Pro vs Consumer: Holding Value

Consumer gear holds its value better.
A 20" G4 iMac has solid value now while the faster more expensive dual g4 towers are often hard to move.

The reason is......consumer gear meets general needs. Most can use a G4, G5 or Intel iMac for basic computing.

Pros however generally need more speed in each generation and pay accordingly.

So the $2000 consumer item flattens out around $1000 , the $4000 pro gear flattens out in the $6-800 range.

There are some exception.....OS9 bootable holds up in Pro gear and G5 towers have been holding up very well for several different reasons related ot OS9, Adobe CS, PCiX/PCiE issues and RAM costs.
G5 iMacs are selling very close to Intel - sometimes more - G4 iMacs continue to have selling power and demand.

The same generally holds true for Pro Portables as well.....farther to fall and there were no G5 intermediates to fall back on so most opted to jump to Intel.

G4 portables have flattened out in the $600-1100 range.

When you consider that includes 17"1.67s that were $3k - =

Rule of thumb - figure consumer gear to flatten around 40-50% of original value.
Pro gear 20-30% of original value.

IM remember that's 2-3 years out where it hits what we call a "platform" value which tends to hold then for 2-3 more.
It's one reason pro clients tend to lease then roll over the equipment every 18 months - let the gov take the biggest hit then move the units before it drops too far.

Ideally buying one model change behind the market also helps with depreciation. ie those that bought 2.5 G5s for $2600-2800 when the 2.7s were tagged at $3700.

This was a while back but I recall warning clients off the 733 Digital Audio - a mere $5200. It was simply way over priced and underpowered compared to the dual 533 ( which is still a good and rare machine).

One client insisted on the 733 then saw his machine drop in half in 5 months when the Quicksilver series arrived.
He called quite sheepishly and said..."You were right - I should have listened".
That said that particular model is still desirable and durable ....at $300.

Always chat before you jump into a big purchase.