Apple Mac mini shortages drive up secondary market prices

Apple’s base model Mac mini, powered by M4—Apple’s latest chip architecture—is currently sold out on the company’s retail website. The $599 device, which features 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, has no options available for delivery or in-store pickup. The shortages are driven by developers using the hardware to run on-device AI, which refers to AI models running locally on hardware.

With retail stock depleted, buyers are turning to secondary markets like eBay, where various configurations of the computer are listed at a premium. As of Friday morning, pricing for the 16GB RAM and 256GB storage configuration on the platform showed significant markups:

• Brand-new units are listed for $925.
• New, “open box” models are selling for $715-$795.
• Refurbished versions in “excellent” condition are reaching $979.
• Lightly used, pre-owned models are selling for around $700, which is more than $100 more than the retail price of a new base model.

The supply shortage of the Mac mini comes alongside an industry-wide memory crunch and plans for a Mac mini refresh, according to Bloomberg. The hardware has become highly sought after for running local AI models. This trend began with demand for OpenClaw, but has since extended to alternatives like ZeroClaw, tools from Anthropic and OpenAI, Perplexity Computer, and other specialized local models.

The supply constraints are now spilling over to other Apple hardware. The Mac Studio is also seeing increased demand and is now sold out across several configurations. However, other alternative devices remain available. As Ars Technica pointed out, buyers can still obtain a MacBook Pro with 128GB of RAM and larger storage drives within a few weeks, while the new MacBook Neo is shipping within two to three weeks. This suggests the supply bottleneck is specifically tied to consumer demand for the Mac mini itself, rather than a broader hardware shortage. Meanwhile, Mac mini models with higher storage configurations of 512GB and up are only scheduled to start shipping in June.

Why it matters

The Mac mini has become a popular device for running local AI models, creating a supply bottleneck that highlights the hardware constraints facing the current AI boom. As developers increasingly seek cost-effective local computing power, supply chain limitations are directly impacting the availability of entry-level hardware.