There a many comments here claiming Apple computers are expensive relative to PCs. A typical one is:
"I still can't see how you can claim that Macs are cheaper than PCs!"
May I help?
A computer cost over a year has three main components (ignoring finance):
Lost interest on capital Depreciation Upgrade costs
Let us work them out. You bought your $800 PC last year and were content that you didn't need the higher spec of the iMac. Now Vista is out and you need to upgrade the graphics. What did it cost you?
PC depreciation here in the UK is about 30% per year. That of Macs is around 15%... my 5 year old iMac 800G4 is still selling on eBay for £380... I paid £750... that's only 10% depreciation/year.
The PC:
Lost interest: $32 Depreciation: $240 Upgrade: $150 (typical 256MB card) Vista upgrade: $160 (Home premium is what most people need)
So you have a hardware total of $422. If you include the Vista upgrade you hit $582. That is provided you got an XP install CD with your cheap PC. What people who got one of those secure partition restore options on the HDD do I have no idea. Anyway: $422 or $582.
So what does the Mac cost you? Before I start let me explain that I am trying to save you money. An experienced PC buyer will know a few ruses to save money there. With regard to Macs, this is how you do it.
The refurbished store is an option. You get a full 1 year warrantee but no special deals, education discount or the original box. I find that the original box helps sell it when you need to. Anyway, the refurbished store will offer you anything from 15% to 35% discount. A 15% refurbished discount isn't worth it because the higher education discount is 12%. Anyone who knows anyone in University can get that... just buy in their name... the warranty is transferable.
It is often the case if you buy from the refurbished store with anything over a 20% discount your Mac at the end of the year will sell for what you paid for it. Yes I did say that. I have done that twice with iBooks.
Cost to upgrade? Just the lost interest in the bank: $40 on a $999 MacBook
But I like the original box. So sometimes I buy in the Fall/Autumn.... when the free iPod offer is on. I buy with the 12% higher education discount and I eBay the iPod. I get £65 for it. A year later, a month before the warrantee expires on my Mac (MacBook or iMac) I sell it on eBay. It sells for about 17% less than the purchase price. Here are some figures in UK pounds as I know these to be correct:
MacBook 2.0GHz £879 - with Higher Ed discount £755 minus the money back from the sold iPod £690
Value at end of year £720 Lost interest from the Bank: £30
Cost to you to upgrade? £0!
So, who has the blind spot? Apple or the geeks who keep claiming that Macs cost more than PCs? These are the real figures I have paid over the last 7 years. Before the iPods there were printer deals. Before eBay I sold things in London through Loot.com
I don't just upgrade the graphics for $422 or the OS for another $159, I get new iLife apps, the latest OS, entirely new hardware and an full 1 year warranty on some pretty smart hardware... and I get it for nothing more than the effort of selling a Mac and an iPod. Here in London, through Loot that has never taken more than a single free ad. As for upgrading the HDD I use a Wiebetech firewire dock. You can buy a USB 2 to IDE/SATA cable from NewerTech for $25... cheaper still on eBay.
Now perhaps it's me that has the blind-spot, so could one of those people who keeps complaining that Macs are expensive please explain why I should think the PC a good deal?
There a many comments here claiming Apple computers are expensive relative to PCs. A typical one is:
"I still can't see how you can claim that Macs are cheaper than PCs!"
May I help?
A computer cost over a year has three main components (ignoring finance):
Lost interest on capital
Depreciation
Upgrade costs
Let us work them out. You bought your $800 PC last year and were content that you didn't need the higher spec of the iMac. Now Vista is out and you need to upgrade the graphics. What did it cost you?
PC depreciation here in the UK is about 30% per year. That of Macs is around 15%... my 5 year old iMac 800G4 is still selling on eBay for £380... I paid £750... that's only 10% depreciation/year.
The PC:
Lost interest: $32
Depreciation: $240
Upgrade: $150 (typical 256MB card)
Vista upgrade: $160 (Home premium is what most people need)
So you have a hardware total of $422. If you include the Vista upgrade you hit $582. That is provided you got an XP install CD with your cheap PC. What people who got one of those secure partition restore options on the HDD do I have no idea. Anyway: $422 or $582.
So what does the Mac cost you? Before I start let me explain that I am trying to save you money. An experienced PC buyer will know a few ruses to save money there. With regard to Macs, this is how you do it.
