Used Macs are getting REALLY cheap (Why I bought one!)

Since Apple Silicon first started rolling out there's been a noticeable and steep decline in the value of used Macs, so much so that I was able to get this retina MacBook Pro for just $100 including shipping and taxes! This is a truly crazy time to be alive, and with just a bit of elbow grease we can try to get this machine up and running like new! This is a great time to be in the market for a MacBook, new or used!

Gear:
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#tech #apple #mac

[theartistchair_]

What’s crazy is that 2019 16-inch MacBook Pros are going for $700 in decent conditions… Intel Macs are depreciating at crazy amounts

[das_boost]

$230 on eBay got me a mid-2015 15” 2.8ghz, 16gb and dual graphics. Virtually zero cosmetic issues apart from what you’d expect on the bottom case and no delamination whatsoever. Knew what to look for and what to steer clear of, all thanks to you sir 👍

[BuckeyeStormsProductions]

I have been playing around in the early 2010's used market for about five months now. I've managed to get my Dad a 2012 MacBook Pro, myself a 2013 MacBook Pro, and my son a 2014 Macbook Air by learning how to interpret listings, doing some simple repairs and upgrades, and being willing to accept there are limitations. All in, for the 3, I am not even in a full $300. My next find is going to be Mac Mini to use as a server. I admit, it's kind of addictive.

[erick-nobre]

In Brazil Apple products are the most expensive in the world (in fact). They are usually sold for 3 times the value of the product in the USA.
Currently a 2012 MacBook Pro is sold for about 700 dollars. An entry level MacBook Air M1 costs, converted from Real to Dollar, 2406.4 dollars.

[JB-xzpw]

Also, love the videos. I've been watching for probably 6 years, and you're the reason that I started refurbishing the old 2010 unibody MacBook pros. I've had a lot of fun doing it and your channel is great. Thanks

[bryans]

Great find. For a few years, after I retired, I was buying unibody MBPs from that era, fixing them up, and reselling them. I never had a net gain but I made enough to mostly support my hobby. That was, until the M chips released and prices nosedived. I quickly sold off and gifted what I had left and invested that money in an M1 Mac mini, and I've been on Apple silicon ever since. But I do miss my hobby.

[GregSplond]

It is because of Luke’s videos and OCLP that we are at this point. My first laptop was the 2013 MacBook Pro and since then I have gotten 4 more because of Luke’s videos. He took away the fear of repair and I thank him for it. The older MacBook Airs he used in high school prompted me to get one and change out the battery. If I am not editing I am using that one.

[archimedepitagorico]

Still rocking my 17-Inch 2011 Macbook Pro with upgrades. Thanks Luke for inspiring me to find and repair one.

[MegaTechpc]

You’re forgetting the most critical secret to your success Luke; you seem to be about the luckiest Apple consumer alive! I mean, just about every video you put out contains some variation of “I found this completely busted Mac on EBay for $100 and after 20 minutes of cleaning and $20 of parts, voila! A perfect-condition MacBook Pro I can turn around and sell for $650!” I don’t know how you do it but I can pretty much guarantee that it in NO way, shape, or form will work out like that for me or literally anybody else. I find a “Parts Only” MacBook on EBay for $100 and I can virtually guarantee what I will get will be completely disintegrated, unrepairable, and a complete waste of $100. That’s reality.

[smbu]

Pretty good deal. You still do have to provide your own AC adapter in that case.
I just picked up a 2015 13" MBP for fairly cheap. Had an expanding battery, but other than that it was in like-new condition. Upgraded i7/16GB/512GB model with box/accessories. I replaced the battery, re-did the thermal paste and swapped in a 1TB Apple SSD I had (512GB one went into my OWC usb case) and now it runs great. Cost me about $230 total including the cost of the battery. Definitely a great find.

[tomwagner]

Long time sub, love it! I actually use my 2015 15” Pro over my MB Air M1 most of the time. Because it works better for what I need it for. These are perfectly usable for 99.9% of people and will be for years to come. Thank you!

[reecewilson]

Still rocking my Mid 2015 Macbook pro. I bought this a few years ago after watching one of your videos. I had never been a Macbook user, now I will never go back. In the UK there are 2018 Macbook pros selling for £500/£600!

[deanzaZZR]

I "upgraded" from a 2015 15" MBP to a 13" M1 MBP at work. I love the M1 but I do miss the larger screen of the 15" MBP at times. The only issues I had with the 15" MBP was its bulk (not too bad either), running hot during the summer and the decreased battery life. $120 is a great bargain.

[lfroncek]

Not to mention you can always turn these old Intel Macs into pretty decent Linux machines...

[movdqa]

One nice thing about these older models is that there are much less likely stolen with activation lock. I see a lot of people buying newer MacBook Pros which are apparently stolen and unusable because they are activation locked.

[FDNY]

Just found an eBay (surprisingly) deal on one of these (MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.6 15" Late 2013) for $236 Grade B Condition. When I received it was in MY opinion Grade A ... Not a scratch on it. Just some screen delamination. I upgraded the 256GB SSD to an EVO Plus 2TB SSD and Macos up to Big Sur. I am VERY happy with the results. It's fast and does everything I need it to do. You just have to be careful with eBay though. Sometimes the deals are not so good, but I found the diamond in the rough.

[alherrera]

I have the Late 2012 one, quite similar to yours. Installed Ventura on it (modified installer of course). I am a nodejs developer and there are certain things that are notoriously slower than a fairly new machine. But it does the job, and its screen makes it specially wonderful for design shenanigans. Fantastic machine.

[geekPlayground]

Great video.
I bought an 2013 imac out of eBay for £75. It was listed as faulty because was dead slow.
Actually the hdd was bad. I bought a 512GB Samsung SSD and that thing flies. The longevity of these computers is amazing. It's 10 years old and I love it.
Cheers
Pedro

[kollinkoko]

5:12 That's an asset tag that you see in work environments for tracking assets. They're meant to be difficult to remove

[PaintballBoomer]

I actually just revived my 2012 MBP 15 with an SSD and RAM, and was so impressed with the performance I bought a 2012 Mac Mini and did the same. I'm dual booting PopOS and Catalina and it's fantastic as a day-to-day machine.