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Aurora823

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 16, 2018
28
12
Hi,

If this kind of question has been posted elsewhere please let me know. I bought a Space Grey 13 Inch MacBook Pro 2018 w/ touch bar and 256 gb of storage last fall from BHphoto. When I received it I was not impressed with it (screen brightness and sound) and was hoping to exchange or return it but was not able to. I learned a hard lesson regarding BHPhoto and the inability to make returns on laptops (thought I could since a year prior I had ordered an iPad 2017 and was super disappointed by the unlaminated screen and was able to return it). I paid $1,599 for it and was wondering how much I could get if I tried to resell it now. I have a coworker who is interested in it and willing to pay me $1,000-$1,100. I feel like that me be a little cheap (considering my laptop is in pristine condition and has apple care) but at least I would be getting something back on it. I tried to look on Apple's trade in program but they don't seem to list the 2018 MacBook Pro's yet and I don't know if I'd want that big of a gift card to spend there. Gazelle has people selling the same laptop as mine for around $1,500 but I don't know how long that usually takes and how much money gets cut out of my money by the site. Please let me know your thoughts! Thank you in advance :)

Little update - Gazelle quoted me only $800 for my model :(
 
I'm surprised you weren't impressed with the brightness and sound, those are like the two things the 13" excels it, if nothing else.

Unfortunately, I feel like $1100-1200 is about right considering where the market for laptops is right now. That particular model has been on sale price for $1300 to $1500 about once a month at many online retailers.

Edit: forgot you have AppleCare. You might be able to push about $1300 to $1400 if you find the right buyer.
 
I would say $1200 sounds about right. There comes a point where a person is going to consider spending the extra few hundred to get a machine that no one has touched before (not saying that yours is in bad condition or anything). Just more of a peace of mind thing.

As Goldfish says, those are two qualities that the newer Macbooks really have improved on (in comparison to previous models). If you plan on staying in the Apple Ecosystem, I might recommend keeping the one you have. The only step up would be moving to a 15 inch machine (which I'm a fan of). Any older model will actually be a drastic step down in both brightness and sound.
 
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I'm surprised you weren't impressed with the brightness and sound, those are like the two things the 13" excels it, if nothing else.

Unfortunately, I feel like $1100-1200 is about right considering where the market for laptops is right now. That particular model has been on sale price for $1300 to $1500 about once a month at many online retailers.

Edit: forgot you have AppleCare. You might be able to push about $1300 to $1400 if you find the right buyer.

Yea for some reason the screen on mine seems dim to me like some of the MacBook Airs 2018 were having trouble with. Even at full brightness in room with not much light on I keep pushing to up the brightness. I have a Macbook 2017 and it seems much brighter which is strange. The sound thing is weird though because it sounds great with Youtube and with iTunes but when I try to stream videos on Amazon or Netflix the background music is loud but not the speaking...
 
Yea I should try that! Maybe I'll make an appointment soon ;)

Another thing - it could be the True Tone. It warms up the display a lot, in most instances. This subjectively can make the screen more dim.

The Netflix/Amazon thing is super weird. I don't know why that would ever happen.
 
Yea for some reason the screen on mine seems dim to me like some of the MacBook Airs 2018 were having trouble with. Even at full brightness in room with not much light on I keep pushing to up the brightness. I have a Macbook 2017 and it seems much brighter which is strange. The sound thing is weird though because it sounds great with Youtube and with iTunes but when I try to stream videos on Amazon or Netflix the background music is loud but not the speaking...

On the brightness are we talking with the unit is plugged in to the wall? When plugged in my display gets much brighter.
 
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Try Apple’s trade in for a price quote. Apple will also refund unused AC/AC+ if you choose to cancel which is prorated from the day it was bought till the day you cancel.

Total combined I got a little over $800 for a 2017 nTB 2.3/16/512.
 