The refurbished store is an option. You get a full 1 year warrantee but no special deals, education discount or the original box. I find that the original box helps sell it when you need to. Anyway, the refurbished store will offer you anything from 15% to 35% discount. The 15% discount isn't worth it because the higher education discount is 12%. Anyone who knows anyone in University can get that... just buy in their name... the warranty is transferable.
It is often the case if you buy from the refurbished store with a 30% discount your Mac at the end of the year will sell for what you paid for it. Yes I did say that. I have done that twice with iBooks.
Cost to upgrade? Just the lost interest in the bank: $40 on a $999 MacBook
But I like the original box. So sometimes I buy in the Fall/Autumn.... when the iPod offer is on. I buy with the 12% higher education discount and I eBay the iPod. I get £65 for it. A month before the warrantee expires I sell it on eBay. It sells for about 17% less than the purchase price. Here are some figures in UK pounds as I know these to be correct:
MacBook 2.0GHz £879 - with Higher Ed discount £755 minus the money back from the sold iPod £690
Value at end of year £720
Lost interest from the Bank: £30
Cost to you to upgrade? £0.
So, who has the blind spot? Apple or the geeks who keep claiming that Macs cost more than PCs? These are the real figures I have paid over the last 7 years. Before the iPods there were printer deals. Before eBay I sold things in London through Loot.com
I don't just upgrade the graphics for $422 or the OS for another $159, I get new iLife apps, the latest OS, entirely new hardware and an full 1 year warranty on some pretty smart hardware... and I get it for nothing more than the effort of selling a Mac and an iPod. Here in London, through Loot that has never taken more than a single free ad. As for upgrading the HDD I use a Wiebetech firewire dock. You can buy a USB 2 to IDE/SATA cable from NewerTech for $25... cheaper still on eBay.
Now perhaps it's me that has the blind-spot, so could one of those people who keeps complaining that Macs are expensive please explain why I should think the PC a good deal?
Slashdot Mirror
You might like to read the comment "Apple or Geek Blind-Spot" to understand why you are wrong about upgrading Macs. It is FAR cheaper than a PC.
The comment is at towards the end of this discussion.
You might like to read the comment: "Apple or Geek Blind-Spot", currently the last comment, to understand why you are wrong.
You might want to read the comment "Apple or Geek blind-spot" to understand why Macs are MUCH cheaper than PCs. It's pretty late in the discussion.
There a many comments here claiming Apple computers are expensive relative to PCs. A typical one is:
"I still can't see how you can claim that Macs are cheaper than PCs!"
May I help?
A computer cost over a year has three main components (ignoring finance):
Lost interest on capital
Depreciation
Upgrade costs
Let us work them out. You bought your $800 PC last year and were content that you didn't need the higher spec of the iMac. Now Vista is out and you need to upgrade the graphics. What did it cost you?
PC depreciation here in the UK is about 30% per year. That of Macs is around 15%... my 5 year old iMac 800G4 is still selling on eBay for £380... I paid £750... that's only 10% depreciation/year.
The PC:
Lost interest: $32
Depreciation: $240
Upgrade: $150 (typical 256MB card)
Vista upgrade: $160 (Home premium is what most people need)
So you have a hardware total of $422. If you include the Vista upgrade you hit $582. That is provided you got an XP install CD with your cheap PC. What people who got one of those secure partition restore options on the HDD do I have no idea. Anyway: $422 or $582.
So what does the Mac cost you? Before I start let me explain that I am trying to save you money. An experienced PC buyer will know a few ruses to save money there. With regard to Macs, this is how you do it.
The refurbished store is an option. You get a full 1 year warrantee but no special deals, education discount or the original box. I find that the original box helps sell it when you need to. Anyway, the refurbished store will offer you anything from 15% to 35% discount. A 15% refurbished discount isn't worth it because the higher education discount is 12%. Anyone who knows anyone in University can get that... just buy in their name... the warranty is transferable.
It is often the case if you buy from the refurbished store with anything over a 20% discount your Mac at the end of the year will sell for what you paid for it. Yes I did say that. I have done that twice with iBooks.
