Selling or trading in a 2012 MacBook Air with "service battery" message
June 30, 2018 3:06 PM Subscribe
What's the easiest way to get a decent payout for my mid-2012 MacBook Air, which has been gathering dust for quite a while? Challenge: it occasionally displays a "service battery" message, though the battery still holds about 5 hours. I reset the computer to its factory state, but I'd feel guilty selling it to a private buyer without disclosing this.
It seems like the Apple Store, Best Buy, and other major retailers that advertise "buy-backs" will give me $180-$200. A certain well-known "we buy your old electronics" site advertised $280, but asked on their checklist if the computer displays a "service battery" message. I guess I could...ahem, just not have disclosed this, but I'm sure they have a way of testing batteries even on a factory-reset computer. That and a few (IMHO minor) scratches (they required pictures) brought their deal down to...$180.
Again, I suppose I could just list the computer on eBay as "LOOK! macOS MOJAVE-READY MACBOOK AIR!!!"...but they would take a chunk of the final price.
There's Craigslist, but I don't have the time to weed out scammers, of which there are plenty.
Any other suggestions?
It seems like the Apple Store, Best Buy, and other major retailers that advertise "buy-backs" will give me $180-$200. A certain well-known "we buy your old electronics" site advertised $280, but asked on their checklist if the computer displays a "service battery" message. I guess I could...ahem, just not have disclosed this, but I'm sure they have a way of testing batteries even on a factory-reset computer. That and a few (IMHO minor) scratches (they required pictures) brought their deal down to...$180.
Again, I suppose I could just list the computer on eBay as "LOOK! macOS MOJAVE-READY MACBOOK AIR!!!"...but they would take a chunk of the final price.
There's Craigslist, but I don't have the time to weed out scammers, of which there are plenty.
Any other suggestions?
Best answer: As long as you meet the buyer in person and take cash, it's pretty much impossible for a Craigslist buyer to scam the seller.
In your transaction, the buyer is more at risk- buyers get scammed when the goods aren't as advertised.
As the seller, you could really only get scammed if you agree to take payment by email transfer or cheque or some other indirect means... but cash isn't really scammable.
I have bought numerous iphones on Craigslist and never had a problem. You could even offer to meet the person at the Apple Store and they can run a diagnostic.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 7:29 PM on June 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
In your transaction, the buyer is more at risk- buyers get scammed when the goods aren't as advertised.
As the seller, you could really only get scammed if you agree to take payment by email transfer or cheque or some other indirect means... but cash isn't really scammable.
I have bought numerous iphones on Craigslist and never had a problem. You could even offer to meet the person at the Apple Store and they can run a diagnostic.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 7:29 PM on June 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Stores that buy your used electronics generally pay the lowest possible price you could hope to get if you had to, for example, sell the thing within the next hour or something like that.
I sold a lightly damaged (similar to battery needing service, not similar to broken screen) macbook air several years ago for about twice what the "trade in" price would be by listing it on craigslist, with the damage listed specifically. We met in person and I felt a little shady/wary of scammers but aside from the person grabbing the computer and running out of a crowded public space, or having easy access to very realistic fake small bills in a large amount, there's not really a good way to run a scam in person. I just met in a starbucks super convenient to me in case any buyers bailed out or decided they didn't want it after seeing it in person, but the first person purchased it for my asking price. Incidentally it turned out we had an acquaintance in common and I heard months later the buyer was really happy with the laptop so that was kind of a slam dunk craigslist experience for me.
I would not recommend buying a battery on ebay and installing it yourself unless you have extensive experience with repairing apple products. I'm not saying that it's difficult but I am saying you need like $40-100 worth of custom tools and an extremely light hand to do it without creating visual or functional defects. Getting the battery replaced at the apple store is ~ $100 if the buyer cares to do so considering it works fine and they may want it as more of a desktop computer anyways.
Craigslist/facebook/etc seems like a safer option to me for expensive electronics- it's a lot easier to get caught in the paypal/ebay problem buyer cycle plus shipping a laptop costs a fortune done properly.
posted by love2potato at 10:48 AM on July 1, 2018 [2 favorites]
I sold a lightly damaged (similar to battery needing service, not similar to broken screen) macbook air several years ago for about twice what the "trade in" price would be by listing it on craigslist, with the damage listed specifically. We met in person and I felt a little shady/wary of scammers but aside from the person grabbing the computer and running out of a crowded public space, or having easy access to very realistic fake small bills in a large amount, there's not really a good way to run a scam in person. I just met in a starbucks super convenient to me in case any buyers bailed out or decided they didn't want it after seeing it in person, but the first person purchased it for my asking price. Incidentally it turned out we had an acquaintance in common and I heard months later the buyer was really happy with the laptop so that was kind of a slam dunk craigslist experience for me.
I would not recommend buying a battery on ebay and installing it yourself unless you have extensive experience with repairing apple products. I'm not saying that it's difficult but I am saying you need like $40-100 worth of custom tools and an extremely light hand to do it without creating visual or functional defects. Getting the battery replaced at the apple store is ~ $100 if the buyer cares to do so considering it works fine and they may want it as more of a desktop computer anyways.
Craigslist/facebook/etc seems like a safer option to me for expensive electronics- it's a lot easier to get caught in the paypal/ebay problem buyer cycle plus shipping a laptop costs a fortune done properly.
posted by love2potato at 10:48 AM on July 1, 2018 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Update: I ended up giving the MacBook to a family member who needed one. Weirdly, the "service battery" message went away when I upgraded the computer to Mojave. They have no complaints. Thank you, everyone!
posted by Seeking Direction at 11:02 AM on January 13, 2019
posted by Seeking Direction at 11:02 AM on January 13, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
You can pick up a new battery on Amazon for between $40 and $60, and replace it yourself.
That way you can sell it to a private buyer without guilt.
While you're at it, install a bigger SSD and maximize your return!
posted by tomierna at 5:33 PM on June 30, 2018 [2 favorites]