Cousin again trying to sell his iBook G4, asks for help

[3d]

First and foremost,,,,
• Bullet points and paragraph breaks are your friends. Use them.

Start off the auction description with a nice friendly "story":
Hi folks, up for auction here today is my solid and dependable practically new iBook G4. It's served me well for the past few months, but alas i need a bigger screen. Blah blah...

Then dive into the meat and potatoes:
•iBook G4
• 12" screen, 800MHz, 1Gig Ram, 150Gig HD, blah blah
• Airport installed
• blah blah...

Last but not least, use spellcheck:
" Laptop was mostly used at home and has little to no ware"

[Paul F.]

[quote 3d]
Last but not least, use spellcheck:
" Laptop was mostly used at home and has little to no ware"

He would make more points if he spelled "Wear" correctly...

[chas_m]

[quote Zoidberg]My cousin is trying to sell his old iBook G4 (which was once my wife's iBook, years ago), and it won't sell. Here's his email:

I am listing this computer - but it WONT SELL. I listed it twice. I reserved at 450
Then the reserve is set too high, innit? What the market will bear, etc, and remember the value of this thing goes down a little more with each passing day.

Here's info from his auction:

Among the many problems with this description:

a) This is 2007, which means that if it's "three years old" it's a 2004 iBook. Yet you claim it's from 2003. I ran the serial number of the machine (I'm an Apple tech) and it was actually purchased in Feb 2004 (please see point f below for important info).

b) The battery may hold a full charge NOW, but it's OLD. It won't be doing that for much longer. Not a selling point.

c) "little to no ware" Spell check doesn't catch everything, which is why people need to learn to spell. The word you want is WEAR.

d) Unless you have the install discs for Office and will be including those with the machine, you MUST legally remove the software from the laptop. If you don't have the discs, remove all "extra" software. If you DO have the discs and are including them in the sale, then say so clearly.

e) "Airport wireless software" does not mean the same thing as "Airport card included." Clarify.

f) I ran the serial number for you, and discovered that you have Applecare on that machine for about another week (exp. 2/11/07).

g) These days, anything below 1GHz is viewed as semi-obsolete by serious users. Yes it has an original Airport card (roughly a $100 value by itself), but it would be a good choice only for people who don't need a lot of horsepower.

He would probably end up with more $$ if he removed the Aiport Card, sold the iBook to someone who does not need/want wireless, and sold the card separately. Alternatively, he's looking for a buyer who isn't going to need or want horsepower.

I would say $300 is about right if the screen is still bright and sharp.

[The Grim Ninja]

Airport cards are down to about $50-60 + shipping.

They're not longer that worthwhile to sell separately. Sometimes they can be though. (selling separate, then dropping the price by $50 might be just what he needs).

[Big Daddy Cool]

Plus, that's a G4 iBook– it has an airport Extreme card– only worth $30-40 used.

[Zoidberg]

Thanks again for all the input and advice; I'm reading it and emailing him that he needs to keep reviewing.

[ho'ard]

You are all too generous-- people who list with a reserve price equal to the price they hope to fetch don't really deserve any help.

[BigGuynRusty]

Three points.:
1. Ware is not misspelled, it is the wrong word.
2. You don't have to be an Apple tech to look up a serial number. Just go to this Apple Support page.
http://www.apple.com/support/
Lower right hand corner.
3. The 800MHz G4 iBook had the regular Airport card, not the Extreme according to MacTracker.

BGnR

[The Grim Ninja]

Big Daddy Cool was correct. All G4 iBooks used Airport Extreme cards. (Later iBook G4 models had it build together with bluetooth all on one card, standard).

[rgG]

I am typing this on a G4 800MHz iBook and it has the Airport Extreme card not the Original Airport card. I bought it from the Apple Store after I bought the iBook and I have the box it came in. It is definitely the Extreme not the Original Airport card.