Is there still a secondhand market for Intel Macs?

[GMShadow]

Even the fancier Intel models - like the 16" MBP - have tanked considerably. The writing is on the wall for Intel Macs, and most buyers know it.

That said, I expect I'll hang onto mine even once I decide to replace it - it's got considerable sentimental value to me now, and it really runs things just fine - and 8-10 hours of battery is still respectable.

 

[B S Magnet]

Free is obviously an outlier... but it makes perfect sense that the value of a 2013 iMac would be low.

Again, this forum focusses on the use-value. Your remark is about exchange-value, which is not a part of this forum’s remit.

 

[Miat]

and 8-10 hours of battery is still respectable.

There are also get third-party replacement batteries available, which are not only new, but sometimes more recent (and hence better) tech as well, depending on how old your Mac is.

 

[B S Magnet]

which are not only new, but sometimes more recent (and hence better) tech as well, depending on how old your Mac is.

The rule of thumb (and one I can speak to in spades with many, maaany third-party batteries across many different models, bought and jettisoned to recycling) is “newer” is not, ipso facto, “better” with respect to lithium-based batteries. Some third-party vendors have little to no quality control to speak of, and a few of them may even go so far as to spoof cell/controller supplier name with a name known for quality and/or supplying OEM batteries to Apple.

The general rule of thumb for lithium-based batteries for pretty much any line of Macs (or any line of other brand) is to do your homework and find a third-party maker of batteries with a consistent track record. You will tend to pay a little more for this track record, but you probably won’t be paying more than what Apple would have charged for OEM batteries.

For Macs, as vendors go, the NuPower NewerTech line is fairly consistent and probably your best bet for an OEM-comparable replacement, on all models they still supply batteries. Last I looked (in April), batteries as far back as the first MacBook Pros and MacBooks in 2006 are still available from them.

But other batteries by other companies? You pays your moneys, you takes your chances. I ought to show you my 15-month-old battery used with my A1261 MBP. Its appearance would make your jaw drop. CoconutBattery reports the cells and controller are from Sony, but I can verify by visual inspection of the innards that they are not.

 

[pshufd]

The rule of thumb (and one I can speak to in spades with many, maaany third-party batteries across many different models, bought and jettisoned to recycling) is “newer” is not, ipso facto, “better” with respect to lithium-based batteries. Some third-party vendors have little to no quality control to speak of, and a few of them may even go so far as to spoof cell/controller supplier name with a name known for quality and/or supplying OEM batteries to Apple.

The general rule of thumb for lithium-based batteries for pretty much any line of Macs (or any line of other brand) is to do your homework and find a third-party maker of batteries with a consistent track record. You will tend to pay a little more for this track record, but you probably won’t be paying more than what Apple would have charged for OEM batteries.

For Macs, as vendors go, the NuPower NewerTech line is fairly consistent and probably your best bet for an OEM-comparable replacement, on all models they still supply batteries. Last I looked (in April), batteries as far back as the first MacBook Pros and MacBooks in 2006 are still available from them.

But other batteries by other companies? You pays your moneys, you takes your chances. I ought to show you my 15-month-old battery used with my A1261 MBP. Its appearance would make your jaw drop. CoconutBattery reports the cells and controller are from Sony, but I can verify by visual inspection of the innards that they are not.

I had 2 MacBook Pro batteries replaced by Apple and then another one replaced at a high-volume Apple shop with a lot of good references. The battery works fine and I assume that they put in a good one as they could weed out the bad ones from returns.

That said, my future approach, if keeping a MacBook Pro for a long time, would be to have Apple replace it before it goes vintage.

 

[B S Magnet]

I had 2 MacBook Pro batteries replaced by Apple and then another one replaced at a high-volume Apple shop with a lot of good references. The battery works fine and I assume that they put in a good one as they could weed out the bad ones from returns.

This isn’t very informative, in that you aren’t noting which MacBook Pro you had the battery replaced thrice. Putting it another way: a 2018 MacBook Pro and a 2008 MacBook Pro are going to have very different needs and different availability for batteries (as well as other components) in 2023.

It’s probably best to make note of which MacBook Pro you have and/or had for which you had three batteries replaced. If it’s your 2007 model, then this is the forum for it. If it’s either of your 2014 or 2015 models (or another one after about 2013), the place for that is the MacBook Pro forum.

