Computer Resale Advice

[RueFang]

Hi all. Just wondering how much to sell my computers for if anyone has any ideas...

One is 3 years old, works very well, in good nick apart from the rear screws going rusty (living in Thailand!), bought for 18,000 baht.

The other is 1 year old, excellent condition, like new, flat lcd screen, also bought for 18,000 baht.

What could I charge do you think? I have someone interested in setting up an internet shop who wants to know. Also, if I can't sell them, would they be ok to be stored in their original boxes for a few years in the house in rural Thailand?

Thanks

[paulfr]

Three yrs old purchased new for 18K should be worth around 5-7K baht I would think. Remember, machines get much better each year and the newest software depends on the increased computing power. That is why storing them for several years is a very poor choice because they will be nearly useless to anyone doing anything other than very simple tasks with older versions of SW.

Sell them for 10K advertised and accept any offer >5-7K is my advice.

Cheers

Edited July 1, 2008 by paulfr

[guava]

It's rare for companies to lease computers or peripherals for longer than 3 years, some do it for 2. For depreciation for tax purposes, computer equipment is written off over 3 years at most. There is good reason for this. The 18000 THB computer you buy today is worth 9000 THB as you step out the dealer's door.

Basically 3 year old computer equipment is worth very little to most people. It's not just that the machines aren't still up to the task (they usually are), it's just the risk and hassle of parts failing etc, especially hard disks, but pretty much anything can start to go, especially on machines that have been run hard and long, in hot or dusty environments, never cleaned internally etc. A lot of failures are ultimately due to failure of cooling fans - they die and something cooks a few minutes later. Hard disks just have a very finite life span full stop - you can divide that life by 5 if you don't have UPS protection and your power supply is not clean/grounded properly. Notebooks fair a little better due to better build quality control etc, and they are less susceptible to damage from bad power.

I would NEVER buy a 2nd hand computer from anyone - not even a one year old one. Not everyone would feel this way, but I would consider anything you can get for a 3 year old computer would be a bonus. 5000 THB would be absolute top dollar I would think, and I wouldn't even consider selling it for that price to someone I consider a friend, or someone who can find you again when it dies. For people who rely on computers, the cost of constantly replacing PCs is far cheaper than the loss of data/productivity, stress etc when they die.

One other thing to consider. Microsoft will start pushing much harder very soon to make Vista the default OS, and at some stage will probably withdraw or minimise XP support. I read somewhere they are already(?) forcing vendors to sell new PCs with Vista, and not offering XP as an option. Hopefully Vista will become considerably more stable very soon! I don't want to get off topic here or get into the Linux debate etc. My point is that Vista will likely become the most used OS sometime soon, and many 3 year old computers will not run Vista reliably, again affecting the resale price of 2nd hand PCs.

[guava]

Consider donating the older one to an orphanage, school, charity, youth group, needy family perhaps. Probably worth more in warm fuzzy feelings than cash Just make sure they know you don't want to hear about it when something dies. Well unless you're a complete saint that is.

As for selling to an internet cafe - I would assume they have IT knowledgeable people on staff, and are prepared to chop and change parts in machines etc, so selling to someone like this would be much preferable than to someone who is a novice. A catastrophic failure of one machine (which is unlikely to store valuable data) etc won't hurt them much.

[surface]

The 18000 THB computer you buy today is worth 9000 THB as you step out the dealer's door.

I would NEVER buy a 2nd hand computer from anyone

But you can apparently save yourself 50% buying a computer that is only 1 day old, with full warranty. Seems foolish to be pissing money away when you're an expert on resale values.

[guava]

The 18000 THB computer you buy today is worth 9000 THB as you step out the dealer's door.

I would NEVER buy a 2nd hand computer from anyone

But you can apparently save yourself 50% buying a computer that is only 1 day old, with full warranty. Seems foolish to be pissing money away when you're an expert on resale values.

If you're suggesting I wouldn't pay 9000 THB for a one day old computer that someone paid 18000 THB for - you're probably right. Unless I knew the person and trusted them absolutely, I'd smell a rat and run a mile. And that's exactly what happens in the real world.

Foolish? Pissing my money away? Says you. Have you every been naive enough to buy and soon after attempt to sell a near new computer expecting to get even close to all your money back? If so, how did that go for you?

As for the "full warranty" - the original purchaser would have enough trouble trying to get anything out of that in Thailand.

Do you really disagree with my advice to the OP, or you're just trying your hand at being "controversial" and "challenging"?

[ariesram74]

what are the specs on these computers in question? Put them on craigslist. I've been looking for some second hand computers to toy around with rather than buying something new and totally destroying it. For a mad scientist, second hand is the way to go.

I bought a laptop last year for about 40,000 - I saw the same model at Powerbuy (where all 1-year old quality electronic items go to die) for 23,000THB. LOL.

The comment about warranties - I got the mobo replaced while my HP was still under warranty with IT City - that was free and it's been working fine ever since.

[surface]

Foolish? Pissing my money away? Says you. Have you every been naive enough to buy and soon after attempt to sell a near new computer expecting to get even close to all your money back? If so, how did that go for you?

Yes, using ebay, craigslist, computer forums, and all went well. But it's understandable that if you haven't done for any reason, you wouldn't know what options are available. It is (or was at least) very common for people to buy computers from Dell using one or more coupon codes, then sell the item on ebay without even opening it for a nice profit. I would say people who are buying, selling, and trading computers and computer hardware are probably the largest community on the net. This wouldn't be so if there was a good chance of getting a raw deal. But if you know what you are doing and what you are buying, the chances of you getting screwed are drastically decreased.

