Dell laptops don't hold their value

thanks for the contributions here. Of course to do any kind of comparison we can only look at the prices of new machines. I should have specified that the discussion was not on the latitude I just sold, the $1000+ price was for a new machine not a refurbed one.

I base my opinion on prices I see on craigslist and ebay. I don't have any considerable amount of hard data to back it up, but that's why I opened this thread. if you look at the e6400/t400 prices in the used market they are lower in % to a one year old sony or or apple. Look at the vaio SR,Z or macbookpro. I can compare these prices because I was in the market for these models when I bought the e6400.

It is common that similar products made by different manufacturers lose value less or more rapidly. Look at cars for example. Subaru hold their value much better than some other brand.

Of course I always try to buy a refurbed or used with plenty of warranty.

In addition to that, the warranty part has to be considered. Most Apple and Sony that I saw in the used market are out of warranty, while Dell might still have a good amount since they come with the 3 year standard warranty even at the outlet. Yet this doesn't seem to help keeping the price up.