That said, my future approach, if keeping a MacBook Pro for a long time, would be to have Apple replace it before it goes vintage.

That’s also fine, but that routine isn’t part of the remit for this forum, nor is it really possible.

This forum, the Early Intel Macs forum, is a community focussed on how to maintain and improve on the first half of Intel’s Macs which Apple have written off as “obsolete”. An obsoleted model isn’t going to be able to get OEM batteries for it anywhere, unless someone has an unopened, NOS battery kicking arund in their closet which they then offload on a place like eBay — often for a significant mark-up.

 

[pshufd]

This isn’t very informative, in that you aren’t noting which MacBook Pro you had the battery replaced thrice. Putting it another way: a 2018 MacBook Pro and a 2008 MacBook Pro are going to have very different needs and different availability for batteries (as well as other components) in 2023.

It’s probably best to make note of which MacBook Pro you have and/or had for which you had three batteries replaced. If it’s your 2007 model, then this is the forum for it. If it’s either of your 2014 or 2015 models (or another one after about 2013), the place for that is the MacBook Pro forum.

That’s also fine, but that routine isn’t part of the remit for this forum, nor is it really possible.

This forum, the Early Intel Macs forum, is a community focussed on how to maintain and improve on the first half of Intel’s Macs which Apple have written off as “obsolete”. An obsoleted model isn’t going to be able to get OEM batteries for it anywhere, unless someone has an unopened, NOS battery kicking arund in their closet which they then offload on a place like eBay — often for a significant mark-up.

They were 3 separate MacBook Pro 15s. One 2015 and 2 2014s.

I usually don't pay attention to the forum that I'm in when replying to replies. Perhaps this post was moved from another forum as I usually don't follow this forum.

 

[salamanderjuice]

This isn’t very informative, in that you aren’t noting which MacBook Pro you had the battery replaced thrice. Putting it another way: a 2018 MacBook Pro and a 2008 MacBook Pro are going to have very different needs and different availability for batteries (as well as other components) in 2023.

It’s probably best to make note of which MacBook Pro you have and/or had for which you had three batteries replaced. If it’s your 2007 model, then this is the forum for it. If it’s either of your 2014 or 2015 models (or another one after about 2013), the place for that is the MacBook Pro forum.



That’s also fine, but that routine isn’t part of the remit for this forum, nor is it really possible.

This forum, the Early Intel Macs forum, is a community focussed on how to maintain and improve on the first half of Intel’s Macs which Apple have written off as “obsolete”. An obsoleted model isn’t going to be able to get OEM batteries for it anywhere, unless someone has an unopened, NOS battery kicking arund in their closet which they then offload on a place like eBay — often for a significant mark-up.

And an OEM unused battery from 2008 isn't necessarily better than a new random 3rd party one. Batteries degrade over time especially if not stored correctly and one sitting around in a closet likely wasn't.

 

[B S Magnet]

And an OEM unused battery from 2008 isn't necessarily better than a new random 3rd party one. Batteries degrade over time especially if not stored correctly and one sitting around in a closet likely wasn't.

An OEM unused battery (i.e., one still sealed and, for sake of this discussion, stored properly) is going to, from the factory, still retain a sufficient charge to keep the cells/packs from being discharged entirely — a situation which isn’t good for lithium-ion.

To wit, I bought an OEM battery for an A1181 MacBook in 2021 which was probably manufactured in or around 2011, based on the serial. When I dropped it into the MacBook, there was still an ample charge remaining — something around half-charged, as memory serves. This isn’t bad for a decade-old, NOS, OEM battery. I’ve had similar, positive outcomes with batteries for iBook G4s (which, likewise, use lithium-ion batteries).

Although it is possible a random third-party new battery may be in better shape, when new, than a poorly stored, still-sealed, OEM battery, it doesn’t obviate the core point that most third-party vendors of batteries for which the OEM part is no longer sold by Apple aren’t going to be up to the standard. I can attest this from many, many applied experiences across multiple Macs — from clamshell iBook G3s to aluminium MacBook Pros to unibody MBPs, and several models in between.

