Refurbished MacBook Pros Are So Good They’re Actually Causing Problems For Apple

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Due to the ongoing RAM crisis, prices of old devices are rising instead of decreasing. In June 2026, Apple announced that it’s hiking the prices of its MacBooks, with the MacBook Air going from $1,099 to $1,299 and the MacBook Pro going from $1,699 to $1,999 for the base configurations. Even the MacBook Neo, which launched in March 2026, got a price increase, from $599 to $699. With owning the latest MacBook becoming more expensive, Apple is having to deal with something unexpected: a surge in the sales of refurbished MacBooks as customers now pivot to value over the latest incremental features.

Value is what MacBook Pros offer, because even the MacBook Pro M1 remains a powerhouse in 2026. It’s a great productivity machine for everyday work, such as web browsing, creating documents, communication, and media consumption. It can also comfortably handle moderate workflows for people who do a lot of video editing and coding. And the performance trajectory is uphill from there with the M2 chips and newer.

In an interview with Business Insider, Angie Cardona-Nelson, a seller of refurbished MacBooks on eBay, said that in the weeks after the announcement, the MacBooks she lists get sold within hours, when they usually used to sit for weeks. Lauren Benton, the general manager for Back Market US, said Apple just did an unintentional advertising campaign for the refurbished tech platform, with sales of refurbished MacBooks increasing by 65%.

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