Computers & Electronics

Used laptop pricing, many questions, would love input.

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  • Jul 7th, 2011 4:48 am
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Sep 23, 2010
340 posts
58 upvotes

Used laptop pricing, many questions, would love input.

Hi, I am trying to sell a used laptop and I am afraid of a no-reserve open ebay auction even though I know "an object is worth what it's purchaser is willing to pay." Naturally I'd like to get as much as possible from my purchaser. I hope any discussion here can help other sellers or buyers in the market rather than being a homework thread.

Is there generally a minimum price for a laptop (I would guess ~$100-150 from completed sales on ebay) and how can I add value to that? How much do stolen laptops flood the market and distort prices? Can I add value to beat the floor even if my warranty has run out? I feel like new laptops generally don't sell for much less than $400-500 for older models unless there is a really good sale, but these often still have warranty's.

So I see a price floor of $100 and ceiling of $400, how do I push my laptop to the higher end?

As I see it I have 3 main selling points to add value: new battery, full 4Gb RAM, and will setup *any OS.

I have a new battery (4months) which I have only charge-discharged maybe a dozen times, I always pull it out and plug in at my desk unless I have a meeting, I have the old as a spare still. I paid about $60 with shipping for this. How much value can a fresh battery add?

I upgraded the RAM to 4Gb a few months ago, I believe this is the maximum for the board, most new laptops in the low price range tend to only have 2Gb. Can I expect a better price for this, or should I put the old 2gb back in and sell this separately?

I am willing to reformat and partition with any MS pro-OS from technet (not sure if this is allowed). Also other MS productivity software. How much would you pay extra for software with keys?

I have a neoprene sleeve which I paid ~$15 for, is this generally worth anything, or would I be better off giving it to a friend?

Laptop has thai characters alongside standard US QWERTY keyboard layout. Is this a bonus... if I can find a thai buyer?

Here are the spec's if you're curious:
Laptop is Compaq V3700 series, model V3821tu. Support still available from HP http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/prod ... ct=3697899.
13" size laptop, widesceen 1280x800, 14" diagonal.
CPU: intel celeron M550 (2.00GHz) Conroe-L 65nm tech
Hard Drive: 120Gb
RAM: DDR-2 2x2Gb PC2-5300 (333Hz) (upgraded ~$80)
Graphics: Mobile intel 965 Express Chipset family (384 Mb)
Includes all standard laptop stuff built-in:
bluetooth, wifi (with on/off switch on side), DVD writer, card reader port (SD MS/Pro MMC XD), VGA connection, ethernet, 3 USB ports etc.

What would you pay for these specs on a used laptop? If I were a buyer, I'd be worried about the age and condition of the hard-drive and would plan to replace it (not worried about mine tho). I think this laptop is much more powerful than most netbooks and the 13" size is nearly portable enough for that niche. I would probably pay between $200-$300 for my laptop now (I think I paid $650 in 2008), but I would consider the selling points I mentioned if I were a buyer.

If you'd rather not write up anything please consider filling out my survey:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreads ... dlNheXc6MQ edit- having trouble with this form <---
5 replies
Member
User avatar
Jan 14, 2010
320 posts
108 upvotes
Ottawa
To be honest, I'd struggle to spend $100 on a system like that. Probably somewhere between $50-100

Reason being? You can get brand new laptops starting at $400 these days, sometimes even cheaper, all of them having way better specs than your used Compaq.

Always try to compare how much it costs for a brand new system, and what the differences are.
Deal Addict
Jun 22, 2004
1163 posts
210 upvotes
I've never sold a laptop with a celeron processor, but I can't imagine that it helps your price. I see a ceiling of 250, maybe 300 if your laptop gets into a bidding war (and this is being optimstic). I think the upgrades and extras you've mentioned will help draw attention to your item, but you're definately not going to get the full return on what you paid for your upgrades.

Setting up "any OS" may not help your auction. Unless you're providing a legit OS with cd-key, I don't think a buyer will find added value to that.

If providing software from technet is legal, this will definately help your auction, but if isn't, your listing could be pulled by ebay I think.

As for the thai keyboard, if you can find someone in north america whose primary language is thai, then I guess it might bump up your selling price a bit. but trying to find someone from thailand who will buy it will probably be quite hard if you consider the cost to ship a laptop there with a secure method that has tracking (I'm not sure you'll want to trust an item like this to regular surface parcel)
Deal Expert
User avatar
May 22, 2005
21223 posts
6991 upvotes
GTA
Unfortunately laptops have massive depreciation, once you open the box, thats more than 10% if you try to resell it. Limited upgradability and just the sheer amount of saturation of cheap laptops in the market does this. I


For maximum value back, sell it separately.

To get rid of it ASAP, sell it as a lot.



Honestly, I'd just sell it as-is.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Apr 18, 2009
3991 posts
1127 upvotes
Toronto
sorry but some rather discouraging points:

new battery: i am saying this on the assumption that the old battery is dead thus you buying a fresh new one. well its kinda expected that the battery should be in good shape. to put it the other way around, if your battery's dead you should decrease your price even more compared to one that has a good battery. however, if BOTH batteries are in good shape then it may add value

ram: ram is rather cheap these days so i wouldnt count 4gb as a bonus. you may want to try selling one stick separately but you will need to worry about 2 sales as supposed to one

extra software: ppl have different needs so these may not be relevant or bonus at all, dont count on it. putting technet keys is shady also but its your risk. most people can just live with the OS that the laptop came with provided that you have the recovery discs since it has all the drivers included

keyboard: having a thai keyboard layout may actually be a turnoff if not a deal breaker for non-thai people. im sure you have read about people here frowning on french/bilingual keyboard sold in stores already.

sleeve/pouch: one can get a sleeve for cheap at dollarama for a couple of dollars, i dont think u should pinch every dollar out of the value. either include it as a bonus or keep it for yourself

i personally would not pay more than 200 for this (and this is on the generous side) mainly because the celeron processor isnt really appealing, and the thai keyboard too.

to put it in perspective, tigerdirect has a refurb compaq celeron laptop, very basic but likely better and newer spec'd than yours, for 280 bucks. anyways good luck!

and there is no such thing as minimum price for a laptop, only a perceived deprecated value, so it can be worth nothing. i sold my very first asus eepc 701 netbook a few months ago for $50 as a quick sale (just want to get rid of it). how much was it when it first came out? 300-400 bucks?
Banned
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Feb 15, 2008
26318 posts
3242 upvotes
Calgary
I just paid $200 for an off-lease, barely used, Dell Latitude D830, shipped to my door in rural Western Canada, with specs that are at least 2-3X better than your laptop.

Stolen laptops do not flood the market and distort prices. Prices on laptops have collapsed, partly because 4-year-old laptops (like the one I just bought) are perfectly fine to run all the most modern applications.

What can I say -- sometimes you just have to move on, accept that your hardware is old, etc. I suspect you'll get better 'mileage' giving your laptop to some nice little old lady who will bake you cookies in perpetuity for helping her get online to see pictures of her grandchildren and go onto Facebook, than you would trying to hawk your machine on eBay.
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