In ye olden days of whenever, these half-baked, third-party, fly-by-night batteries (from companies like “Upgenspof1086453209” on aliexpress) would be designated, bluntly, as “counterfeit” — not even suitable to be classed as a “third-party on par with first-party”. Their performances, over even limited time periods (like, in as little as two months), tend to fail the basic standard (and, frankly, consumer expectation) of an OEM-calibre battery.

And this is why, when shopping for third-party batteries you expect to last for longer than a couple of months, it’s incumbent to do your homework and to look for the suppliers which have a lengthy reputation for delivering decent batteries with a sufficient warranty to go along with it.

 

[pshufd]

The battery on my 2007 MacBook Pro is original and still holds a charge for 2 hours.

 

[B S Magnet]

The battery on my 2007 MacBook Pro is original and still holds a charge for 2 hours.

Indeed. The 2011 battery in my 2011 MBP still has a 90 per cent life left to it (with just over 400 charge cycles), and it’s not difficult to get up to four hours of use on a single charge.

 

[GMShadow]

I wish I could say Newertech batteries were always trustworthy, but I only managed about 16 months out of the one I dropped into my MBA 1,1 back at the tail end of 2014 before it shorted a cell, which wasn't any better than the fake 'Apple' battery I put into the MB 7,1 that replaced it.

Could be bad luck, but it still stung back then.

 

[B S Magnet]

But other batteries by other companies? You pays your moneys, you takes your chances. I ought to show you my 15-month-old battery used with my A1261 MBP. Its appearance would make your jaw drop. CoconutBattery reports the cells and controller are from Sony, but I can verify by visual inspection of the innards that they are not.

Hahaha speak of the devil… my third A1261 third-party battery since June 2021 just shirt the bed…

 

[i486dx2-66]

This forum, the Early Intel Macs forum, is a community focussed on how to maintain and improve on the first half of Intel’s Macs which Apple have written off as “obsolete”.

Since it's basically off-topic in its entirety, out of respect for the goals of this forum, maybe a moderator could move this thread so the discussions at hand could be continued? 🤷‍♂️

 

[B S Magnet]

Since it's basically off-topic in its entirety, out of respect for the goals of this forum, maybe a moderator could move this thread so the discussions at hand could be continued? 🤷‍♂️

I already made that request some days ago, to have the thread moved to the Mac Basics, Help and Buying Advice forum (as the original post and arc of this discussion wants to talk about resale and secondhand market talk about late Intel Macs — very much buying (and selling) advice).

A weekend mod rejected it.

I invite other discussion participants to ping the moderators for a second review. I am not going to try again.

 

[pshufd]

Could we just create a link in the other forum and post a link here? I do like the discussion about resale.

 

[B S Magnet]

Could we just create a link in the other forum and post a link here? I do like the discussion about resale.

I mean, it’s a worthwhile conversation to have, and it has a place.

For discussions on the resale values of (and second-hand market demand for) 2020 Intel Macs, that place is simply not the Early Intel Macs forum.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

OP, yours is still a perfectly-usable Mac AND PC... the last of having both platforms in one iMac package. People should be interested in it if they want both full platforms in one case. It probably has at least a few more years of macOS support in it.

Also consider that all going Silicon who also need Windows (full, not just ARM Windows) might be interested in it as a Windows PC. It should run at least Windows 10 just fine as a great PC.

There are still many Mac Apps that have not gone Silicon native. If this follows what happened with Rosetta 1, Apple will kill Rosetta 2 and such apps will still exist (orphaned, unless people have an old Intel Mac on which to run them). Yours being the latest model will have appeal for orphaned apps that people consider crucial. There will almost certainly be some after Rosetta 2 is deprecated. I still keep a Snow Leopard Mac for 2 "crucial" apps that never made the leap to Intel.

For those who want a Mac but like Intel-based gaming, it's the ONLY Mac that can scratch both itches. Silicon sans bootcamp abandons booting into full Windows for PC gaming. Position part of your pitch to the gamers. Yours has that advantage over even my Silicon Ultra Mac.

Another option: strip RAM and SSD down to towards minimums, sell the RAM and perhaps put the SSD in an external enclosure to use with your next Mac. A 4TB Silicon SSD upgrade might cost as much as your asking price for a whole, fully functional iMac 27" now, so perhaps you can buy base SSD in your silicon Mac and use the 4TB as an external? This would then reduce the price of your iMac which might make it easier to sell than the "loaded" Mac that it is now.

