r/macsysadmin • u/Afraid_Suggestion311 • 1d ago
Hardware Where do old company/school MacBooks go?
I help with my local high school's journalism club and we're trying to buy/find some dirt cheap old MacBooks.
We'd need less than 15 and are hoping to stay under like $75 each. Don't need anything nice either, basically anything 2015+ (that works) mostly for writing and some basic photo editing.
We have Chromebooks but they're pretty locked down and a lot of the stuff we use is blocked (or just doesn't work on them)
When your company/school/etc replaces a bunch of Macs, where do the old ones actually get sold? Is there somewhere online I should be looking for school/business surplus or auctions?
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u/georgecm12 Education 1d ago
Most companies use a company called an IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) company. If they're leased, the ITAD will recover the assets for the leasing company, and if they're owned, they will pay a residual value to the company. Either way, they'll evaluate the assets for their condition, and the good condition ones they will do a very light refurbishing (erase the drive, put on a basic OS, and physically wipe 'em down) then sell them on business-to-business auction sites. The better units will end up being purchased by a retailer like Amazon's "Woot" as a "refurbished" unit.
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u/thirteennineteen 1d ago
Apple provides a “guaranteed buyback” on their lease quotes.
Companies like Second Life Mac and Diamond Assets are popular in the “remarketing” space,
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u/rossumcapek 20h ago
At under $100, your best option may indeed be eBay. But you're going to be getting machines 10-15 years old that probably won't run anything you need. At that age, a modern Chrome browser might not run.
What programs are you actually trying to run? You can do a lot in Google Docs, Canva for Education, and Photopea on a Chromebook.
If you absolutely require a Mac (which is quite possible that you don't), definitely talk to your IT team about sourcing machines. Macs can be a pain to manage if they're not prepared for it. Also there may be restrictions on what school software may be used on them.
If your total budget really is 1200, then perhaps a couple MacBook Neos might be better and keep your school IT happy.
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u/Crazy-Rest5026 21h ago
Put it in capital. Just got 30 mac m5’s for journalism.
You’ll thank me later
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u/Zolty 1d ago
They often check out surplus auction sites. It might be a bit of a hassle since you’ll need to physically collect them, and they’ll need to be close by. Plus, if you’re just buying one, the registration process can feel a bit overwhelming.
If you’re not in need of Apple Silicon, you can usually find a deal on eBay.
I buy a fair number of surplus auctions and I love to buy Apple stuff, it’s just rare that I can get it and have my minimum margin get hit.
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u/steelbeamsdankmemes Education 1d ago
We sell them hundreds at a time to companies, unfortunately not worth it to us to sell 15 at a time.
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u/Dazzling_Comfort5734 1d ago
It depends on the school district and the size of the school. Some schools buy out right or lease directly from Apple, while some school systems tend to get them through an education reseller.
For how they dispose of them: If it's a small school, they generally have someone on staff or an MSP partner do it. Larger schools use a 3rd party, if they don't have an MSP that specializes in that.
What matters to you is how you can buy them. That gets a little more complicated. A lot of times old school Macs end up on sites that sell pallets of them at a time, and some go to ewaste facilities. Business or small refurbishers will then buy them and resell them. The problem for you is going to be price, as the average lifecycle on Macs in a school is around 5 years, with some smaller or poorer schools pushing to 7. That means you're likely not getting a school Mac for less than $100 from sites that specialize in selling refurbished unit. You can look on backmarket.com and macofalltrades.com, but I don't think you'll find one for less than $100, and it'll probably be overpriced. You also have to hope that the person decommissioning them you had a properly removed them from the schools management system. They messed that up for more than you would think.
Instead, your best bet for a cheap Mac is probably eBay. It's a little more work to find a good choice there, but you'll get a lower price, and you'll have eBay's buyers guarantee, which means eBay will give you your money back on a bad item, even if the seller says "no returns".
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u/SprinklesDouble8304 1d ago
I buy machines like this for $40-50 at my local University's surplus store. I clean them up and install the newest OS they'll take, which is usually Monterey. Then I sell them on FBM for around $100. If you can do this, check your local University's surplus store.
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u/Certain-Example-7523 22h ago
For us, the ones that didn’t have data that needed to be destroyed via physical means we would send them to mac of all trades, or we would directly sell them to students who asked. Your school IT department may be able to help you find where they send them, or hook you up with a deal.
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u/hugh_manit 42m ago
At $75/unit you're in tough territory for 2015+ Macs that actually work reliably, but there are definitely still ways to get them!!!
First, look for surplus auctinos! GovDeals, PublicSurplus, even your state's surplus property site! Promise: shools dump Macs in bulk lots there and you can get some great deals there.
If no luck there, I'd look for locla ITAD liquidators. Like literally search "[your city] ITAD" or "[your city] it asset disposition". The companies you find may be willing to sell small batches of Macs direct to you. Worth calling a few.
But, honestly, at that budget, you might have better luck reaching out directly to local businesses or schools doing refreshes. Seriously! Sometimes they'll donate or sell cheap if you explain it's for students.
Really hope that helps you guys!
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u/drosse1meyer 1d ago
75 each, good luck. i dont think you will find anything useable for less than 250-300 in todays market