How Much Is My PC Worth – Best Way to Calculate Your Laptop & Computer’s Resale Value

Can you really buy a $500 computer for just $50? That’s what we thought too, until we took a deep dive into the various factors that determine how much a PC is actually worth, and how much you should pay

This is why, compared to either buying a new computer or building one from scratch in which cases the prices are available online, selling a used computer is a different ball game.

You can expect to be selling your used PC for between $100 and $200 depending on the age of the hardware, and the condition it’s in.

The cleaner the hardware, the more you can request on your resale.

Many online used PC price calculators are useless and a prime example is an online calculator on The PC Broker website.

I said I had a Core i7 3rd generation processor, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD, and a Wi-Fi USB adapter, and this tool estimated that my PC will be sold for $210, which is obviously useless.

Visit: How to Connect Xbox 360 Controller to PC Without Receiver

The best way to value your personal computer is to use the same formula we’ve provided to check how much your PC is worth, and use our best pricing as an example. We’ll discuss other options you can use to get the most from your used computer.

How Much Is My PC Worth? PC Price Calculator / Formula

Price at time of purchase
Model Brand popularity
Tech Specs
Supply/Demand
Working Condition
Battery Condition
Warranty/Age

Original / First Purchase Price

Before you put your computer for sale there are a few things you should think about.

If your laptop is new, consider how much it was originally sold for. For most laptops, you can sell them for between $100 and $200.

When it comes to resale value, the 20% rule is mostly binding, but if you bought it used, you won’t have to deduct the 20% even if you

Model and Brand popularity

There’s a big difference in the value of a Macbook 2015 compared to the value of a Dell or HP machine from the same year and with the same tech specs. So the more popular the laptop is, the more money you can expect to receive when you put it up for sale.

This doesn’t increase the price or lower it, but it makes your negotiating position stronger.

Tech Specs

This is one of the biggest factors. Generally, a 2GB RAM laptop and an 8GB RAM laptop will be priced very differently.

If you’re currently selling a Core i5 and i7 laptop, you have a high bargaining power, but if you’re selling an Intel Celeron PC you’ll need to offer something as

Physical features like the color, USB ports, webcams, etc.

all fall under technology specifications to consider.

Supply/Demand

I’d like to add this, because, although it isn’t always a factor that needs to be considered, it can put you in a very good place when doing negotiations.

If your laptop or PC is no longer in production, and there’s a lot of demand for it, you are in a good place and can ask for around 5% more.

You might need to slash OFF your profit margin 5% or 10%, as well as the commissions, but it may be necessary for you to slash the profit margin or commissions for an ongoing period of time.

Working Condition

What do your machine’s performance and uptime look like? Does it run well, or are there underlying issues with your computer?

This will negatively affect the resale value of your machine.

When the customer returns the product for repair, you will cut the resale price by around 20% more.

If you have the PC repaired, you may need to raise your price. However, it is more common to lower prices and not raise the price.

Battery Condition

The stronger the battery, the less expensive your products are. If your batteries are weak, your products will be too.

You will have to consider the battery strength and quality before putting a price tag on the laptop / computer.

Warranty/Age

If you bought a laptop 6 months ago, with all of the top tech specs we can imagine, an Intel Core i7 3rd-gen processor, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD, and 1GB dedicated graphics card, you will be able to demand a higher price than you would if you were putting that same machine on sale today, because technology is progressing.

There’s a trade-off. You can have your buyer enjoy warranty coverage for the lifetime of the product, or you can get your buyer a product that is more than 5 years old, but not as new.

Even though they have the same specs, you’d generally see around 20% price differences between the former and the latter.

However, the older your PC, the lesser it will generally cost. So for those wondering, “How much is my PC worth?” the answer is that it depends on a range of factors, and you cannot see a calculator online that will accurately calculate what your PC should be sold for.

I recommend doing a search of your computer’s name and model + Renew, and you’ll see the best deals on the market.

You should be able to see how much other eBay sellers sell their PCs for and that generally gives you a general idea of what you should expect to be able to sell for.