Lastly: there are some hardware hacks to convert iMac 27" into a usable 5K monitor. That's a great alternative to buying the ASD for upwards of about $2K by itself and basically having the exact same screen for your Silicon Mac. While it seems a bit of a waste since it still works as a Mac and a PC, $2K is $2K. It might be better than dumping it for near nothing and then turning around and re-buying the same screen for $2K in ASD.

 

[dawnrazor]

OP, yours is still a perfectly-usable Mac AND PC... the last of having both platforms in one iMac package. People should be interested in it if they want both full platforms in one case. It probably has at least a few more years of macOS support in it.

Also consider that all going Silicon who also need Windows (full, not just ARM Windows) might be interested in it as a Windows PC. It should run at least Windows 10 just fine as a great PC.

There are still many Mac Apps that have not gone Silicon native. If this follows what happened with Rosetta 1, Apple will kill Rosetta 2 and such apps will still exist (orphaned, unless people have an old Intel Mac on which to run them). Yours being the latest model will have appeal for orphaned apps that people consider crucial. There will almost certainly be some after Rosetta 2 is deprecated. I still keep a Snow Leopard Mac for 2 "crucial" apps that never made the leap to Intel.

For those who want a Mac but like Intel-based gaming, it's the ONLY Mac that can scratch both itches. Silicon sans bootcamp abandons booting into full Windows for PC gaming. Position part of your pitch to the gamers. Yours has that advantage over even my Silicon Ultra Mac.

Another option: strip RAM and SSD down to towards minimums, sell the RAM and perhaps put the SSD in an external enclosure to use with your next Mac. A 4TB Silicon SSD upgrade might cost as much as your asking price for a whole, fully functional iMac 27" now, so perhaps you can buy base SSD in your silicon Mac and use the 4TB as an external? This would then reduce the price of your iMac which might make it easier to sell than the "loaded" Mac that it is now.

Lastly: there are some hardware hacks to convert iMac 27" into a usable 5K monitor. That's a great alternative to buying the ASD for upwards of about $2K by itself and basically having the exact same screen for your Silicon Mac. While it seems a bit of a waste since it still works as a Mac and a PC, $2K is $2K. It might be better than dumping it for near nothing and then turning around and re-buying the same screen for $2K in ASD.

Thank you this has been very useful… not sure if I posted this in the wrong section originally, very possible, but I thought I posted in Silicon section… anyway, obvious upset some folks… but thank you for getting the thread back on topic…

So I got offered a 1/3 of the price I spent on it… I was going to take it, but once I took out success and listing fees it took it 15% below the lowest price I was prepared to take for it… I might regret that in the future, but right now I’ll just have to stick at my drop dead price and wait it out. As you say there are many reasons why someone would want to buy it that I hadn’t considered… I bought it with only the basic 8g of RAM so putting that back in is not a great selling point, but I’ll keep an eye out for cheap RAM, if I can get it up to 16 or 32g then the option of taking the 32g out might be a very good idea… The SSD I think I’ll leave it be, as it was part of the build and I really don’t want to open a perfectly good computer up just for that…

Worst case I just keep it and it sits at home as a general household computer / entrainment hub, I wish I had a better use for it, but it’s just me and my wife and we both have laptops so it’s a little redundant, all my family live overseas so thats not practical… I might just moth ball it and have it as a back up machine in case my Mac Studio pulls up lame one day…

thanks for the reply! food for thought

 

[B S Magnet]

Thank you this has been very useful… not sure if I posted this in the wrong section originally, very possible, but I thought I posted in Silicon section… anyway, obvious upset some folks… but thank you for getting the thread back on topic…

Just to be clear: you didn’t upset me, and I’m glad you got this topic started. Now it has the proper home and audience to do it justice.

 

[dawnrazor]

Just to be clear: you didn’t upset me, and I’m glad you got this topic started. Now it has the proper home and audience to do it justice.

All good… there wasn’t an obvious home for it, but this is better then the Silicon area I guess…

 

[dawnrazor]

Additional question

If I was to remove the 128G of RAM to sell separately, what would the minimum I’d need to replace it with?

