Selling Used Equipment

I asked to end an article how people felt about selling used equipment for the price of (discounted) new equipment.

A few thought this was a terrible idea.

More essentially all said the same thing: that they were generally not just selling equipment, but including installation and effective tech support also, which would cost the buyer
quite a bit. Taking all of that into consideration; doing this was fair if not more than fair.

I think this a very good point. Installation and tech support (and I’m sure those who wrote me interpret tech support more liberally than the OEMs) is legitimate work and effort than deserves compensation. It’s not “free.” When CompUSA charges you
$90 to do anything inside your box, installation and implicit tech support is probably worth at least as much as the difference between what is charged and what a true value of the item without those items included.

Of course, I say this given the context in which respondents spoke, fairly new equipment, full disclosure that it is used rather than new equipment, and after-sale help if needed.

Here’s what I found to be the most interesting post on the matter, especially the second part.

As for selling used equipment, I have made it a side summer job of buying parts low, and selling them high. Forums are great because you can catch someone who needs to move something quickly and get it for cheap. Then, offload it on Ebay for near new full prices. If the people on Ebay are willing to pay a (sometimes high) price for something, that’s fine in my book! Besides, sometimes they are getting a good deal because shipping is less in some cases (USPS 2-3 day Priority is $3.20), and I can offer FREE support for installation or something (exchanging a few emails isn’t hard).

Also, I have found that I can purchase systems (sometimes on Ebay) and part them out to make more money. It’s like a car junk yard, the car costs $5,000 whole, but parted out is worth $15,000 or even more. There isn’t anything wrong with it-if people are buying online, they are usually smart enough to know to shop around.

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Any thoughts about Ebay? The few times I’ve looked, I’ve been amazed at what people pay for things there.

I find it a little hard to believe you can make money breaking up computers to parts. Any thoughts on that?

Email Ed