How and Where You Can Sell Computer Parts
If you have an old computer that you’d like to sell for parts, doing so can be tedious and emotionally taxing. Computers and their parts have advancements that make a semi-annual upgrade necessary. If you’ve made updates to your computer, you may have a lot of spare parts lying around. What do you do with this equipment?
Most people tend to let it collect dust, but instead, let it work for you by selling it for cash.
How You Can Sell Your Computer Parts
While it’s important to know how and where to sell computer parts, you also need to know a few things to help you succeed. When it comes to selling or trading, you don’t want to come across as a newbie. You want to protect the business and get the most value out of the parts.
No matter what kind of computer part you want to sell – CPU, GPU, RAM, old servers, laptop parts, etc. – you’ll need to do some research to learn where the buyers of these products are. Then you need to create a listing that will capture prospective buyers’ attention. There are several ways to ensure your old equipment will get you a high return.
Know What Your Inventory Is
Be sure you know what your equipment is and how much of it you have. While consumers with minimal PC parts to sell can easily know what they have to offer, it’s an issue for people with a lot of equipment sitting around. Taking inventory, though, is an absolute must!
Create a list of items you have to sell, getting the part and model numbers. A Google search can help you determine what you currently have available. Dismiss currently listed prices for the value of each item and go with the currently sold items.
Once you have gathered these parts, be sure to shop around for parts. This provides you with some idea of how much the parts are going for.
Be sure to look online to see what used computer parts are selling for and what price point will make it worth it to you to start selling. For example, CPUs are often more than RAM or old hard drives. However, you could be leaving money on the table if you don’t know what your items could net you.
Once you have all this information, look to companies that purchased used computer equipment. Take into consideration the following factors:
- Purchase effort
- Response time
- How long business has been operational
- Reviews
- Certifications
If you know what you have to sell, you have a better idea of where it can be sold. Maintain an organized record of your inventory, updating them often. Records you want to maintain include:
- Computer type and number of parts to sell
- Year made
- Serial numbers
- Certain model names and computer programs they are compatible with
- Instructional manuals, if you still own them
Take pictures of your items, which hastens the speed at which you can list the items and make prospective buyers feel more confident in your equipment.
Learn Who Your Target Market Is
Your target market is going to change based on the parts you are selling, which means you need to know as much as you can about your target audience. This goes for online and local markets.
It’s possible your local market isn’t going to afford the same opportunities a larger market could, or those considered a tech tub or has data centers. If this is the case, you’ll need to focus on the online world instead of brick-and-mortar spots. And with this being the case, you need to factor in shipping and handling, seller fees, etc.
You also need to be committed to this process. If you don’t have the time to research the different markets, you may want to focus on GadgetPickup or other trade-in services to take your equipment off your hands.
Patience is a virtue when it comes to selling certain or older computer parts and getting the most out of them.
When Should You Sell Your Parts
It’s all about timing when it comes to selling your spare computer parts. This is especially important if you’re going to sell newer parts, as the prices can fluctuate often. For instance, you have a lot of RAM you replaced and says days after South Korea announced it was experiencing a shortage. Prices are going to fluctuate, and the sale goes for much more than it would have before the announcement. This is a common scenario within the secondary IT market.
Handle The Security Matters First
Before you do anything with your old computer parts, you must safeguard the assets and yourself. This should be your main priority. Whether you are selling them, storing them or getting rid of them, you want to protect your data. Be sure to focus on the following:
Erasing Data
If you’re selling a laptop you no longer use or need a hard drive or flash storage device, you must delete/erase any data that remains on the equipment. Think banking and credit information, personal pictures/files, software, logins, etc. Back up any data that you think you’ll need later to another device, then erase it completely from the device you’re going to sell.
Just deleting the data will not be enough, as many software companies have developed extensive data recovery programs that can be used to find information you thought was long gone. If you’re not an IT expert, have a professional come in and wipe clean the data.
You also want to give your device a major once-over for possible security issues – malware, viruses, worms, etc. Private sellers could potentially be on the hook for damages resulting from a buyer’s hardware that was sold to them.
Market Timing
RAM is one computer part that tends to fluctuate with the seasons. Do some research to recognize what the trends are for RAM. Another part that is particularly volatile is a graphics card, as it generally follows the trends happening in cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency miners tend to come to and leave the GPU market in droves, affecting the price shifts and supply-demand. You can be financially successful if you can time GPU sales with the cryptocurrency market. However, even expert cryptocurrency users find themselves unable to predict the market from time to time.