What Do You Do with An Old PC? – Options We Recommend

An old PC is a good source of parts for a variety of creative projects, so don’t throw it out when you’re

First, you should give it away or donate it.

You might have younger relatives who are into computers or who want to give a PC to a local school or orphanage.

You can also dedicate this book to distributed computing projects.

Whatever you decide to do with an old PC, it is critical to completely clean it before restoring it to its original state.

Here are a few more things you can do with an old PC.

Convert or Dedicate It

There are lots of things you can convert an old PC to

NAS/Home server or Secondary computing server

You can convert it to a NAS to keep your videos, photos, and music in one place for the family to easily access.

You’ll also have better control over the security of your own files.

You can turn your computer into a network-attached storage device by using software like FreeNAS, Tonido, Rockstor, XigmaNAS, and

It can be converted into a secondary computing server to help with distributed rendering chores.

Dedicated game server

You can turn your computer into a dedicated game server for your favorite multiplayer games.

You should simply see if the game allows you to host a server on a local computer.

Whether it’s for the Wii or your old-school Xbox 360, this game will allow you to play the kind of games that you’re used to, but with a little help

You can get older games that work on newer operating systems from Steam, GoG, or emulate a legacy DOS environment with DOSBox.

Communal PC

You can have your old PC in the living room, your study or library as a communal computer.

The tablet should have a Wi-Fi connection to the network, so anyone can easily access their files through it to do some light work or quickly look up some information.

Make sure to set up multiple security settings for each of your accounts.

Guitar amplifier

To convert your old PC into a guitar amplifier, download an amplifier modeling program like Guitar Rig 5, plug your guitar into the PC via USB, and then use the amp simulator to convert your computer into

Dedicated PC

You can decide what you use frequently and dedicate the computer to that function.

Another example is dedicating a new PC for video conferencing. You can then do a fresh installation of Windows 10 along with your preferred video conferencing apps.

Security Cam

You don’t need proper home security cameras to keep an eye on your home, but if you still want to do that you can convert an old computer into a home security camera.

Simply use your PC’s built-in webcam or an external webcam with a microphone.

iSpy enables you to view, capture, and remotely monitor your footage and screencaptures from any Apple device with Wi-Fi or 3G.

Experiment With It

An old PC can be your best friend, and it might even make your life a whole lot easier, so why wouldn’t

With an old PC, you can experiment as much as you want without fear.

If you want to experiment with any UNIX-based operating system, you must have a high level of tech-savviness.

You can even try your hands at creating a Hackintosh or Chromebook.

You can also just turn the PC into a sandbox to try things you wouldn’t normally try.

Use Its Parts

Old PCs have many parts that will help you build your own PC for less money.

You can salvage a lot of the internal parts. They don’t include the motherboard, so you won’t be able to repair it.

When you don’t know how to build a PC, you can sell the parts of an old PC.

You can also decide to turn your old PC into a tablet.

Tech-savvy people with excellent skills when it comes to DIY can try this out.

There are a few videos about how to make your computer into a tablet.

There are so many methods you could use to make your screen a touchscreen, but it would probably work better if it’s a touchscreen, but you can

Another way to use the parts of an old PC is for art.

Find ways to take old PCs and turn them into creative art, and exhibit them at a gallery or exhibit.

They are both great resources, but Pinterest is a little better for finding inspiration.

Recycle

Instead of tossing them or letting them collect dust in your home, you can recycle your old PCs.

Drop your computer off at the closest recycle bank or recycling center.

You can always ask the retailer to repair or replace your PC instead of buying a new one.

5 Best Places To Sell Your Old Pc – And Why They’re Great

Some of the best places to sell your old PC are;

Decluttr

When it comes to speediest auction bidding and highest rating from trusted users like you, go with Decluttr.

You can sell and buy anything and choose from the various bids you get. You also get free shipping and payments are made quickly.

You can get a bid within seconds of signing up and putting in the necessary details of the item you want to sell.

You can earn income through direct deposit, PayPal, or even a charity.

eBay

eBay is a website where you can sell old or used items.

If you want to succeed in Amazon as a seller, it’s important to know that there are two main types of sellers: one- and many-seller businesses.

