Side Street Technology Blog

So, what’s a used laptop worth?

Did you know that your used laptops may be worth more than you might think? Because laptops are small, they can be shipped at low cost helping enable a strong after market for used units. Additionally, used laptops can be great starter computers for kids, students going to college, or for businessman with basic computing needs such as word processing, e-mail, and Internet browsing.

Vendors that buy used laptops look for several criteria to determine the value of a unit including brand/model, specifications, and condition.

Brands, Models and Laptop Value

The first factor that vendors who buy used laptops look at in determining the value of a used laptop is the brand and model. That’s correct, it’s not age. While age is a factor, more important is the brand and model. A five year old Toshiba 6100 might have more value than a three year old Dell Latitude, for example. The brand and model determine the technical specifications of the unit. The key specifications of the used laptop that determines value is:

• Processor Type (Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium IV)
• Processor Speed
• RAM size
• Hard Drive size
• Optical Drive Type
• OS Type (Win XP, Win 2K, Win NT, Win ME, Win 98)

Vendors that buy used laptops also look at the supply and demand of a particular brand and model. Some units are harder to find while other models have been saturated in the market. Harder to find models of used laptops will often times have greater value.

Weight and size can also add to the value of the unit. Ultra-light laptops can sometimes bring greater value to vendors that buy used laptops. On the flip side, heavier units which are powerful and are used for “laptop” desktops can also bring greater value.

Some models are known to have certain issues and that can affect pricing. For example, on certain models of Dell Latitudes, the mouse embedded in the keyboard makes an indention on the screen.

You will find that all brands including Dell, IBM/Lenova, HP/Compaq, Toshiba, Sony, Fujitsu, and ACER will have units that run the spectrum of value.