Tuesday's Empowered column, eBay
No Longer Your Best Source for Low-end Macs, resulted in quite
a bit of email - some of it agreeing with my conclusion, and some
suggesting other sources for low-end Macs.
You're Right about eBay
Matthew Wright writes:
I sold my G4 iBook recently for 800 bucks on eBay and can't for
the life of me figure out why the buyer didn't just buy a newer,
faster refurb one (with a warranty) for the same price on
the Apple online Store. People are strange.
-m
In the last minutes of an auction, people can lose
their minds. I sometimes wonder if they know something about the
item that I don't, but I'm sure it's nearly always just bidding
fever.
Hardy
Try Craigslist and University Surplus
Wilfred Nelson writes:
I/we now use Craigslist and the local UW
[University of Washington] Surplus Store. You have to get in line
early at the surplus store, but you can get a G4 "Sawtooth" or better for $40 without a
hard drive. Some buyer will take the entire stock of 7 or 8 towers,
and I believe they are eBaying them. Financial data on eBay
indicates that their auction business is in a slow decline, and
they are expanding into other areas. I do find that flashed video
cards for Mac's to be a good buy compared to retail prices.
Regards,
Wil Nelson
Mill Creek, WA
I still use eBay for older peripherals and
upgrades, if I can't get them at the local PC repair shop. This is
one area where you can even get brand new items for much less than
retail.
Hardy
My Bargain Lombard
Travis Patocka writes:
Hardy, sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to say that it can
take quite a while to find a good bargain on eBay with regards to a
PowerBook G3 - but they are out there. I was able to find a near
mint Lombard G3/333 with CD-ROM,
192 MB RAM, perfect monitor, OS X 10.1 installed, and 30 day
guarantee for only $150 delivered.
For an educator such as myself, I know that you can get a better
deal if you spend a bit more, but that is not always an option.
This system works great for what I need. This isn't a high-end
system by any stretch, but it works fine for word processing and
basic Net surfing. Also, the battery holds a charge for over three
hours!
The point is to not give up on eBay - you made some valid points
about warranty and shipping issues - but if you look around you
just might find a diamond in the rough.
About four weeks ago there was a mint, loaded Pismo G3/400 with DVD and CD burner
(aftermarket, I think) that someone was selling for only $175! The
guy didn't research his resale but guaranteed the system after I
emailed him - and sure enough, that sucker sold in about one hour.
I have always found eBay a good place to find some great deals, but
like you said, there are many great options.
Thanks for the informative article!
Travis
I saw that Buy-it-now Pismo very early in my
research and thought that I could do better buying parts 'Books.
Clearly, I had a lesson to learn. If I recall correctly, all it
needed was a battery. You're right - it was by far the best deal I
saw. Still, I'm very happy with the deal I got on the G3 iBook.
Hardy
For Canadians, Look at Apple's Refurbs
Terry McCune writes:
Excellent article, Hardy!
Up here in Canada, we have little choice about where to buy
Macs, and used Apple equipment is usually snapped up at ridiculous
prices. When I tried to order Apple stuff from Small Dog, they told
me that their contract with Apple forbids them from selling any
Apple products, new or used, across the border. So much for free
trade.
UPS and FedEx have "broker" fees that can sometimes add a lot to
a small order. So what's a Canuck to do?
Luckily, Apple Canada has seen fit to open a "refurbished"
section of their online store, and it is providing good deals in
recently-issued items, especially iPods.
For good prices on older stuff, you have to be trolling in the
major urban areas to get half decent bargains.
Keep up the good articles!
Terry
Thanks Terry! I recently sent a beige G3 to Ontario from upstate New York for
the cost of shipping - about US$42 through our Postal Service. Even
at that, it was too much to have to pay to get a G3 desktop. I know
that freight costs are a major hinderance to Canadian buyers. I'm
glad you found some partial work-arounds.
Hardy
Your Article on eBay
David K Evans wrote:
I read this article with some amusement, having discovered the
same thing last month. I got my brother interested in Apple, and he
bought a little 600 MHz iBook for
just below $300 and ended up giving it to his daughter for college.
Then I got the email from lower end computing and sent him the link
to get his replacement. He said he'd "quit wasting his time on
eBay" now.
In the end, I suspect that this will just put downward pressure
on the eBay prices, and a careful person can still walk off with a
deal.
Thanks for the great read!
David Evans
I hope you're right but it's nice to see the
retailers getting some good business too.
Hardy
Craigslist a Good Option
Ian Foster wrote:
Good article.
Craigslist, at least
here in Vancouver, BC, is very good indeed.
Cheers,
Ian
Thanks Ian. You're the second reader to check in
with an eBay alternative for Canadian Mac users. We can add the
Craigslist to Apple Canada's "refurbished" section of their online
store, as sources.
Hardy
