Selling your first laptop can seem like a daunting task, especially if you’ve never handled something quite like it. What are the rules? How do you get the best pricing? How do you avoid scammers?
We’ll answer all these questions and so much more with our easy step-by-step guide to selling your first computer online. The guide should contain everything you need to know about pawning off your first electronic asset.
Step 1: Researching the Market
The first step to selling your laptop online is carrying out research about the resale market. Prowl forums, online market places like eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Craiglist, and any other valid local site.
Spend enough time researching, and you should go the go-rate for the new and refurbished version so the computer you want to sell.
Note that refurbished laptops are expected to be in pristine conditions or close enough to it. If you have physical or performance problems with your computer, you have to consider going through with the sale as-is for a lower price or covering the cost of repairs to hopefully get better pricing.
Laptops — technology in general– depreciate fairly quickly, making the refurbished market more competitive than most. Even with everything dialed in, you might not get the price you want.
Step 2: Set up your store of choice
Pick your favorite online marketplace – Craiglist, Facebook marketplace, Reddit – and set up an account and a listing for your PC.
To get the fastest results, we suggest using the paid or boosted listing option, making it easier for customers to discover your laptop. Be careful when you’re selling online. Although, it’s unlikely that you will run into a dangerous personality online, we recommend in-person trades in very public and safe locations or marketplaces with Escrow services.
Step 3: Filing out your bio
After Setting up your marketplace account, browsing to get a lay of the landscape, and doing brand research, you’re almost ready to sell your PC. You only need to set up your sales page properly.
A properly written sales page will do more for you than all the research you might’ve done. Written well, it can help you stand out from the sea of similarly specced, similarly priced products and give you a real chance at selling your Pc quickly.
A few things to keep in mind when writing your online listing
- Save people time by crafting a headline that tells potential buyers everything they need to know about your computer.
- For used Laptops, the PC specifications are the most important, so you want to lead with that after you’ve written out the name of the computer.
- Pair your snappy title with an honest yet appealing sales picture that highlights the best sides of your computer. This means looking for angle shots, using decent lighting, and being patient in taking multiple pictures.
- Write a shortlisting about the computer, its current state, as well as other information you deem important in clear words. Lead with the best specifications first before getting to the faults, if there are any.
- On your listing, it’s important to state how you will be delivering the product. Will it be in person, via mail, or something else?
Be very specific, so the buyers know what they’re getting themselves into. Also, you should decide whether you want the buyers to cover the cost of delivery.
Step 4: Weeding through the offers
After some days, orders should pour in for your computer. Read through all of them, looking for which buyer’s offer is the best and closest to you. Don’t take offers from ghost accounts or people who’ve barely filled out anything on their pages. It might be a sign that they’re unserious, looking to scam you, or dangerous.
Establish communications with the most promising prospects and see which ones are ready to buy.
Step 5: Backup and Wipe
Before you hand over your PC to its new owner, take care to back up all of your most important files and wipe your Pc in preparation for the sale.
Don’t ever, under any circumstances, sell your computer with your files still on board. With the right tools, bad parties can access your passwords and banking information, and steal your identity.
Even if you’re selling to a friend, wipe your information and load whatever data they might be interested in a fresh operating system. Your saved file will form the basis of your new computer, so store it carefully.
Step 6: Make the Sale
Conduct last-minute maintenance and clean up like wiping down your screen, cleaning the fans, and wiping down the chassis. Keep an eye out for fingerprint stains or any other telling signs of use.
Once everything looks right, ship the product off to the buyer or hand-deliver it to them. If your seller of choice uses an Escrow service, you can sell without worrying much about getting cheated.
When the buyer receives your computer, they will likely go over the package to make sure you’ve included everything you promised. If they find something missing, that could cause your deal to fall through. Take the time to double-check your services before you finalize the purchase.
Exchanging your PC for Store Credit
A few big tech stores do take desirable Laptops in pristine condition and award you store credit towards your next computer purchase. If they give you a great discount on your dream PC purchase, it might be worth considering. It also saves you the time and cost of listing your Pc and shipping.
Conclusion
Selling your PC or any used gadget online is a unique experience that every tech-savvy person should experience at least once. It arms you with the information you’ll likely need the next time you need to sell an Old Tv, speaker, or Desktop computer.
If you’re great at computer repairs, it could also build the foundational skills you need to start a flipping business, where you purchase damaged PC for a cheaper price and sell them at a premium.