I have the original 8Gig (2x4g) I can buy another 2x4g very cheaply, which would be same manufacture so matched RAM… that would take it up to 16g

The question would be whether selling an iMac of this spec with 16gigs of RAM would be a disadvantage to the buyer…

32g feels like a better level, but the maths behind that aren’t as straightforward…

 

[Velin]

Even the fancier Intel models - like the 16" MBP - have tanked considerably. The writing is on the wall for Intel Macs, and most buyers know it.

Yes. Just tried to sell mine, resale values for a 16-inch Intel Macbook Pro at some resellers were bad bad bad. Apple's trade-in value was better, and much easier to deal with. Probably the benefit to Apple is getting Intel parts and fully-working machines to support this last round of Intel-CPU Macbooks during phaseout. I'd bet Apple has zero contracts with Intel at this point, so much cheaper and easier for the company to source parts and machines via trade-in.

If you need to sell the iMac, do it now. Don't wait. Sell now, for whatever you can get for it. Every day you wait, that iMac is dropping in price. There is no universe in which an Intel iMac goes up in price the older it gets. And that 5700 XT GPU is getting outclassed, and fast, hence no one is going to care about big RAM or SSD numbers.

It’s not quiet two years old but I’d be very happy if I got 50% of what I bought it for

Just about impossible, given the enormous Apple upcharge for RAM and SSD. If you need to recoup 50%, forget selling it, a waste of time at a price no one will pay. Just keep it and use it. That's a strong desktop machine with a dedicated GPU, it will work great for many years.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Additional question

If I was to remove the 128G of RAM to sell separately, what would the minimum I’d need to replace it with?

I have the original 8Gig (2x4g) I can buy another 2x4g very cheaply, which would be same manufacture so matched RAM… that would take it up to 16g

The question would be whether selling an iMac of this spec with 16gigs of RAM would be a disadvantage to the buyer…

32g feels like a better level, but the maths behind that aren’t as straightforward…

Pretend you are in the market for that 128GB of RAM and shop for it to see prices. Then discount yours a bit as "used."

A LOT of Apple people wish Apple would go stock with 16GB RAM in 2023 Macs. So 16GB would be great for your iMac. You might also look into whether you can mix amounts with no negative. In my old iMac, that was an option. So I had 2 sticks = 8GB + 2 sticks = 16GB to end up with 24GB with no issue/slow down. If that model can do that, I bet 16GB in 2 sticks would not cost much more than 8GB. You might go that way.

Since this is Intel based, that RAM could sell to anyone able to use that kind of RAM, including the much larger PC crowd.

Note that you could list it at 8GB with 2 empty slots and let potential buyers know they can buy off-the-shelf RAM to get whatever amount they want (offering your 128GB "installed" if it has not sold by then). Apple implies 8GB is still enough for various Macs in 2023. Yours has the great advantage over any Silicon Mac in that users can upgrade RAM whenever they like (and get that RAM at prices driven down by competitive forces. Even my Silicon Ultra is forever stuck with the RAM I chose at purchase.

And again, I'd have a shop remove the 4GB SSD and replace that with as little as 250-500GB (especially if you have either lying around). Put the 4GB in an external enclosure to use with your new Mac. I know you said you didn't want to do it but that would get you much more value for the money you spent for that 4GB upgrade while also making it possible to (mentally) discount the iMac down to a more desirable selling price for buyers.

Look up how much simply replicating 4GB internal storage will cost (at Apple-only pricing) in a new Silicon Mac (using Mac Mini Pro for example, the upgrade from stock 512GB to 4TB adds $1200 to the price). I presume that price cannot be too far from which you are probably wanting to sell your entire iMac. (Re)consider shifting that SSD value to an enclosure and then you can buy towards a minimal SSD in the new Silicon Mac and use that external for bigger storage.

 

[pshufd]

Crucial 3200 DDR4 is $110 at Amazon right now. It's 2x32 GB. So $220 retail and discount by whatever is appropriate for your area for used. I have a very similar Windows box to the 2020 iMac (intentional for Hackintosh) and it has the 128 GB DDR4 3,200 Mhz RAM which will work in the 2020 iMac though it will run it at 2,666 Mhz. Unfortunately most Mac and PC users do not need this amount of RAM and some that do will want comparable CPU and GPU performance. People building newer systems will probably want higher speeds or DDR5.