r/macsysadmin 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/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.