Some posts here concern whether to buy new or used mac minis. To keep things real I thought to post actual data for recent sales at eBay.
2011 low-range dual i5 / 2GB / 0.5TB HDD (macmini5,1 or MC815LL/A). I tracked eight sales over five days. Many sales included extras (keyboards, memory upgrades) whose new cost I subtracted off to obtain a price for the mini alone. Prices ranged from $175 to $380 with averages of $289 (mean) and $306 (median).
2012 low-range dual-i5 / 4GB / 0.5TB HDD (macmini6,1 or MD387LL/A). Someone recently sold seven of these in quick succession. The selling prices ranged from $404 to $455 with an average (mean and median) of $421. The original cost from Apple was $600.
2012 mid-range quad-i7 / 16GB (upgrade from 4GB) / 1TB HDD (macmini6,2 or MD388LL/A). Someone recently sold two of these in quick succession. The selling price was $730 each. The 16GB upgrade is now $100 from Crucial, so taking that off, the price of the mid-range 2012 model is $630. The original cost from Apple with 4GB was $800.
Bottom line: macmini5,1 $306, macmini6,1 $421, macmini6,2 $630. To these prices you must add the values of any memory and storage upgrades.
Keep in mind eBay has lots of small shops asking more for these machines, and the dynamics of auctions can lead inexperienced buyers to overpay. I think the values above are realistic because they were multiple sales.
I do not include the 2011 mid-range (macmini5,2 or MD388LL/A) because, being the last with a separate graphics chip, it tends to burn out. I also omit the 2010 and 2009 models because with Intel Core 2 Duo processors these models are the next to be dropped from some future revision of the OS (they will work with 10.11 El Capitan).
2011 low-range dual i5 / 2GB / 0.5TB HDD (macmini5,1 or MC815LL/A). I tracked eight sales over five days. Many sales included extras (keyboards, memory upgrades) whose new cost I subtracted off to obtain a price for the mini alone. Prices ranged from $175 to $380 with averages of $289 (mean) and $306 (median).
2012 low-range dual-i5 / 4GB / 0.5TB HDD (macmini6,1 or MD387LL/A). Someone recently sold seven of these in quick succession. The selling prices ranged from $404 to $455 with an average (mean and median) of $421. The original cost from Apple was $600.
2012 mid-range quad-i7 / 16GB (upgrade from 4GB) / 1TB HDD (macmini6,2 or MD388LL/A). Someone recently sold two of these in quick succession. The selling price was $730 each. The 16GB upgrade is now $100 from Crucial, so taking that off, the price of the mid-range 2012 model is $630. The original cost from Apple with 4GB was $800.
Bottom line: macmini5,1 $306, macmini6,1 $421, macmini6,2 $630. To these prices you must add the values of any memory and storage upgrades.
Keep in mind eBay has lots of small shops asking more for these machines, and the dynamics of auctions can lead inexperienced buyers to overpay. I think the values above are realistic because they were multiple sales.
I do not include the 2011 mid-range (macmini5,2 or MD388LL/A) because, being the last with a separate graphics chip, it tends to burn out. I also omit the 2010 and 2009 models because with Intel Core 2 Duo processors these models are the next to be dropped from some future revision of the OS (they will work with 10.11 El Capitan).
