Used iBook source?

September 20, 2005 9:32 PM

MacFilter: What is the best online source to purchase used iBooks at reasonable rates?

My wife and I both need laptops but we don't anticipate either one of us will use our laptop as our main computer, so we don't want to spend that much money if possible.

I've been following EBay for a while but frankly the deals don't look very good - if I'm going to pay the prices I have tended to see there I'd rather just pay a couple hundred bucks for a new one.

posted by mikel to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

I'd watch craigslist if you are in an urban area. I've seen some pretty good deals on there. Although as you said, it seems the ibooks really don't depreciate very quickly and if you want anything halfway decent your better of just spending the couple extra hundred bucks and going new. I think you start to see the used laptops being a better deal if you are looking for the more expensive powerbooks.
posted by meta87 at 9:43 PM on September 20, 2005

Best answer: I hope this won't seem like a derail, but if I may: an iBook isn't really the best Mac to consider if you want to go the refurbished/used route. Several models from the last 2 years had lots of trouble with the screen hinges damaging the machine, for instance. They're lovely computers (my bf uses one every day and relies on it completely) but there's no way I would even consider owning an iBook without a proper, extended warranty (aka AppleCare).

It might be worth paying a bit more for a new machine to get that peace of mind.
posted by bcwinters at 9:55 PM on September 20, 2005

I agree with bcwinters, and I've owned two PowerBooks and an iMac. Get a new machine with AppleCare.

If you can find a refurbished one from Apple, in an Apple retail store or online, that might be okay. Otherwise, get new ones.
posted by lambchop1 at 10:16 PM on September 20, 2005

Best answer: Following up on lambchop's suggestion, Apple just announced reduced prices on the iBooks in their refurbished hardware store.
posted by DannyUKNYC at 10:47 PM on September 20, 2005

Or you could find a local college student to purchase the machines for you. Since new iBooks were just announced, they tend to pawn off the EOLs to resellers on campus. I think it's $889 for a 12" iBook that was just over $1000 and it has 3 years of AppleCare included (usually $140ish).
posted by idiotfactory at 11:30 PM on September 20, 2005

Best answer: As mentioned above, you should measure your comfort with refurbs, and compare against new pricing... I was in a similar situation as yours (already had other PCs for "primary" work), so I was willing to take a chance.

I ended up buying a refurbished PowerBook from ExperCom (iBook, PowerBook refurbs) for about $600. In 6 months, I've had no problems, so it's worked out well for me.

There's no telling how much mileage I'll ultimately get out of this thing -- my old PC laptop's LCD backlight went dark within 3 years -- but as a "spare" computer I'm not really worried about it.
posted by skyboy at 4:42 AM on September 21, 2005

I concur on refurbs from apple.com/store/, just so long as you do get Applecare as well. I've bought two iBooks in the last two years that way and both have been totally fine.
posted by rleamon at 8:11 AM on September 21, 2005

I've gotten great deals and service from PowerMax.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 9:05 AM on September 21, 2005