I can really relate to this… I just finished the whole Mac-ing on a budget dog-and-pony-show. You really hit it when you mentioned “patience.”

I haven’t bought myself a computer in years. I am an Art Director by trade and just use the one they hand me at work — before I got laid off a couple weeks ago. Then I found myself with a pretty urgent need for a Mac. They are my industry standard, and I’ve used Macs my whole career. I honestly can’t picture using anything else now. But holy smokes are they expensive.

I spec-ed out what I felt were reasonable numbers as far as what I need the computer for, and the sort of jobs I could need it for/ie software requirements.

Then I went to Apple.com and checked what a new one would cost. After I climbed up off the floor and back into my chair, I checked their refurbished models. I found one very close/close enough to what I wanted. It was a bad price but, heck, I have that Apple protection, and after looking at the new prices, this one looked pretty appealing.

I got as far as putting it in my “bag” or “cart” or whatever, then I just looked at it and said to myself “I just can’t do this… this is crazy.. Too crazy much money:

And my journey began. Man, I scoured Craigslist, Gearswap, EBay, Amazon, Bestbuy, and close to a dozen others.

I found a couple n EBay that were pretty close to reasonable and had the “best offer” button. I figured I’d send a quick note explaining my circumstances. And a new offer — they could take it or leave it.

The one I wanted at Apple Store was $1499 before taxes, so I would have paid over 1550 by the time I got it shipped.

I ended up with the EBay Mac for $950. And when it arrived I was amazed at how brand spanking new it looked. 2015, barely used, very few battery cycles,…mint.

It took about 3–4 weeks of relentless searching to find it. Researching seller reviews, agonizing over what I might be willing to sacrifice in my specs (turns out I didnt have to back down on anything except for having to update to El Cap. Stupid, I know- it takes a few min. Eh, oh well.

I’m still amazed at what I got. Thanks for the article- it is doable, but, whew!