Unreal Costs of Mac OS 10.5 Install Disks

Usually when someone posts on Mac-Forums wondering if they should update to Mac OS 10.5 Leopard...I usually try to warn them that an install disk is going to cost in the neighborhood of $100-$125 (e-Bay prices)...and sometimes more. This is an especially important consideration if the person thinking about doing this OS update has a computer that isn't worth much more than the cost of the 10.5 install disk.

Anyway...$100-$125 for a 10.5 install disk purchased via e-Bay does sound a bit steep (considering it's an older OS...but still in demand among G4 & G5 users). Well I was doing some internet shopping...and came across MegaMacs. They're selling Mac OS 10.5.6 install DVD's for $229.99...and Mac OS 10.5.0 for $199.99!

These prices are for the single user version...not the 5-user Family Pack!!!

MegaMacs.com - Mac OS X 10.5.6 Leopard Operating System Single User Retail Box, Part # MC094Z/A

MegaMacs.com - Mac OS X 10.5.0 Leopard Operating System Upgrade from any version of Tiger, OEM CPU Drop In Kit

[size=+1]YIKES...That's pretty darn pricey!!![/size]

- Nick

Supply and demand. And since there's lots of folks on PPC who drug their feet upgrading, they are now seeing the results of doing so.

cwa107 said:

Supply and demand. And since there's lots of folks on PPC who drug their feet upgrading, they are now seeing the results of doing so.

Click to expand...

Yes definitely supply & demand. Some folks upgrading think that $100-$125 on e-Bay is expensive for 10.5...those prices almost seem like a bargain compared to $229.99!

- Nick

I'm gonna have to put my spare Family pack up for sale.



Along with the new gigabit nic I have sitting here that hasn't been opened.

And as the man said about suckers? To me it seems Apple abandoned selling Leopard much too early to go completely with this Intel thinking that prevails at Apple HQ.

I say it again ... Mac-Forums, instead of nah-nah-nah-ing those of us who simply cannot afford to go with the latest, and must by circum$tance stick with older OS and PPC machines, should do something constructive via the Buy/Sell/Trade section (a Sticky for example) to make older OS disks available - legally - at reasonable cost.

Mods & Admin, you should be promoting the concept of M-F members 'trading in' their old, and no longer wanted, OS disks.

It's really not cool that Apple stopped selling Leopard and left PPC users out in the cold. Would it really have been that much trouble to sell them side by side instead of letting its users go off on their own and get gouged with these insane prices?

bobtomay said:

I'm gonna have to put my spare Family pack up for sale.

Click to expand...

This would be interesting. I have not seen any Leopard 10.5 Family Packs available for sale anywhere...so it would be interesting to see if it sells for more, and if so how much.

Kash said:

It's really not cool that Apple stopped selling Leopard and left PPC users out in the cold. Would it really have been that much trouble to sell them side by side instead of letting its users go off on their own and get gouged with these insane prices?

Click to expand...

I agree. I think Leopard originally sold for between $100-$129 at the Apple Store. So if someone was able to purchase a used copy of 10.5 for that price on e-Bay (which that is actually what many used copies are selling for on e-Bay)...then that's not really too bad of a deal.

But some e-Bay guys are selling copies of 10.5 for much higher & some online stores (like the one I linked originally) are really going "over the top" charging $229 for something that originally cost $100-$129.

Apple really could have continued to sell Leopard 10.5 for at least a while longer considering there seems to still be a decent demand for it among upgrading Tiger users, and a lot of folks buying used faster G4's & G5's...who don't have a 10.5 install disk.

But like "cwa107" mentioned earlier (supply & demand)...unfortunately if some folks are willing to pay those insane prices..the prices will remain high.

- Nick

OO, Time to sell mine then!

Haven't you all read the posts about people calling Apple and ordering a Leopard disc? I don't know how much they paid, or if there are any left, but it's worth a try for someone who wants/needs one.

Why would ANYONE buy the 10.5.6? LOL I just upgraded the GF's MB from Tiger to Leopard with my family pack 10.5.0 and then did the free software update to get 10.5.8.

