Mac Studio resale value after the M5 announcement: the 2025 models still ask above launch price
In August, five of six base Mac Studio models asked at or above launch price. By Sept. 16 the two 2025 models still did, at 115% and 123%, but each asked less than the new M5 Studio with the same memory, and the three older models with enough listings had slipped below launch.
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In this guide: 4 sections
In our Aug. 18-25 snapshot, five of six base Mac Studio models had median used asks at or above their launch prices. On Sept. 16, three weeks after Apple announced the M5 Max and M5 Ultra Studios, the two 2025 models still asked above launch, but a used base M4 Max or M3 Ultra now asks less than the new Studio with the same memory. Among the older models, only the M1 Ultra’s median still clears its launch price, on two listings.
Used or new M5?
| Memory | Used, Sept. 16 | New | What the extra money buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36GB | M4 Max 36GB/512GB, $2,299 median ask across 21 listings; lowest recent ask $2,178.49 on eBay, last seen Sept. 14, may be gone | M5 Max 36GB/512GB, $2,499 (Apple, Aug. 25) | $200 over the used median buys 460GB/s of memory bandwidth against 410GB/s, in a new machine |
| 96GB | M3 Ultra 96GB/1TB, $4,899 median ask across 13 listings; lowest recent ask $4,299 on eBay, last seen Sept. 14, may be gone | M5 Ultra 96GB, $5,499 (Apple, Aug. 25) | $600 over the used median buys 1.2TB/s against 819GB/s, in a new machine |
| The Studio you own | $0 to keep it | — | Selling instead? What trade-in and a private sale leave you after fees |
In August the order ran the other way: the used M4 Max asked $251 more than the new M5 Max, and the used M3 Ultra $1,275 more than the new M5 Ultra. The M4 Max model page also showed a new M4 Max 36GB/512GB at Micro Center for $1,999.99 on Sept. 16, below both; it may be gone.
Where to buy. New M5 Max: M5 Max 36GB/512GB on Amazon or Apple’s Mac Studio store, which also sells the M5 Ultra. Used: the model pages linked above list every dated offer by configuration, and the used-Mac checklist covers what to verify when one arrives.
Buying for a local AI model? Choose a Mac by the model you want to run sets the memory tier and the speed. A 70B dense model needs 64GB, more than either 36GB machine has, and the over-$4,000 comparison weighs new, used and renting from 64GB to 512GB.
Mac Studio resale value by generation
Base configurations only. August figures match chip and memory; Sept. 16 figures also match base storage, 512GB for the Max models and 1TB for the Ultras. Listing counts are in parentheses.
| Machine | Launch price | Aug. 18-25 median ask | Of launch | Sept. 16 median ask | Of launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 Max 32GB | $1,999, March 2022 | $1,732 (46) | 87% | $1,573.49 (16) | 79% |
| M1 Ultra 64GB | $3,999, March 2022 | $4,049 (16) | 101% | $4,087.12 (2) | 102% |
| M2 Max 32GB | $1,999, June 2023 | $2,030 (17) | 102% | $1,829.46 (9) | 92% |
| M2 Ultra 64GB | $3,999, June 2023 | $4,149 (26) | 104% | $3,824.49 (12) | 96% |
| M4 Max 36GB | $1,999, March 2025 | $2,750 (45) | 138% | $2,299 (21) | 115% |
| M3 Ultra 96GB | $3,999, March 2025 | $6,774 (28) | 169% | $4,899 (13) | 123% |
The 2025 models still ask above launch, but by much less: the M4 Max went from 138% to 115% and the M3 Ultra from 169% to 123%. The three older models with enough listings to judge now ask below launch, the M1 Max lowest at 79%. The M1 Ultra’s 102% rests on two asks.
Why asks were above launch, and what moved them
In August, three conditions coincided with above-launch asks. Apple raised the line’s list prices 14-33% in June, withdrew the biggest memory configurations from sale for months and quoted 10-14 week delivery on the machines it still sold, so for some configurations a used Studio was the only one available that week.
On Aug. 25 Apple announced the M5 Max and M5 Ultra Studios. Asks barely moved that day, then fell. In our matched panel, which follows the same listings from Aug. 21-25 to Sept. 15, M4 Max Studio asks fell 12.5% and M3 Ultra asks 14.6%. The M1 and M2 Studios are not in that panel.
What could move them next
Apple lists the new Studios as available starting Sept. 22, and trade-ins after the first deliveries may add current-generation machines to the resale market. The 512GB M5 Ultra is due in late October, ending the used 512GB M3 Ultra’s run as the only half-terabyte Mac. The daily used Mac price tracker shows asks as they change.
Buy the machine for what it does. Studios held their asks through a supply squeeze, and three weeks of cuts after one announcement show how quickly that can end. Count any resale value as a bonus, not part of the price.
Sources and dates
- Used figures are median asking prices for base Mac Studio configurations from our crawler, in two snapshots.
- The Aug. 18-25 snapshot matched chip and memory across roughly 35 retailers, marketplaces and refurbishers, with auction bids excluded and scam-shaped listings filtered.
- The Sept. 16 figures are each model page's typical used ask for the base memory and storage, the median of used, refurbished and open-box asks seen in the prior 14 days.
- Because the snapshots match storage differently, a row's change between them is approximate; the 12.5% and 14.6% declines come from a panel following the same listings from Aug. 21-25 to Sept. 15.
- Asking prices are not completed sales, and retention is measured against original launch price.
- New M5 prices are Apple U.S. prices read Aug. 25, and bandwidth figures are Apple's specifications.