FAQ: Do you have any tips on how to find a used Mac laptop for my child at a reasonable price?

Entrepreneurs or small business owners who have a Mac laptop that is about 4 years old could buy a new one (through their company) then reset their old one and give it to their child.

Another option, depending on your country of residence, could be to check the refurbished section of your online Apple Store (it if exists):

If you live in another country, you can check by inserting your country code between the .com/ and /shop

There isn't one for Luxembourg unfortunately.

The next step consists in going on your Amazon site of choice (.com, .fr, .de, ...) and searching for "Refurbished" followed by the MacBook model.

There are also refurbished tech resell platforms:

The number one issue with used laptops is the battery life and remaining capacity.

Some resellers will put a new battery in but more often than not, it's from a third-party manufacturer, and thus the battery will degrade much faster than a genuine Apple part.

With that in mind, sometimes it's better to try finding a promotion on a MacBook model still in stock but that Apple replaced recently (like an Intel-based MacBook Air or Pros) rather than buy a refurbished one at roughly the same price.

Finally, I don't recommend eBay or local listings (i.e. Craigslist, Luxbazar, ...) because you never know if the MacBook has been properly inspected, reset to factory settings and/or unlinked from the previous owner's iCloud account.

And you, what experience do you have with purchasing a used MacBook?

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