That's stupid.

Yikes. I know used the leopard upgrade disks and it cost me a whole $10 (if I remember correctly) from apple at the time. And now they want $199 for the same DVD. Talk about extortion. That's almost 20x the the price Apple charged for the disc.

ZorroAMG said:

Why would ANYONE buy the 10.5.6? LOL I just upgraded the GF's MB from Tiger to Leopard with my family pack 10.5.0 and then did the free software update to get 10.5.8.

That's stupid.

Click to expand...

The main reason why someone may NEED to purchase a Mac OS 10.5.6 install disk...is when new Macintosh computers are first released...they have a "minimum" OS version that can be installed on them.

For example:

- the absolute newest 8-Core Mac Pro when it first shipped, came with Mac OS 10.5.6. This means that it's possible that an older version of Leopard like 10.5.0...would not install, or would not install everything this Mac Pro needed to run properly.

- likewise...the newest 17" MacBook Pro with the 2.8ghz processor (mid-2009 model)...first shipped with OS 10.5.7. So again...earlier versions of the Mac OS may not install properly.

But I totally agree...there's absolutely no reason to pay a premium price for a 10.5.6 install DVD (over the 10.5.0 version) if the Macintosh that 10.5 is being installed on is on the older side (originally shipped with a version of OS 10.4 "Tiger"). And then of course get the free updates to 10.5.8.

- Nick

toMACsh said:

Haven't you all read the posts about people calling Apple and ordering a Leopard disc? I don't know how much they paid, or if there are any left, but it's worth a try for someone who wants/needs one.

Click to expand...

When I inquired a couple of weeks ago, by ringing the UK apple store, I was told that a 10.5.6 DVD would cost me UK£85 ($136.98 at today's rate) according to www.xe.com

ZorroAMG said:

Why would ANYONE buy the 10.5.6? LOL I just upgraded the GF's MB from Tiger to Leopard with my family pack 10.5.0 and then did the free software update to get 10.5.8.

That's stupid.

Click to expand...

Uhmmm, because they don't have a Leopard disc?

They wouldn't if they already owned a Leopard disc as you have.

No one is purchasing the Leopard 10.5.6 disc that already has a Leopard disc.

cwa107 said:

Supply and demand. And since there's lots of folks on PPC who drug their feet upgrading, they are now seeing the results of doing so.

Click to expand...

I am not 'drug' my feet whatever that means simply staying with PPC whatever Apple or mods have to say. Simple.

bobtomay said:

Uhmmm, because they don't have a Leopard disc?

They wouldn't if they already owned a Leopard disc as you have.

No one is purchasing the Leopard 10.5.6 disc that already has a Leopard disc.

Click to expand...

Uhmmm since you clearly missed my point, I'll explain AGAIN:

You buy the 10.5.0 for $199 and upgrade it to 10.5.8 for free via software update....why pay $229?

ZorroAMG said:

Uhmmm since you clearly missed my point, I'll explain AGAIN:

You buy the 10.5.0 for $199 and upgrade it to 10.5.8 for free via software update....why pay $229?

Click to expand...

Please read my earlier post:

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/os...sts-mac-os-10-5-install-disks.html#post989121

- Nick

I wasn't referring to your post and neither was bobtomay, that's why your post wasn't relevant in our sub-discussion.

At the time Apple switched to Intel, they also started some marketing tactics that were more appropriate to Microsoft than to the old Apple. I wondered at the time if Jobs had drunk some of the "MS Kool Aid" and adopted their methods. The issues with Leopard 5 mentioned on the first page of this thread would appear to support that. I agree with the poster who suggested that a legal way be found for us PPC people to buy an old Leopard disk if we want one.

I think the real question would be if it's worth anything to migrate from Tiger to Leopard. Someone who took the path might wish to share experiences or even have done some benchmarks to see if there is an improvement in performance or if the differences are merely presentation. Does it do anything worthwhile or is the change a subjective improvement or not of the appearance?