As for the "full warranty" - the original purchaser would have enough trouble trying to get anything out of that in Thailand.

Do you say that from experience? With all of the HP, Acer, Asus, etc., repair shops available in Thailand, I've had a much easier time having in and out of warranty repair work done than back home. Same with my Samsung mobile phone.

Do you really disagree with my advice to the OP, or you're just trying your hand at being "controversial" and "challenging"?

Yes, I really disagree with your advice, though I expressed it in my typical sarcastic way. The OP has the right to read everyones opinion on the matter, even if you don't agree with it.

Cheers.

[guava]

It is (or was at least) very common for people to buy computers from Dell using one or more coupon codes, then sell the item on ebay without even opening it for a nice profit.

For the purpose of this discussion, re-selling a brand new PC still in it's original packing is no different to a regular retail outlet selling that same brand new PC. What we were discussing before you drifted off topic, was selling 2nd hand (ie used) computers.

[tartempion]

> As for the "full warranty" - the original purchaser would have enough trouble trying to get anything out of that in Thailand.

Had a friend who had a PC made in Udon Thani Charoensri shopping mall last week.

They built in an LG DVD drive iso the ASUS ordered and his PC did not start day 3 and day 4 ( ventilator started for one second with endlessly repeat tentatives)

On the third revisit of the shop in 5 days they replaced the Motherboard and CPU.

All is fine now and I think you made a stupid statement re warranty.

I also have a second hand 2.66MHz P IV 506 Prescott with LCD panel I offered for sale at 8k baht no one seems to want to buy.

At 6k for a new 17 inch LCD panel I will just stick with that panel, might add the planned 22 inch and sit with two monitors on my desk.

There is nothing wrong with selling buying second hand stuff.

I have PC's since 1980 and had one CPU burn due to a death ventilator.

Never experienced a dying hard disk in 28 years.

Do recommend keeping back-up of data on second hard disk though.

[RueFang]

Thanks for all your comments, I appreciate the advice. As I'm in a pretty remote village in Thailand, I wasn't really thinking of selling via craigslist or anything, it was just other local people interested in setting up an internet shop as there is only one in the surrounding area.

As to being in storage for a few years, I'm not worried about the computers being out of date, just them not working when i pull them out of the box! I will only be using them for internet and word processing in the future, nothing too special.

So, the one year old com, I'd be lucky to get 9,000?

[jeffer]

Why not take a look at other computers advertised on Thai Visa in the classifieds section to get an idea of what to ask for, then post your own advert. Also look at what it would cost to build something similar today. Half of that price is probably a realistic starting point. It's hard to sell second hand computers when you can buy a new one that will do basic tasks quite well for 15,000. Even 10,000 will get you something workable these days.

I had one computer in storage for over 2 years, got moved around a bit but apart from having to reseat the video card it worked fine. Just started up the same computer the other day for the first time since November and still working as good as ever. Used it for the internet and because it has hardly anything on it apart from Windows and a few basic programs it still seems quick enough. Despite that, if you can sell yours now then do so rather than keep it taking up space somewhere, it's honestly not worth storing for a rainy day.

[Beacher]

Consider donating the older one to an orphanage, school, charity, youth group, needy family perhaps. Probably worth more in warm fuzzy feelings than cash Just make sure they know you don't want to hear about it when something dies. Well unless you're a complete saint that is.

I think that this is the best advice given, so far. Once I had outgrown my old computer, I gave it to a waitress I knew. She was an honest and hard working woman (with 4 little girls) who was divorced. I took to her very humble home and set it up. The children were absolutely thrilled with it, and the experience gave me a nice warm fuzzy feeling that was definitely more valuable to me than the few thousand baht I likely would have got had I sold it.

As for the newer 1-year-old system, place an ad in one of the several weekly newspapers or in an online classified ads section like the one offered here. I believe that most, if not all of the English weekly newspapers in Thailand area let you advertise the goods you want to sell without charging you a fee. Those types of classified ads might also be helpful to determine a realistic price to ask. Just try to find a similar configuration (CPU speed/type, hard drive capacity, etc.) and match your asking price closely to what you see.

As for storing this stuff, it's not a good idea for a couple of reason, but mainly because (as already pointed out) 3 years from now, it won't be able to handle much of the newer software and will generally hold very little value.

Edited July 3, 2008 by Beacher

[LivinLOS]

Thanks for all your comments, I appreciate the advice. As I'm in a pretty remote village in Thailand, I wasn't really thinking of selling via craigslist or anything, it was just other local people interested in setting up an internet shop as there is only one in the surrounding area.

As to being in storage for a few years, I'm not worried about the computers being out of date, just them not working when i pull them out of the box! I will only be using them for internet and word processing in the future, nothing too special.

So, the one year old com, I'd be lucky to get 9,000?

Depends on its specs.. One year old machine like an enthusiast would buy (quad core, multi gigs of ram, DVD burners, big LCD, etc) would easily be worth that or much more.. 1 year old 'joe schmoe' machine with some old celeron that can just run XP.. Give it away to someone and hope they take it off your hands.

I tend to let machines evolve through upgrades and build the cast off bits into machines I give to people.. Lifes too short to use slow computers.

[RueFang]

Woohoo! I just sold my "joe schmoe" computer for 10,000 baht to my neighbour!! Although I'm sure it would have been better karmicly to give it away, I'm not complaining about getting 10 grand back on it!