Does engraving hurt the resale value?

[rd81_kwc]

Would my month old 40g 4G sell for less because it has my initials on it?

[thundergroove]

duh

would you buy something with someone else's initials on it?

but a cool quote or design etched in there would maybe add value

[ToadX]

I would say yes.

[bitsculptor]

Originally posted by rd81_kwc
Would my month old 40g 4G sell for less because it has my initials on it?

If Bono's signiture doesn't destroy the value of an ipod, your initials will probably have little impact.

--bit

[rd81_kwc]

didn't really need the smarta$$ remark there, thundergroove. thought it was a legit question considering how well ipods seem to hold there value.

[iDec]

If you stuck it on eBay and didn't mention the engraving, but showed photos of it, you may be able to get just as much as you would if it were not engraved.

I'd say it was unlikely though, are you planning on selling after only one month?

[rd81_kwc]

about 99% sure that i wouldn't, but i was just kind of investigating whether or not my almost brand new (and engraved) 40g 4G and my 15g 3G would come close to covering the cost for a 60g IpoP. If not, i've got close to 60g already, just in two different ipods, so no biggie. It would be nice to have it all in one little package though...

[thundergroove]

sorry to be a smarta$$, I was just having some fun.

After thinking about it a while I realized that most people probably won't care if it is engraved or not. It isn't like it will be on display or something. It will still play music, that is al that matters, right?

[rd81_kwc]

hey, no biggie, i understand. i can be quite a smarta$$ myself, and I appreciate the input.

Thanks

[tantousha]

I held off on engraving my 3G 20Gb iPod for that very reason. I was worried that when I sell it (because so far I've sold 3 PDAs and2 flash mp3 players so it's pretty much inevitable, it's how I upgrade).

But, now that my 3G iPod sold to my sister (who could've cared less if it was engraved) and they offered free engraving when I went to the site I couldn't resist putting something on my 40Gb iPod Photo.

That said I came to two conclusions. I'm probably going to get a Vaja case for it, so if I sell them together than the person buying it can just keep the iPod in the case and voila! no engraving for anyone to see and question about.

I also avoided putting my name or anything of the sort on it, instead I put a rather innocent, impersonal, anecdote:

"Danger! Contains lethal
Quantities of music."