Where to sell a few trade-ins and donation computers?

[Blue House Computer Help]

So I have been getting a few sale-worthy trade-ins and donation computers lately, which I want to resell (after refurbishing where needed). Someday, I may get more into buying to refurb, but for now it's just these kinds. I work from home, so I don't have a shop to sell from. I have a few questions:

How do you come up with the selling price for a specific model? I usually look through completed sales on Ebay, but that can vary widely. Anywhere on Ebay or otherwise that I could look up average selling prices easily?

Where can I sell them to get the best price (both during and after the pandemic)? Anything better than Ebay/Facebook?

I want to do everything above board, so I guess I need to join up as a Third Party Refurbisher with a Microsoft Authorised Refurbisher for Windows licences. Any recommendations for one in the UK? How much do the Windows 10 Home/pro licenses typically cost?

Anything else I haven't thought of?

I wasn't sure which forum this would fit, so please move it or let me know if it needs moving.

BTW I'm based in the UK.

 

[Blue House Computer Help]

Hmmm.. did I step on landmine here? You guys are normally so chattty.

Anyone have any thoughts about where to get the best selling prices?

 

[glennd]

So I have been getting a few sale-worthy trade-ins and donation computers lately, which I want to resell (after refurbishing where needed). Someday, I may get more into buying to refurb, but for now it's just these kinds. I work from home, so I don't have a shop to sell from. I have a few questions:

How do you come up with the selling price for a specific model? I usually look through completed sales on Ebay, but that can vary widely. Anywhere on Ebay or otherwise that I could look up average selling prices easily?

Where can I sell them to get the best price (both during and after the pandemic)? Anything better than Ebay/Facebook?

I want to do everything above board, so I guess I need to join up as a Third Party Refurbisher with a Microsoft Authorised Refurbisher for Windows licences. Any recommendations for one in the UK? How much do the Windows 10 Home/pro licenses typically cost?

Anything else I haven't thought of?

I wasn't sure which forum this would fit, so please move it or let me know if it needs moving.

BTW I'm based in the UK.

I started down the road of second hand until I realised the government/Microsoft hoops I had to jump through to do it legally. The amount of time and money spent on a unit versus the return made it hard to justify. My approach now is to keep the reasonable machines and junk the rest for parts. The reasonable computers will get donated to individuals or community groups. The last donation was two pretty nice desktops to the local historical society. The goodwill gives a much better return in my opinion.

 

[Stever]

It's a little late now with the schools going back on monday, but it has been widely covered on the TV about some familys having no computer for home learning, donating via a school stuff that is usable but not worth reselling is an option.

 

[Porthos]

98% of the stuff I get in I would never inflict on my worst enemy. I have them for a good reason... they were junk and were replaced by me.

 

[Blue House Computer Help]

@Porthos - Ha ha, good point.

@glennd - What kind of hoops? I wonder if the government regs are similar over here. What are they like in Australia?

Good point about the goodwill donations. I'm always looking for things I can do to make a good impression. It goes a long way.

 

[glennd]

@Porthos - Ha ha, good point.

@glennd - What kind of hoops? I wonder if the government regs are similar over here. What are they like in Australia?

Good point about the goodwill donations. I'm always looking for things I can do to make a good impression. It goes a long way.

I really can't remember the details now but for me the government regulations for second hand electrical equipment and the Microsoft requirement for a refurb license made it not worth my time. I seem to recall even a refurb license was going to cost me around $100 if I could find someone to sell it to me, because MS won't sell those licenses, you have to go through a reseller but you have to sign up with MS first. After a while the whole thing got stupid. But I'm a one man show, perhaps scaled up sufficiently it would be profitable.

 

[britechguy]

I really can't remember the details now but for me the government regulations for second hand electrical equipment and the Microsoft requirement for a refurb license made it not worth my time.

Just curious, but when you say "refurb" did that always mean doing a "nuke and pave?"

Although I don't do refurbs for resale, I've refurbished many a computer for passing along to its next owner. I actually just did this for the tower machine that had belonged to a dear friend, who was blind, and where the machine had software (including drivers for a long defunct, but still fully functional Braille embosser), that is being passed on to a teacher at our local school for the blind.

I wasn't about to nuke and pave, and seldom do. It's easy enough to create a new account with admin privilege, get rid of all old accounts, and do a free space wipe, since we're not talking about computers with state secrets and there should be nothing of significance left in the registry for accounts completely deleted.

 

[sapphirescales]

they were junk and were replaced by me.

