Darkfire001

Introduction
If your like me and most every other Overclocking.net member, you've got at least a few "extra" components sitting around your machine doing nothing.

As with most things computer components lose value as they age. However, in the fast paced, tech-orientated world we live in computer components age exponentially faster then most other products. A SD-TV for example might only devalue 10%/Year, but you take your latest processor, video card, or PCI-card and you might see your item drop as much as 50% in value each year.

Steps in getting the Most out of your Used Computer Parts

1) Determine your need of the component!
This is fairly straightforward, but it’s still something to keep in mind. Its important that you yourself determine the value of the component to yourself, before you make any attempt to sell it. Using the component in another system, or as a backup component means obviously means no additional costs.

Far too many system builders will sell components such as hard drives, memory, or CD-Roms and then discover months or years later that they suddenly have no backup components. It’s no use selling hardware at its devalued price, and then re-buying a similar piece of hardware months later at full retail or even at all.

I'd highly suggest keeping at least one spare PSU, Case, CD-Rom/DVD-Rom, and stick of memory. These are all items that tend to devalue slowly after the initial purchase and then level off. Fact is you won't be buying a decent PSU for less then $20 anytime soon, and good luck paying less then $40 for a shipped case. Memory is always handy to swap out if you’re getting POST errors, and having an extra CD-Rom/DVD-Rom drive is always useful and you won't get much for them on the market anyway.

Now lets move onto the good stuff.

2) Decide if the Component is Worth Selling!
As I mentioned earlier some components will devalue extremely fast while other components might lose only a minor portion of their value each year. This is due in part to the nature of each items production. Hard drives for example, are complex devices encompassing far more parts then a PCI Card or DVD-Rom. Hence why it’s very rare to find a new hard drive for less then $40. As of now the technology for Hard drive production has changed very little over the past few years (in regards to other technology's) and hence, hard drives will continue to "bottom out" in the $30-$40 range. You can expect a solid resale value on most hard drives, and its worth reselling a hard drive if you have no need for it.

Other components such as Video cards are easy to produce after a short while and hence why introduction prices for top-video cards can be in the $400-$500 range, but second year prices could be as low as $200-$250, a 50% fall. Gaming technology changes quickly and developers are constantly asking for new features in the video cards that’s supplies offer, hence second generation video cards lose their value rapidly. That combined with the ever increasing quality of some integrated graphics from NVIDIA & ATI, squeeze used graphic card prices like never before. Thankfully the pricing on graphics cards has been much more reasonable in the past couple years, and a solid brand label can fetch as high as 60% of its purchase price a year from purchase.

"Assorted" PCI Cards such as Firewire Ports, NIC Cards, and TV Tuners tend to retain their value, due to a combination of low profit margins on these items new in the first place and their "reliability". The primary threat to these items are the ever growing number of onboard ports on motherboards and video cards, however the HUGE market of legacy computers insures that you'll get as much as 100% of your items purchase price at sale. No Joke!

Processors and Motherboards are a more varied type of computer hardware in terms of devaluation. Up until the past few years, entry level processors (single core) would run you in the area of ~$300 and used processors (current generations) could expect to fetch as much as 60-75% of their value. Second generation processors can still fetch as much as 45-60% of their value, normally. However the current price war climate as of Mid-year 2006, has drastically cut every generation of processor values, and second generation used processor prices are about 50% lower across the board and as much as 75% lower in some situations. However I'm getting off topic, what you need to know is that Processors devalue quickly and if you don't sell quickly after purchase your losing money daily.

Okay, now that you've garnered a brief idea of exactly how quickly or how slowly certain parts devalue over time, I'm going to get to the beef of this FAQ!

3) Real Quick! Consider Replacement Value
Its important to consider the present-day replacement cost/value of each piece of hardware your trying to sell. For EX: If you have a second or third system (fully functional) just gathering dust, or garnering little play time, check out the "present-day" equivalent on NewEgg/etc and see what it would cost to revamp the entire system. You might be surprised how cheap it is to create an entirely new system. Then weigh in your mind how much an upgrade is worth to you (if worth it at all) and take your fair market value of the current system, subtract what you consider the upgrade worth, and cast out some offers with the methods below in hopes of basically a free or cheap system upgrade.

If I haven't clarified this well, I have this example: I have a secondhand Pentium 4 system that I have friends use to game at my house, or to record Television shows/etc. A quick check recently showed the cost for a new comparable system with all new technology, would only cost me $400, yes that’s how cheap some things have gotten. As a result I tossed the system onto eBay and now its looking like I'll garner at least $275 for my efforts. Meaning I'll be able to get an entirely new system just about, for $125 out of pocket.