Cost to upgrade? Just the lost interest in the bank: $40 on a $999 MacBook
But I like the original box. So sometimes I buy in the Fall/Autumn.... when the free iPod offer is on. I buy with the 12% higher education discount and I eBay the iPod. I get £65 for it. A year later, a month before the warrantee expires on my Mac (MacBook or iMac) I sell it on eBay. It sells for about 17% less than the purchase price. Here are some figures in UK pounds as I know these to be correct:
MacBook 2.0GHz £879 - with Higher Ed discount £755 minus the money back from the sold iPod £690
Value at end of year £720
Lost interest from the Bank: £30
Cost to you to upgrade? £0!
So, who has the blind spot? Apple or the geeks who keep claiming that Macs cost more than PCs? These are the real figures I have paid over the last 7 years. Before the iPods there were printer deals. Before eBay I sold things in London through Loot.com
I don't just upgrade the graphics for $422 or the OS for another $159, I get new iLife apps, the latest OS, entirely new hardware and an full 1 year warranty on some pretty smart hardware... and I get it for nothing more than the effort of selling a Mac and an iPod. Here in London, through Loot that has never taken more than a single free ad. As for upgrading the HDD I use a Wiebetech firewire dock. You can buy a USB 2 to IDE/SATA cable from NewerTech for $25... cheaper still on eBay.
Now perhaps it's me that has the blind-spot, so could one of those people who keeps complaining that Macs are expensive please explain why I should think the PC a good deal?
There a many comments here claiming Apple computers are expensive relative to PCs. A typical one is: "I still can't see how you can claim that Macs are cheaper than PCs!" May I help? A computer cost over a year has three main components (ignoring finance): Lost interest on capital Depreciation Upgrade costs Let us work them out. You bought your $800 PC last year and were content that you didn't need the higher spec of the iMac. Now Vista is out and you need to upgrade the graphics. What did it cost you? PC depreciation here in the UK is about 30% per year. That of Macs is around 15%... my 5 year old iMac 800G4 is still selling on eBay for £380... I paid £750... that's only 10% depreciation/year. The PC: Lost interest: $32 Depreciation: $240 Upgrade: $150 (typical 256MB card) Vista upgrade: $160 (Home premium is what most people need) So you have a hardware total of $422. If you include the Vista upgrade you hit $582. That is provided you got an XP install CD with your cheap PC. What people who got one of those secure partition restore options on the HDD do I have no idea. Anyway: $422 or $582. So what does the Mac cost you? Before I start let me explain that I am trying to save you money. An experienced PC buyer will know a few ruses to save money there. With regard to Macs, this is how you do it. The refurbished store is an option. You get a full 1 year warrantee but no special deals, education discount or the original box. I find that the original box helps sell it when you need to. Anyway, the refurbished store will offer you anything from 15% to 35% discount. The 15% discount isn't worth it because the higher education discount is 12%. Anyone who knows anyone in University can get that... just buy in their name... the warranty is transferable. It is often the case if you buy from the refurbished store with a 30% discount your Mac at the end of the year will sell for what you paid for it. Yes I did say that. I have done that twice with iBooks. Cost to upgrade? Just the lost interest in the bank: $40 on a $999 MacBook But I like the original box. So sometimes I buy in the Fall/Autumn.... when the iPod offer is on. I buy with the 12% higher education discount and I eBay the iPod. I get £65 for it. A month before the warrantee expires I sell it on eBay. It sells for about 17% less than the purchase price. Here are some figures in UK pounds as I know these to be correct: MacBook 2.0GHz £879 - with Higher Ed discount £755 minus the money back from the sold iPod £690 Value at end of year £720 Lost interest from the Bank: £30 Cost to you to upgrade? £0. So, who has the blind spot? Apple or the geeks who keep claiming that Macs cost more than PCs? These are the real figures I have paid over the last 7 years. Before the iPods there were printer deals. Before eBay I sold things in London through Loot.com I don't just upgrade the graphics for $422 or the OS for another $159, I get new iLife apps, the latest OS, entirely new hardware and an full 1 year warranty on some pretty smart hardware... and I get it for nothing more than the effort of selling a Mac and an iPod. Here in London, through Loot that has never taken more than a single free ad. As for upgrading the HDD I use a Wiebetech firewire dock. You can buy a USB 2 to IDE/SATA cable from NewerTech for $25... cheaper still on eBay. Now perhaps it's me that has the blind-spot, so could one of those people who keeps complaining that Macs are expensive please explain why I should think the PC a good deal?