree with the other posters. You can not, as the author suggests, sell before a new release, if you need a computer all the time. He switched the product line, from a Pro to an Air, so this might be the reason why he has overseen this problem.

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#49

Post by wtandy »

afterburner wrote: post #44
wtandy wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My thoughts exactly. However, this works VERY well with iPhones. I have had every iPhone starting with the 3G, and have upgraded each year. Both times, I have sold my previous phone on ebay for at least $100 MORE than the subsidized cost of my new one.

You know the unsubsidized cost of the phone is about $800-$900 right? Those people you're selling to are buying it at one third the price.

Well aware of this (though I think it's actually $600 for the cheapest in the US). I'm simply pointing out that if you are planning to remain on a given network for a long time, there's no reason not to upgrade the phone every year to the newest available model AND make a little money.

Re: Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

#50

Post by jessriedel »

jws wrote: post #40

Not a college student? Find someone who is. – beware of financial plans predicated on fraud.

I could be wrong, but I don't think there's anything illegal about having a student buy a laptap and then immediately resell it to you. (On the other hand, it might be illegal to directly claim that you are a student when you really aren't.) Whether you think that's immoral probably has to do with how moral you think price discrimination is in general.
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