Coming at this from a business perspective, it's always better to upgrade sooner than later because you're able to recoup more of your initial investment.
The questions to ask are:
- "How much additional revenue or cost savings will a new machine generate?" If the answer s zero, then all you are dong is adding an expense for no return. If there is, then ask:
- "What are alternate uses of the money I would spend on a new machine?" If that generates a greater return then it makes sense to put money there instead.
There are other considerations, such as warranties ending, tax implications, etc. bu the thing to look at is the total cost of ownership in both scenarios and return on investment.
At some point, if you replace frequently enough leasing may be a viable option.
Nothing depreciates linearly, there's a steep drop off from it being "Used" and then plateau until the new tech rapidly supersedes it, then it drops to a fairly stable price it will remain
They usually take a big drop off he bat and then drop of somewhat linearly, at least that's been my experience with Apple products.
until it becomes vintage and begins appreciating again.
In some cases, but that is usually only for rarer items, not mass market ones. Even then, collectors what boxes, manuals and little or no wear for something to be valuable.
Essentially, it's more economical to sell your "old" thing as soon as possible to the thing you're replacing it with, unless you want to keep both.
That's often a stretch since you'e taking the depreciation hit up front.
As far as Eco or green - you're not throwing it in the garbage, you're giving it a new home.
The company marketing a product as more green because 1. it's overall lifespan is increasing, meaning it's EOL will be longer from now that a competing product and 2. the materials it's made out of are more recycled and or easier to be recycled once it reaches EOL.
Deigning for recycling is a key part of more sustainable manufacturing.
the Eco comment - yes I know they are normally handed down etc but I was just pointing the slight hypocrisy from the big companies pushing the eco but then really pushing people into upgrades.
That's the problem once a market matures - maintaining revenue needs upgraders to continue.
my friend bought a new to which is what started are chat and we were saying how grandparents would have the same tv or washing machine etc for 20 + year..
Things have gotten so complex the costs of repair often are near replacing. It used to be if a switch went bad you could easily diagnose it, buy a part cheaply and DIY. Now, that means replacing an entire circuit board in most cases, which can be expensive, if you can get one.
I just wondered if we all kept that attitude would the global warming issue be less of an issue?
Possibly. It needs to be part of a broader approach.
From a business perspective, use what you have until it no longer functions. Hopefully that will be 7-10 years. Then buy a new one. Over the long term, this strategy works well as long as you can get your business done on your computer.
That is the key. As long as it meets your needs and and a new one won't generate a return, reduce costs or increase productivity it's probably not worth it.
