I’ve been debating myself for the past couple weeks about whether or not I should sell my (ancient) iPad 1 before Apple unveils its latest version Wednesday, essentially rendering mine worthless for resale.
First of all, the question I’m dealing with, and the one my sister feels strongly that I haven’t thought all the way through, is, “Why would you sell it?” Well, sis, I would sell it so I could get money, which would help me purchase something that I want more than an iPad 1: a refurbished Macbook Air. You see, I’m in need of a laptop so my girlfriend can have hers back.
Lets look at the numbers:
There is a lot of conversation out there about how to go about selling an old iPad, but my best reference point (and highest dollar amount offered) is at the Radio Shack down the street, where I could sell my 16 GB iPad 1, in good condition, for $205.
Refurbished Macbook Airs go for about $900-$1000, depending on screen size (I’m fine with 11”), memory, speed, and condition. You can buy them on Amazon or from Apple.com.
So I tell my sister, look, if I can sell this old iPad and if it can basically offset 20% of the cost of another product which serves a similar purpose, but it’s a product that I would rather have, why wouldn’t I do it? “It was a present,” (true, from Santa, Xmas 2010) and “You can’t play Words With Friends with me” were the two best arguments she had. One more — that it keeps me somewhat on the cutting edge, more so, at least, than not having a tablet — is weighing a little on me now, since I love tech and staying up to date on what’s out there.
Now, it’s true, $205 isn’t really that much money. Do I really want to give up having an iPad entirely for a measly 200 bucks? So what if it’ll help me purchase a laptop, it’s an iPad and it’s awesome, and you generally don’t sell awesome things. Plus, I can probably put together $1000 without too much hassle. But still, it’s the principle…
The question is still up in the air, and I probably have about 5 more hours to decide, before that $205 goes down to $100…and then to $50.
There’s also another, more universal force working against me: I, like most people out there, am change-averse, meaning, all things equal, I’m much more likely to stay put than to make a change*.
Plus, I really do like playing Words with Friends, and I LOVE Flipboard. You know what, I’m keeping it. I missed the boat on getting a great deal for it (something in the $300-$400 range), and I bet Macbook Airs will come down in price over the next 4-8 weeks due to iPad HD frenzy, and I’ll just buy one then.
And in the meantime, I can still wow my girlfriend with my cutting edge-ness.
*I don’t think this is a good thing about me, and I’m trying to fix it.
6 March 2012 ipadipad 1macbook airflipboardwords with friends