On eBay, listing an item and setting the best prices are two best practices. Luckily, eBay offers these best practices.

You can choose to list your product for free, charge a flat rate for a listing, or let buyers bid on the price of your product.

Facebook Marketplace or Groups

There are many ways to make money with your Facebook account, including doing paid surveys and other offers.

Facebook Marketplace connects you to local and online buyers for almost any item for free.

You’ll control your own price, and you’ll be able to connect with many buyers.

Craigslist

Sellers use Craigslist to find local buyers for their items.

Sell your old PC on this platform at your preferred price to any interested buyer.

Craigslist puts your item out to a large number of potential buyers for free.

Gazelle

Gazelle offers the online and in-person sale of phones, tablets, Apple Computers, and iPods. They also offer free shipping.

After describing its condition, you get an offer from them for the item you want to sell.

If a consumer decides your item is damaged or in need of repair, he can ask for a refund or an item exchange.

You can get paid in PayPal, check, or Amazon Gift Card, a week after you place an order or get paid immediately at any of their kiosks.

Best Places to Sell Old PC Parts And Games

There are many ways to sell your old computer parts and games on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Reddit.com, or Craigslist. When meeting a buyer in person you should always take a friend and have the meeting in a public place.

Beware of scam merchants on Amazon FBA sites. Learn more about how scammers work and how you can prevent them from swindling you out of your money.

If your are looking for a site to sell your old PC that you don’t want to risk using, there are many sites out there that will handle the seller end of things, and some will handle the buyer end as well.

It is very worth being extra careful.

How Do You Wipe A Computer Clean to Sell It?

To delete files off your Windows computer to sell it;
First, be sure to back up your files or transfer them out into another hard drive
Go to Settings or tap the Start button and click Settings
Navigate to Update & Security >> Recovery
Under Reset this PC, tap Get Started
On the page that pops up, select Reset this PC
Next, tap Next >> Delete personal files
On the page that pops up, tap Yes, delete files
Next, tap Next >> Reset Windows
On the page that pops up, tap Next >> Reset this PC
The computer will be reset to its original

To wipe your Intel-based MacBook clean to sell it;
First, be sure to back up your files, sign out of iCloud/iTunes/iMessage and copy your keychain into a flash drive
Turn OFF the computer
Turn it back on, then press and hold the Shift, Option, Command, and R or just the Command and R keys until you see the Apple logo or a spinning globe
You should see a macOS Utilities page after a few seconds
Tap Disk Utility >> Continue
Select the option at the top (the built-in hard disk) of the file tree to erase everything and tap Erase at the top of the screen
You can keep the default setting for the format and scheme or select the MacOS Extended (Journaled) format and then tap Erase
Once the process is finished, exit Disk Utility
Return to the macOS Utilities page and select Reinstall macOS
After the installation is completed, the computer will start the setup process
Leave it this way or press the Command and Q keys to skip it for the new owner to set it

If you have a newer MacBook, you will see the Apple Logo, then a picture of the keyboard, and then a screen with text saying: “Apple T2 Security Chip” or “Mac OS X Monterey”
Tap the apple icon at the top left corner of the screen, then navigate to System Preferences >> Erase All Content and Settings
You will be prompted to type in your details
If you haven’t already backed up, when you are prompted to back up the mac, open Time machine and select an external device to backup to – If you have, tap Continue
Next, you will see a list of everything that will be removed from the MacBook
Check the list and tap Continue
You will now be prompted to type in your Apple ID password
On the warning page, tap Erase All Content & Settings
After the reset is completed, an Active Mac page will pop up, and you will be prompted to connect to a Wi-Fi network
Connect to your network and tap Restart
After the mac restarts, it will start the setup process.

Wipe your Chromebook clean and then sell it. Go to the Settings screen, search for Powerwash, and tap Reset. Then tap Restart. Finally, tap Powerwash, and let your device start over.

Conclusion

Do you know how much your PC is worth? If so, which option will you choose?

You’re a clever fellow! With the right PC, there’s really no limit to what you can create.