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Hi,

If this kind of question has been posted elsewhere please let me know. I bought a Space Grey 13 Inch MacBook Pro 2018 w/ touch bar and 256 gb of storage last fall from BHphoto. When I received it I was not impressed with it (screen brightness and sound) and was hoping to exchange or return it but was not able to. I learned a hard lesson regarding BHPhoto and the inability to make returns on laptops (thought I could since a year prior I had ordered an iPad 2017 and was super disappointed by the unlaminated screen and was able to return it). I paid $1,599 for it and was wondering how much I could get if I tried to resell it now. I have a coworker who is interested in it and willing to pay me $1,000-$1,100. I feel like that me be a little cheap (considering my laptop is in pristine condition and has apple care) but at least I would be getting something back on it. I tried to look on Apple's trade in program but they don't seem to list the 2018 MacBook Pro's yet and I don't know if I'd want that big of a gift card to spend there. Gazelle has people selling the same laptop as mine for around $1,500 but I don't know how long that usually takes and how much money gets cut out of my money by the site. Please let me know your thoughts! Thank you in advance :)

Little update - Gazelle quoted me only $800 for my model :(

A couple of thoughts here: even though other sites have similar devices for sale doesn’t necessarily translate into a sale. If you really want to sell it don’t hold out for top dollar. MBP’s are a dime a dozen now. The market is flooded. You might get lucky and sell it or not. As far as B&H goes, if you had made that purchase with an Amex Platinum, Gold, or Centurion card you would have gotten full credit back when B&H said no. Remember this going forward.
 
As far as B&H goes, if you had made that purchase with an Amex Platinum, Gold, or Centurion card you would have gotten full credit back when B&H said no. Remember this going forward.

This is actually available on all Amex cards, and may even be available on other credit cards, but it won't cover the complete cost, only up to $300.
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/platinum/
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/cash-magnet/
My Mastercard has it too. The benefit terms appear to be identical in all cases.
WASN'T A PERFECT MATCH?‡
If you try to return an eligible item within 90 days from the date of purchase and the merchant won't take it back, American Express may refund the full purchase price excluding shipping and handling, up to $300 per item, up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year per Card account, if you purchased it entirely with your eligible American Express® Card. Purchases must be made in the U.S. or its territories.‡
 
This is actually available on all Amex cards, and may even be available on other credit cards, but it won't cover the complete cost, only up to $300.
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/platinum/
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/cash-magnet/
My Mastercard has it too. The benefit terms appear to be identical in all cases.

All I can tell you is what my personal experience has been. I've been a Black card holder for 11 years. I had a loss of over $40K and Amex credited me with no issues. My Platinum card is the same way. I had a $5000 computer fail on me after two months and the company refused to help me. I called Amex and they credited my account in full. I spend over $33K a month on my Amex cards. Trust me, if they only covered losses for $300, I would not be with them. No way. Not a chance. I expect first class service - especially when I need it. Amex has always had my back. I realize you quoted directly from the Amex web site. I read that, too. But my personal experience has been quite different. So maybe at the end of the day it is YMMV.
 
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Check Swappa for the latest averages. I'd say you can easily get $1,300 - $1,350. Do not sell to Apple or Gazelle. You're just throwing away money there. I recently purchased one from eBay for $1,100 from a nice fellow, but Swappa's prices remain a bit higher for the 2018 MBP model, so check there. And if you do sell on Swappa, don't let low baller commenters sway you. Ignore them, stand by your price, and someone will purchase from you.
 
Here are the prices for Mint 2018 i5 256gb's for sale on Swappa. Range is $1250-$1585.
 

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One follow up to this thread. The video below compares the performance of the 2017 MBP No TB to the 2019 MBP 1.4 GHz. There's also a comparison to the 2018 MBP 2.3 GHz. The 2019 MBP 1.4 GHz actually beats the 2018 MBP 2.3GHz in many of those benchmarks. Of course, they're just benchmarks, but 2018 MBP pricing may take a hit as a result. Something to consider as you look to sell your 2018 MBP.

 
My understanding is that the 2018 has two fans instead of one, so is possibly a lot quieter, and that the flash drive is significantly faster.
 
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