The prices of hard drives tend to remain steady, as the shift tends to occur with the release of new models and enterprise CPU prices tend to stay steady.
4 Places To Turn Computer Parts Into Cash Back
If where you live has no brick-and-mortar electronics store, you can turn to the Internet to sell these extra parts. Previously, used computer parts didn’t have a lot of value, but with the Internet, you can sell your computer parts and get more cash back than you suspect you would. Where can you turn to sell these spare computer parts and declutter your space?
eBay
One of the oldest online market buying/selling sites is eBay, but it doesn’t make it the best place to sell your items just because most people know of it. For example, newbie sellers will have a much harder time selling their items. On top of that, the eBay market is already saturated. Selling used computer parts is easier if it’s something everybody wants, but the cost is high.
If you have niche-related products, selling on eBay will be difficult because prospective buyers may not be looking at the site for the product.
Another negative aspect of eBay is all the fees. There are insertion fees for every part you list. There are several insertions credit users get before eBay charges fees. If you are selling less than 50 items a month, then eBay may be the right place. If you have a lot of items you’ll be listing, you’re going to pay a lot. Those fees add up rapidly.
Now, you can recoup those losses by selling your products. However, if an item doesn’t sell within a certain time, you can’t get a refund. And, you’ll pay another insertion fee to list the same item.
There is also an element of risk to selling on auction sites. Even if you choose a fixed rate for your item, eBay charges a final value fee on items you sell. A certain percentage is then taken from the profits made. You also need to take into consideration shipping fees.
In the end, you may find that eBay isn’t the best choice to sell your spare computer parts.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Market is pretty much an unregulated market, with some transparency still there because it’s tied to a person’s account. Like any in-person transaction, you must take special care to meet in a secured location. This market is better for deals taking place locally where cash, check, or PayPal is accepted.
Facebook Marketplace eliminates those pesky fees that other sites have implemented. However, you may or may not find a buyer in your area.
ITAD Companies
Another viable option for selling your computer parts is ITAD companies. Many of these companies focus on purchasing bulk IT hardware and remarketing it to secondary channels that boost the return on their investment. If you have a lot of computer equipment you need to do away with, turn to an ITAD vendor to help you unload them.
The payment method chosen will affect turnaround. Prepay is hardly a choice, and ITAD companies can take several days to process an order. When selling bilk equipment, the majority of these companies pay a huge compensation.
How can you choose the right ITAD vendor? There are several factors to keep in mind:
- Price
- Reliability
- Convenience
Make sure to have the list, as some ITAD vendors will want it and broker it to other vendors. However, this can hinder you from making the best possible returns on the equipment you have and saturate the market. A reputable ITAD company understands the market and where the best place is to sell the equipment for a reasonable price.
Be aware of the e-waste and make sure the ITAD company’s server recycling and e-waste downstream are good. Stick with only companies that have solidified themselves in the market and other companies feel are trustworthy.
Reddit.com/r/hardwareswap
Another place to turn to is the website Reddit. Here the subreddit hardwareswap will help you find a long line of prospective buyers for your electronics. It’s considered a must in the IT trading market. It wouldn’t seem like an ideal place to sell and buy electronics, but many consumers tend to find reliable buyers offering goods at a decent price.
Trading equipment is also possible here.
A seller or buyer must have an account that’s a minimum of 50 days old or have at least 100 comment karma. You cannot have recently signed up or never used the account previously. Moderators do really well in getting rid of spammers once they’ve been brought to their attention.
You do have the option of providing transaction history as proof of your business for verification purposes. Verification can also be made through mandatory timestamps. Each time you post an item on a forum, it must have a corresponding picture with username and information written on paper next to the equipment.
The Reddit forum won’t be perfect, but it offers you another place to sell your computer parts, whether new or used. With authenticity a major component here, you can feel safe doing business on the site. It will take time to establish your credentials, which means it may not be the best choice for the occasional sellers.
It’s Never Been Easier To Sell Your Computer Parts
The IT market is not easy to wade through, as it goes through so many changes every day. If you want to sell your spare computer parts, you may turn to an IT asset disposition vendor to simplify the process. However, there are fees involved here; they usually increase returns that will cover the service cost while finding buyers who want your equipment.
GadgetPickup provides a trade-in service where you can sell your CPU or graphics card without spending time searching for a buyer.
