About Sun Remarketing - Our Story Since 1979

Our Story

Most Apple-focused sites can trace their history back a decade or two. Ours goes back to 1979 — before the IBM PC, before the Macintosh, before the world even knew what a personal computer would become.

Sun Remarketing began as Cook's, Inc., founded by Bob Cook in Logan, Utah. The company became one of the very first Apple resellers in history, getting in on the ground floor of a revolution that would reshape every industry on earth. Before long, the company was renamed Sun Remarketing, and it became something far more than a reseller.

Over the decades that followed, Sun Remarketing would sell over $100 million in used Apple II, Apple III, Lisa, and Macintosh equipment — building a reputation as the go-to source for Apple hardware at a time when Apple itself was still figuring out what it wanted to be.

1979

Cook's, Inc. is founded by Bob Cook in Logan, UT. The company becomes one of the earliest Apple computer resellers in the United States.

Early 1980s

The company is renamed Sun Remarketing and grows into a major force in the Apple reseller market, specializing in refurbished and surplus Apple hardware.

1985

Sun Remarketing acquires 5,000–7,000 unsold Apple Lisa computers directly from Apple after the Lisa line is discontinued. The company also purchases approximately 3,500 unsold Apple III units. Rather than selling them as-is, Sun modernizes the Lisas with 800KB floppy drives and 20MB hard drives.

1985–1986

Sun purchases the MacWorks XL emulator from Apple and underwrites development of MacWorks Plus, allowing Lisas to run Macintosh software. The upgraded machines are packaged and sold as the "Lisa Professional" — giving thousands of Lisas a second life.

January 1986

Apple officially transfers service and support responsibility for the Apple III to Sun Remarketing — a remarkable vote of confidence for a small company in Utah.

1988

Sun expands into the modern Mac era, beginning to resell the Macintosh Plus, SE, and Mac II.

September 1989
Apple reclaims approximately 2,700 remaining Lisas consigned to Sun Remarketing and buries them in a landfill in Logan, Utah. City workers bury over 22 truckloads of computers under security guard watch. The burial becomes one of Apple's most notorious secrets — and one of computing history's most dramatic chapters.

2006

The original Sun Remarketing business is sold to Cherokee Data, closing a 27-year chapter in Apple reselling history.

2026

Ryan Cook revives Sun Remarketing as a modern Apple and Mac tech review site — continuing the family legacy that began nearly half a century ago.

The Apple Lisa Story

The Apple Lisa was Steve Jobs' most ambitious project — a $9,995 computer that introduced the graphical user interface to the mainstream. It was also a commercial disaster. After Apple discontinued the Lisa line, thousands of unsold units sat in warehouses with no buyer and no future.

Sun Remarketing saw something everyone else missed: an opportunity. The company purchased between 5,000 and 7,000 Lisas from Apple, then invested in modernizing them. New 800KB floppy drives. 20MB hard drives. The MacWorks XL emulator — purchased directly from Apple — which allowed the Lisa to run Macintosh software. Sun even underwrote the development of MacWorks Plus, an improved version of the emulator.

The result was the Lisa Professional: a capable, upgraded machine sold at a fraction of its original price. Sun Remarketing gave thousands of Lisas a second life, putting powerful hardware into the hands of users who could never have afforded the original.

But the story doesn't end there. In September 1989, Apple reclaimed the roughly 2,700 Lisas still consigned to Sun Remarketing and transported them to Logan, Utah. There, under the watch of security guards, city workers buried more than 22 truckloads of computers in a landfill. Apple wanted the Lisa erased from history. It didn't work.

Watch the Documentary

The full story of the Apple Lisa — from Steve Jobs' vision to Apple's secret burial in a Utah landfill — has been told in a documentary that features Sun Remarketing's central role in the Lisa's afterlife.

"Lisa: Steve Jobs' sabotage and Apple's secret burial" covers the entire saga, including Sun Remarketing's purchase of thousands of Lisas, the MacWorks emulator, and the dramatic landfill burial of 1989.

Watch on YouTube

The Next Chapter

From Apple history to Apple's future.

Sun Remarketing spent its first three decades giving new life to Apple hardware that others had given up on. Now, under Ryan Cook, the company is entering a new era with the same core mission: helping people get more from their Apple technology.

Today, sunrem.com is an independent tech review and recommendation site focused on the Apple ecosystem. We test, compare, and review the accessories, peripherals, and gear that Mac, iPhone, and iPad users rely on every day — from USB-C docks and monitors to keyboards, audio equipment, and smart home devices.

And yes — we still have original Sun Remarketing inventory. Vintage Apple II, Lisa, and classic Macintosh parts, boards, and accessories are available through our eBay store. If you're restoring a classic Apple machine or looking for a piece of computing history, there's a good chance we have what you need.

We are not a large media company. We are not backed by venture capital. We are a small, independent operation with a unique credential: nearly five decades in the Apple business. That history informs everything we do. We understand Apple hardware at a level that comes only from having worked with it since the beginning.

This isn't nostalgia. It's a foundation.

Our Principles

Trust is earned, not assumed. Here is how we earn it.

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We buy our own products

We purchase the products we review with our own money. No manufacturer-supplied units means no pressure to write positive reviews.

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No sponsored placements

Companies cannot pay to be featured or ranked higher in our guides. Our recommendations are based solely on testing and research.

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Full transparency

We earn money through affiliate links. When you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission. This never influences what we recommend. Read our full disclosure.

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Always current

Tech moves fast. We revisit and update our guides regularly to ensure our recommendations stay current, accurate, and genuinely useful.

Get in Touch

Have a question, a correction, or a product suggestion? We read every email.

ryan@sunrem.com

We've been in the Apple businesssince before the Macintosh existed.