How much to pay?

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Hi,

Im in the UK and im looking to get a laptop to use around the house and sometimes take to work so i want something small, i have thought about a macbook but its alot of money so i have thought about getting a second hand ibook, is it worth it?

im only really looking for something to do basic tasks on and browse the web so how much should i be looking to pay for one of these? I see some people selling the more recent iBooks for around £500 which to me doesnt seem worth it when i can get the top of the range macbook for £350 more through my work, shoudl i be able to get them cheaper than £500?

Thanks for any advice!
 
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Hi,

Im in the UK and im looking to get a laptop to use around the house and sometimes take to work so i want something small, i have thought about a macbook but its alot of money so i have thought about getting a second hand ibook, is it worth it?

im only really looking for something to do basic tasks on and browse the web so how much should i be looking to pay for one of these? I see some people selling the more recent iBooks for around £500 which to me doesnt seem worth it when i can get the top of the range macbook for £350 more through my work, shoudl i be able to get them cheaper than £500?

Thanks for any advice!

Macs of all flavours keep their second hand price very well, if you do see one that seems a good deal it is probably not in tip top condition.

I'm still using a 5 year old iMac on a daily basis so Macs have a long useful life.

Maybe you should see if a refurbished Mac would be more suitable.

Amen-Moses
 
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I see some people selling the more recent iBooks for around £500 which to me doesnt seem worth it when i can get the top of the range macbook for £350 more through my work, shoudl i be able to get them cheaper than £500?

Thanks for any advice!
You definitely should be able to find an iBook for less. That is outrageous. Yes, Macs tend to hold a little more value than your standard Windows machine, but not by that much.
I have seen plenty of G4 iBooks sell for $300-$400 US.(£150-£250).

Keep your eyes open and you should be able to find one in that range. I wouldn't pay anymore than $500 US for an iBook these days.
 

pod


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I'm in the UK... bought a 12 inch 'mid 2005' G4 model (the last incarnation of the iBook) with a 1.33mhz processor, 60GB HD, 1GB Ram, wireless/bluetooth ready in mint condition with all original accessories off ebay for £400... earlier G4 and G3 iBooks are going for quite a bit less...

though you won't find one in any kind of decent order here in the UK for the prices D3v1L80Y is quoting...
 
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though you won't find one in any kind of decent order here in the UK for the prices D3v1L80Y is quoting...
Maybe it is more than just simple conversion rates, I don't know. The price the OP quoted equates to about $985 US. That is almost the exact same price that they sold for new here in the US ($999)... a year ago... and for a brand-new, never before opened machine.
I would never pay anything that close to the original cost for a used or discontinued item.
They are selling for much less nowadays, especially since the Intel machines have been released. Almost no PPC Mac is worth that much anymore, especially an iBook.
Even at $700-$800 US it is still too much to pay for an iBook.

Anywho.. the point is that they should sell for much less than £400-£500 in my opinion. Paying that much is borderline highway robbery.
:black:
 
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Basic Macbook from US store: $1,099.00 USD = £564.091 GBP
Basic Macbook from UK store: $1,459.09 USD = £749.00 GBP

D3v1L80Y said:
...borderline highway robbery.

That's one way to describe it...
 
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Basic Macbook from US store: $1,099.00 USD = £564.091 GBP
Basic Macbook from UK store: $1,459.09 USD = £749.00 GBP



That's one way to describe it...


Whats with the price difference between USA and UK then? Looking at that id be cheaper buying a macbook from the USA paying for shipping and paying tax when imported and itll still be cheaper than getting it in the UK? Im sure i dont make any more money that my american cousins!
 
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I think it's just the usual way we get ripped off in this country, think house/car prices here compared to elsewhere. I don't think you could get it shipped from the US without having taxes added on entry to the UK (As far as I know...) Your only choice would be to pick one up while on holiday.
 
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Basic Macbook from US store: $1,099.00 USD = £564.091 GBP
Basic Macbook from UK store: $1,459.09 USD = £749.00 GBP



That's one way to describe it...


When i bought my mac mini i got it from the USA, it cost me £400 last august and that was including getting a £50 tax ccharge when it came into the country so it still worked out alot cheaper than getting it here. Its mad and it does annoy me how our prices are so inflated!
 
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its obviously up to you but the best thing to do try out the macbook and an ibook and see which you prefer.

kl comparison by SlickShoes.
 
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Ive been looking at the macbook pro and macbook refurb prices and they seem pretty decent, i also was looking on ebay at ibooks and for the latest model people still seem to want £500 so id rather pay maybe 100-200 extra and get a macbook or macbook pro from the refurb site, or if i find i can splash out i might just got for a brand new macbook black mmmm
 
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I'd definitely recommend going for the Macbook if you have the cash. There are some good reasons stated here (Click!) for going with a newer MB/MBP over the older Powerbook/ibook.
 
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im drawn towards the black one, its payday next wednesday so lets hope i get a nice wage so i can blow it all at once!
 
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Since im here, i sometimes like to make music on my current PC if i was to go all out and get the top spec macbook do you think itd be able to handle using music creation programs such as Reason or Logic? I wouldnt mind trying out garageband aswell
 
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I'd say try Garageband 1st, it can do quite a lot for the non-pro. Save this link (Click!) for when you do try it out, it has quite a few good tips.





EDIT: Deleted off topic question.
 
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I'd say try Garageband 1st, it can do quite a lot for the non-pro. Save this link (Click!) for when you do try it out, it has quite a few good tips.





EDIT: Deleted off topic question.

I will try garageband but id liek to use reason too i stucka post in the software forumabout it so hopefully will get some replies, i caught your link before it was deleted and it seems a mixed bag, im not a music pro but ilike experimenting, i wouldnt be gutted if i couldnt run logic cos my PC runs reason fine, itd just be nice to have everything i use on my PC on my mac too :)
 
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dont scrimp on a mac!

Hi,

Im in the UK and im looking to get a laptop to use around the house and sometimes take to work so i want something small, i have thought about a macbook but its alot of money so i have thought about getting a second hand ibook, is it worth it?

im only really looking for something to do basic tasks on and browse the web so how much should i be looking to pay for one of these? I see some people selling the more recent iBooks for around £500 which to me doesnt seem worth it when i can get the top of the range macbook for £350 more through my work, shoudl i be able to get them cheaper than £500?

Thanks for any advice!

hi,

firstly, i wouldnt touch a second hand ibook.
if your paying 500 for it second hand then, reallly that is a rip off.
no its NOT worth it either.
how do you know how badly it has been treated!
and dont ever scrimp and save and look for 'cheap' macs.
you wont find one!!
macs are more dearer than the normal PC and- if your having doubt abt price etc- dont get one if your not sure.
if in doubt- leave it out.!

look- i was just out of uni when i brought my first ibook.
it was £850 quite a few years ago-
and id always worked on them so i wanted my own.
i worked for it and payed cash for it- so i got it a tad cheaper and some stuff thrown in to!
its a few yrs old now and still going strong as the day i got it.


you get what you pay for to.
bascially, with a new mac, you get a years warranty so should anything go wrong- you can take it back.

id steer well away from that second hand one.
 
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I bought an 800 MHz G3 iBook for $350, works great for internet, chatting, email, and light multimedia.
 

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