Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/01/02/ebay-space-gray-imac-pro-key.html
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Hey, BB, you’re givin’ me whiplash with the abrupt transition from underpriced multimeter to overpriced keyboard.
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So what’s the going rate on open box, “like new” imac pros with secondhand keyboards and mice bundled with them?
Something tells me you could make a living by selling imac pros bundled with top of the line black mechanical keyboards on the one hand, and black Apple keyboards ripped out of iMP boxes on the other.
ETA: and the auction’s over at just over $1500. So the seller just got a sweet 30% discount on his new workstation.
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$1500 doesn’t sound like a baaaaaaad price…
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C’mon Rob, as a former Brit you should know that the past tense of “bid” is….bade.
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Set the table for and get ready to welcome ‘buyer’s remorse’.
I suspect that timing would be tricky; as would selection:
As long as there are people available to pay these sorts of markups; you could probably do quite well. The second those dry up, though, the transition from ‘new’ to ‘new in box, really, I swear’ is a negative number; and ‘the configuration I happened to chose’ vs. ‘the configuration you want, BTO from Apple’ is also negative; and the extra layer of shipping(Apple to reseller to you vs. Apple to you) takes its toll as well.
If you knew exactly how many suckers you could reel in(or had a way to back out of Apple orders and Ebay offers without significant penalty) it would be can’t-lose; but for every unit you overshoot you are in the(much less exciting) business of buying new computers, opening them, then reselling them as almost-new; which would suck for you.
I would suspect that selling with reserve prices(to allow you to, effectively, cancel all sufficiently unprofitable peripheral sales without penalty) of the mice and keyboards; combined with pre-ordering whatever has the longest lead time(to maximize the amount of time you have the option; but not the obligation, to buy from Apple) would be the closest you could get without perfect information; but that is strictly the speculation of a peon so grubbingly classless as to subsist on things that aren’t capital gains.
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I’m going to learn to live without it.
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It’s not even a mechanical keyboard? Somehow I doubt those are cherry switches.
Ok, I just can’t get into the head of the really dedicated Apple user.
I wonder how much these classic mice go for on Ebay? I have 2 of them here.
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That’s not a mouse.
It’s the WORST COMPUTER INPUT DEVICE EVER CREATED.
Possibly even classifiable as a torture device.
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The last time I checked, there was a thriving market on Ebay of people reselling brand new Mac Mini’s with custom hard drive configurations installed (and back when you could update the ram, preinstalled RAM upgrades). This is made possible in large part by Apple’s approach to warranties, which is that the warranty covers the device regardless of who the current owner is.
So I expect there to soon be a nice niche market of people selling custom configured iMac Pros, especially once compatible 3rd party SSDs become available. (word is that the iMP is upgradable by certified technicians).
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Possibly even classifiable as a torture device.
Got it,I best set the auction to: “Classic Space Blue Apple torture device, USB.”
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But it’s a collector’s item!
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That’s the other meaning of “bid”.
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Tell it to the Doctor.
[They] bade her half the price she asked. (Samuel Johnson, Rambler, 1751)
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Used in sentences for clarification…
“You are forbidden from buying that item”
“I forbade you from buying that item”
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It’s beautiful.
Overpriced, but beautiful.
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OK, but if you want it to be accurate I believe it should be “Classic Bondi Blue Apple torture device, USB.”
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