So no one ever trades in a perfectly good computer to you just because they don't like it or they would rather have something new? I get this all the time. I just got in a 9th gen i7 laptop because my client didn't like the trackpad. All it needed was a nuke n' pave. The quote was less than $300 in total but he was like "nah, for that much I'll just buy something better from you." He ended up trading it in and getting a Dell Latitude 7th gen i5 business class laptop. For the record, this was a past client who has bought business class computers from me in the past. He had gotten the 9th gen i7 as a gift and had used it less than a year before Windows Update botched the thing.

 

[Porthos]

So no one ever trades in a perfectly good computer to you just because they don't like it or they would rather have something new?

Not in this market or area. And no I am not moving my life and family somewhere else.
95% of the clients I do have to get a computer for balk at a $500-600 refurb.
These are just simple home users, not someone running a business or gamers. Email Facecrap and solitare.
I consider all consumer class junk and not fit for resale. I am not Walmart or Best Buy. I will only put my reputation behind a business-class computer if I source and resell it.
If they do not want what I will offer they can get whatever they want and I will transfer the data.

 

[Stever]

So no one ever trades in a perfectly good computer to you just because they don't like it or they would rather have something new? I get this all the time. I just got in a 9th gen i7 laptop because my client didn't like the trackpad. All it needed was a nuke n' pave. The quote was less than $300 in total but he was like "nah, for that much I'll just buy something better from you." He ended up trading it in and getting a Dell Latitude 7th gen i5 business class laptop. For the record, this was a past client who has bought business class computers from me in the past. He had gotten the 9th gen i7 as a gift and had used it less than a year before Windows Update botched the thing.

I recently bought a high spec I7 Dell laptop through work on black friday and found in un usable due to the mousepad, fortunatly they bought it back from me when someone needed a new one.

 

[alexsmith2709]

I dont do trade-ins as such, but i do take in computers for recycling. The ones i do get are like the ones @Porthos gets have have been replaced for a good reason. Others would just cost too much to repair to leave any profit margin so i dont bother.
I think i have similar customers to @Porthos judging by this thread, my customers also balk at £350-400 for what i call a bare minimum spec laptop when they see junk for £250 at Currys/PC World. I would rather sell them something decent than a heap of junk when customers always expect free support when buying something from me. Telling them i sold them a heap of junk because of their budget isnt going to fly, I'd rather "lose" the sale and explain that i cant transfer your 20GB of photos and music to your POS with 32GB eMMC storage because there isnt enough space and thats one of many reasons i dont sell £250 laptops.

 

[sapphirescales]

replaced for a good reason

I just got an 8th gen i5 Lenovo with a 1080p touch screen, backlit keyboard, etc. for free yesterday. There is NOTHING wrong with it. Worth at least $400 - $500 on the used market. The thing got botched by a bad Windows update. The guy had no important data on it so I quoted him $199 to nuke n' pave it. He said "nah, I think I just want to buy a new one anyway." He paid for the $75 diagnostic over the phone then said "so, do you want to keep that laptop or do you want me to come and pick it up?" Of course I wanted to keep it and I told him so. 20 minutes later I had a new image of Windows 10 on it and it was ready to go. I don't usually sell stuff on Craigslist as a regular person but on a whim I decided to take a quick picture and throw it on there. Within an hour I had a guy call and give me $400 cash for it. I could have sold it through my business for $500 - $600 but I don't like selling non-business grade laptops and not having to offer post-sale support is worth taking a small hit on the price.

I get a client like this at least 1-2 times a month and it's weird. They're willing to pay the $75 diagnostic but they're not really willing to pay to fix the computer even if the quote is low. Why even bring it in then? Do they expect a $20 repair quote? It makes no sense. And it's always, ALWAYS a newer computer (1-3 years old). My theory is these clients just have money and after dropping the computer off they decide to just say "screw it" and buy a new one instead. Maybe they "try" to get it fixed in order to appease their significant other so they don't look so wasteful? I dunno.

 

[lan101]

I dont do trade-ins as such, but i do take in computers for recycling. The ones i do get are like the ones @Porthos gets have have been replaced for a good reason. Others would just cost too much to repair to leave any profit margin so i dont bother.
I think i have similar customers to @Porthos judging by this thread, my customers also balk at £350-400 for what i call a bare minimum spec laptop when they see junk for £250 at Currys/PC World. I would rather sell them something decent than a heap of junk when customers always expect free support when buying something from me. Telling them i sold them a heap of junk because of their budget isnt going to fly, I'd rather "lose" the sale and explain that i cant transfer your 20GB of photos and music to your POS with 32GB eMMC storage because there isnt enough space and thats one of many reasons i dont sell £250 laptops.

Yeah for those people I just tell them they need to up their budget or go refurbished. Refurb latitude or probook or Lenevo T series usually works out pretty well.

Only a handful of people around here will actually pay the money for a real business class computer brand new. Some businesses will but most residential won't.