(1) 1 product ratings - Vintage Apple Macintosh LC 475 Model M1476 4MB RAM, 160MB HD, 1.44 Floppy Drive. The Mac even ushered in Steve Jobs's first keynote, with the unveiling of the iconic '1984' ad during the 1984 Super Bowl. But it's hard to appreciate technology at a distance, because even the.

How Much Is My Old Mac Worth?

The Vintage Mac Museum tends to get several emails per month from people with older model Macinti, looking to sell their systems and wondering how much they’re worth. Being familiar with old Macs and visible on the web, I understand why folks are asking me this question. But this can be a tough value to determine, there isn’t a blue book or single exchange available for old Macs.

“I am the original owner of the Bondi Blue iMac Rev C, which is usable and in excellent shape for it’s age. The serial number sticker attached to the case shows date of 1/7/1999. Does this mac have collector value?”

“Since I want to give some money to a friend of mine for Christmas, I have decided to sell my Macintosh IIsi computer. Unfortunately, I am not sure what a fair price would be. Can you please give me some advice?”

As of this writing (2011), on average I’d say most old Macs are worth about $100. Many less than that. An original 128k Mac, truly rare items and prototypes can command hundreds to thousands of dollars. For most systems, sentimental values tend to be higher than resale prices.

Here’s how you can determine how much your old Mac is worth:

Jason Ponic’s Apple Computer Market Guide compiles resale prices for various models of vintage Apple equipment. It’s a nicely compiled resource, most values seem fairly representative of eBay market rates.

eBay is the largest market and a good resource to help determine Mac prices. There are two types of sellers listing this type of equipment, professional sellers and closet cleaners. The professional seller is going to ask the most, these are good upper bound prices for insurance purposes. The closet cleaner just wants to get rid of his/her old stuff at a fair price, these are the more practical values. Check Completed Listings to see what things have actually sold for (or not), rather than the initial asking values. Heavier items may have lower values unless they’re very rare, due to higher shipping costs.

craigslist is the classified ads of the web, broken down by city. Search for your model in your local version as well as those for other major cities (e.g., New York, Boston, San Francisco) You’ll quickly get an idea what average prices are and who is still thinking their $1500 computer is still worth $1000 7 years later. Craiglist by design is a local service, so selling your Mac across the country this way is not typically viable.

Mac of All Trades and PowerMax tend to be a good resources for current retail market values. These vendors buy some used systems, usually at one-half to two-thirds of retail value .

Average out the values you find to determine an approximate worth. You also need to factor in the rarity of the particular model, and the relative availability based on your location. Here in the Boston area there is no shortage of old computers, with many colleges, high tech companies, the MIT Flea and a vibrant local craigslist. But if you don’t live in a major metro area or are looking for something less common, you can wind up paying multiple times what someone else might for the same item.

Such I suppose, is how the market works.

As of this writing for both the Mac IIsi and the iMac G3 I’d estimate about $50 each, I see these models selling on my local craigslist regularly. A rev A bondi blue iMac might be worth twice that. A G4 Cube or PowerMac G5 can go for $250. If you have an working Mac 128k you can probably get $1000 on eBay. For a Mac Plus in a carry bag, don’t expect more than $100. If you have the original packaging that can increase the value.

You can often get more money for old Macs – if they aren’t rare models – by breaking them down and selling them for parts. The whole is usually worth less than the sum of its parts when reselling on eBay.

…
The Vintage Mac Museum is a private, working collection of the pre-Intel Apple Macintosh and related memorabilia. We provide old Mac file transfer and conversion services, along with research into old Mac technologies for patent searches or academic purposes.

This thread is closed and new comments have been disabled. Thanks for your interest!

Posted by Adam Rosen on December 26th, 2011 in Vintage Mac Museum Blog | 42 Comments »

First Apple Mac Game 1984 Free

Shipping This Thing Costs How Much? »

I have a very lightly used PowerBook G3/400(Firewire/Pismo) that I would love to sell to a collector. It has a 10 GB HD and an airport card. What’s a fair price? Anyone interested? I’m on Cape Cod.
I have a macintosh powerbook duo 2300 with docking station and monitor,original mouse and key board with working printer. Everything works. I wish a computer lover would take it off my hands instead of it going in the trash :(
- Hi im a huge apple collector I would love to have it if you still got them i have many vintage mac desktops but no apple laptop and I can always find good homes even for dated computers I am also a big mac collector I also have a rare next station color with cd rom and sound.
  - I have the original Apple Macintosh Classic. I purchased it in 1983 from University of Pennsylvania, about six months before they were released to the public in January 84. Paragon hard disk manager for mac os. When the 512 upgrade and external Drive came out, it was like heaven.
    So it’s had another memory upgrade but I don’t remember exactly how much. It’s it’s in my basement. I haven’t fired it up in years but I imagine it should work. Are you interested? Since I’m not really a collector, it probably should be in the hands of someone that would appreciate and maybe even use it.
  - Dear stpworld,
    In my basement there’s still a 1985 128K Macintosh.
    In it’s company there an Imagewriter, a travelbag and some of the original boxes.
    If interested I can send pictures.
    I live in the Netherlands so the equipment is for 220V.
    The equipment has not been used for 15 or 20 years, but was put in storage in working condition. Please contact me at FreddeVet @ koebongerd.nl
  - Ok I have an old Macintosh Centris 610 floppy drive. Is this even in great working condition worth anything? If you collect then you maybe can tell me if its worth anything and have no use for it so if you want make me an offer. Have alot of floppys and programs for it monitor and everything but no printer
  - Hi ! I have a 1999 blue and clear G3 with the heavy blue and clear 21″ studio monitor. Any interest in either?
I have a Macintosh Plus 1Mb(model no# 0001a) wondering if its worth anything
I have a 13 year old IMAC that I don’t know what to do with. Should I scrap it for the guts.When we switched to an Emac it still worked.Let me know what you think
I have an original Mac which came off the assembly line with the Drexel University “D” embossed on it. They were ordered in 1983 and delivered in April 1984. It has been updated to 512 and then 1024 (or was it 1 M?) Can you give me an idea of the value and where would be the best place to sell it?
I have a PowerBook 100, I would like to resurrect it but the hard disk is broken, any suggestion on how to replace it?
I am willing to buy an old Macintosh Classic of any sort (9″ screen) whether it is unfunctional or working, as long as there is minimal cosmetic damage, im looking around £20 – £50, just email me at josephross @ me.com if anyone is interested in selling one. Best editing photo for mac.
Hi if anyone has