Since that hasn’t always been the case,
there are further options matching US government standards: the third level, a
three pass secure erase, overwrites the data three times, and the fourth level,
DOD 5220, seven times. Research has shown that the latter, as well as being
slow, can actually be less effective than the former, so three pass secure
erase is probably the way to go if you must.
Although a picture may sometimes be worth a
thousand words, that’s not the case with computer auctions. Just looking at the
outside won’t distinguish a base model from a fully loaded Mac that might be
worth nearly twice the price or in some cases a 2011 model from a 2010, and so
on. You’ll need to be precise.
iMac
27-inch Late 2011
To get an accurate and comprehensive
description of your Mac, use the About This Mac option on the Apple menu. Click
on More info for a summary of the key specs, then System Report for a much more
detailed spec list (this varies in earlier versions of OS X). You can go to
File > Print and use the Save as PDF option to get a copy of all the info,
but be warned that the system report this generated for one of our Mac Pros was
382 pages long. Information like printer driver versions really isn’t relevant,
so be selective in what you use for your listing, but if you mention that you
can supply the full specifications as a PDF on request should put prospective
buyers’ minds at rest if they have a very specific requirement. Most important
are the exact model name (eg ‘iMac 27-inch Late 2011’), processor, RAM,
graphics card and video memory size, and hard disk size and speed (eg
‘7200rpm’). Obviously, it’s a good start if you include all the information
you’d want before you bought a Mac, but other buyers may be even pickier than
you.
Having said you can’t rely on a picture to
explain what you’re selling, a good picture will definitely help. The vital
rule here is that you must take your own picture of the actual Mac you’re
selling. Showing a vaguely similar machine in a photo you found through Google
Images will just make you look like a scammer (as well as risking the wrath of
the copyright owner). Using more pictures on eBay increases the cost of the
auction, but it can help shift the goods; get your money’s worth by making
every picture a good one. Take pictures of all the bits and pieces you intend
to supply, and if there are any marks or dings on anything, be honest about
them and show close-ups. Buyers will accept that a secondhand machine may not
be perfect as long as they know what they’re getting.
Leaving a load of clutter in the background
of your eBay pictures is a classic way to make your sleek Jony Ive masterpiece
look like it came from a pound shop, so clear up and shoot it on a blank
background, maybe a white bed sheet, or an attractive surface, such as a wooden
floor or table. Manage the lighting as best you can to get a pleasant effect -
no noisy shots under a dim tungsten bulb. eBay buyers won’t be expecting
professional photography, but a bit of effort will avoid detracting from your
kit.
Overkill Don’t pick the maximum
security setting. It’ll take ages to overwrite the data seven times, and it’s
not even clear that this makes it harder to retrieve. One of the middle options
is fine
It’s by no means essential, but if you’re
thinking about selling off a fair amount of stuff over time, consider a tool
like iSale (about $30, from equinux.com), which lets you quickly create new
auctions and use templates for better page designs.
It’s not unusual for eBay auctions to get
plenty of attention and questions. Even if people ask daft questions that are
already covered by the information listed, try to answer promptly and with good
grace. It can be difficult to sort the timewasters from the real buyers, but if
you answer every question fully the real buyers will be more at ease.
There are some other things you can do to
help increase the final price you get for your Mac. They may sound trivial, but
every little helps.
Collect together as much of the original packaging
and the supplied cables, discs and so on as you can put your hands on. Don’t be
tempted to hang on to things like OS X install discs - they won’t work in other
Mac models anyway, and selling software along with hardware while keeping the
original discs puts you on the wrong side of the law. It’s not as if the Apple
police are likely to break your door down in the search for one DVD that’s
infringing a EULA, but a disgruntled buyer could call you out on it in feedback
or even report you to FAST. The new owner should know to check that they’re
getting the original media (and thus the license) for any software they
receive, including operating systems, and will reasonably want it for their own
convenience.
If you don’t have the Mac’s original
packaging, consider buying a matching box on eBay before listing it for sale.
This sounds quite ridiculous, but if you’re able to sell the Mac as boxed
you’ll get more for it. Boxes for all sorts of Macs appear on eBay all the
time, and if you spend a few pounds on one that looks in good condition, and
include it in the description and pictures, it’ll push the value up.
One tip that’s often overlooked is that
giving your Mac a good clean on the outside will make it look more desirable.
Visible fingerprints on an iMac screen or marks on a MacBook case may not
materially affect the product, but they’ll definitely affect how much a
potential buyer wants it. Even after you’ve got your sale, the cleaner the Mac
arrives the better the rating and feedback you’re likely to get from the buyer,
and on sites like eBay this publicly visible goodwill can make a big difference
when you’re selling other things in the future. Pay particular attention to the
keyboard and mouse, which can get really grubby without you noticing, and check
around the Mac’s fan outlets for accumulated dust. If you smoke, nicotine will
have stained surfaces like the shiny white plastics on older Macs, so it’s
worth a clean-up.
Amazingly, Apple has a support document
specifically on how to clean all of its products (support.apple.com/kb/
HT3226). Predictably, it advises that you use only a soft lint-free cloth,
because abrasive cloths, towels, kitchen roll and similar items could damage
the product’s finish. For your own protection as much as the Mac’s, you’re
advised to disconnect it from the mains before cleaning, and unplug any
external devices and other cabling.
Select
your system
Experts will tell you the only way to
absolutely guarantee nothing stored on your hard disk can ever be retrieved
again is by boring holes through it with an 8mm diamond-tipped drill, smashing
it to pieces with a lump hammer, degaussing the pieces and then dropping the
remains in the Mariana Trench. Or something. So it’s probably better just not
to ask. It’s far from clear what type of person would be randomly buying
computers on eBay to spend days trying to recover data from anyway.
Having erased the drive, you’ll need to
re-install OS X ready for the next user. This will take a few minutes, but not
ages. When you get to the point where Setup Assistant starts and displays the
Welcome screen, hold the power button until it shuts down. When the buyer
starts it up for the first time, it’ll be as if they’ve just taken a brand new
Mac out of the box.
Seek and destroy OS X’s Disk Utility
is all you need to reformat your Mac’s hard disk ready for a new home
Once you’ve backed up your Mac and securely
erased it, you’re ready to sell it on to the next grateful owner. Many of the
tips from here on also apply to selling other kit, including iPhones and iPads.
Whether you use eBay or another sales channel, when putting a Mac up for
private sale there are some basic rules you should always follow. The first is
to provide an accurate description, because without that nobody will know quite
what you’re selling. At best, that means they won’t want to bid for it (some
buyers will email you with questions if they’re unsure, but others will just go
and look at something else), and at worst it could mean you get a complaint
when the machine arrives and isn’t exactly what the buyer was expecting.
