The receipts
What the upgrades actually cost.
Not the machine — the machine is mostly fine. This is the memory and storage you have to buy at the checkout, because none of it can be changed afterwards.
Mac tax
$675
6.4× the going rate
That's a Mac mini.
- Apple, memory +16 GB
- $400
- Apple, storage 1 TB
- $400
- Apple total
- $800
- Same capacity, open market
- $125
House6.4× the going rate, and you can't decline it — it's soldered to the board before it leaves the factory.
The fair caveat: Apple's memory sits on the processor package and its SSDs are genuinely quick, so this isn't a like-for-like against a bargain SODIMM. The argument isn't that the prices should match — it's that the multiple is this large and you cannot decline it, because none of it can be changed after you buy. Street prices checked July 2026.