4) Where and how to sell your parts to maximize your gain or minimize your loss

There are many routes to go about getting the most value for your used computer parts, however an official "trading" store isn't one of them. It'd be lovely if there were an online location or storefront to buy/sell/trade computer hardware to maximize your own gain, however this simply isn't the case. Unlike cars, computer hardware doesn't remain useable after fifty years, much less solid after ten. However, this doesn't mean there’s a lack of good alternatives. I've listed some popular ways to maximize your computer hardware sales below~!


A) Fairs (++)
Many cities/towns have local fairs, places where individuals can rent booths and sell whatever wares they desire. My local fair charges less then $50 for an entire day at some booths...$50 and you can show your various computer components to a huge selection of people. Now if you’re only selling a few things this isn't feasible, nor if you spend 8 hours selling $100 in things. However it’s a great way to "collab" with some friends and sell your used computer parts. Many unsuspecting fairgoers aren't familiar with the market trends and you can get a lot of buck for your bang :) In-fact you could also try buying some parts on "special" at NewEgg/etc and selling them as well. You may find this shocking, but many people will find your prices still much better then any big-box store they've been too lately.

B) Auction Outlets/Ebay (++++)
It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, eBay is a great way to get "fair" market value for many items. With millions of users, eBay's marketplace can help get your item sold, and sold fast. A decent auction listing should get you a reasonable sale price for your item. That said, you'll be paying as much as 10-15% of your items value in commissions to eBay and perhaps Paypal (eBay owned anyway). You must weight the "speed-i-ness" of an eBay auction with the devaluation of your item.

C) Forums (+++)
Overclock.net's forums included, there are hundreds of forums on the internet that allow or facilitate the sale of all sorts of used and new hardware. You'll get the benefit of ZERO fees on most forum marketplaces, along with the pleasure of dealing with people that you might be a bit more familiar with online. There is certainly the increased risk of scammers (buyers & sellers) on many forum marketplaces, but careful sales and cautious buyers can reduce incidents to a minimum.

D) Retail Trade-ins (++)
Some retail stores such as TigerDirect allow you to trade in your items online for in-store credit (or cash). I'm not very familiar with any trade-in programs outside of TigerDirect's however I'll provide some input into the process. Basically TG allows a user to trade-in a complete system or specific components in exchange for in-store credit varying depending on the item. The process is managed by a third part institution (recycler) and the prices they quote tend to be fairly generous (as much as 75% of the items value), plus they will pay for the shipping (which on heavy computers can add up quickly). This however has to be weighed out with the, in my opinion, lackluster terms of service. The third party managed TG's trade-in process will quote you based on the information you provide, but can change your payment upon receipt of the item to whatever they desire. Here's the kicker, they WON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, RETURN THE ITEM....Yes that’s right, under their TOS, they can give you a dollar and you'll have no recourse. With the "quality" of the items descriptions as broad as "Excellent, Good, Average" and Whitebox encompassing so many makes and brands of computer constructions, it doesn't seem like a good route for many to take. The chance of getting screwed by a third party organization working for an already semi-sketchy retail outlet is almost too great, so I would definitely suggest weighing your options carefully when working with trade-in outlets, more so with TigerDirect.com (NOTE: TigerDirect has a retail store near my location and all my experience up until now have been quite good with few exceptions, but its the experiences of other OC users that’s has me a bit worried~!)

E) Trading
This is more of an activity then a particular sales method. I'd highly suggest trading with other internet/local persons for components you desire. You can get much more of your items values when trading (as high as 90% often times). Note, be careful to weigh the purchase price, market value, and expected devaluation of any product before a trade.

F) "Pass-Downs"
Many of you are like me in that you've got many other friends with who you game or participate in computer activities with. Not all of your friends are likely to have as much free cash to spend on computer components & hardware, and as a result you can benefit them and yourself by dealing parts within your own group. You get the benefit of helping improve a friends computing experience (so you can smack them down online) and they get the benefit of retribution if the hardware screws up (so they can smack you down in person). Still consider the fair value of an item, and if you can really afford to lose $10,$20,$50 of an items value by selling/trading to a friend rather then selling it online/retail.

5)Other Notes
I'd suggest using a spreadsheet program to monitor your computer related expenditures over time to measure how much money your losing on "devaluation" of components, and where the majority of your "money drain" is.

Conclusion
The sales methods I've listed above are just a few broad statements about the various ways to get the most for your used Computer Parts, I'll do my best to expand and clarify certain parts of this FAQ as time goes on, but I've gotta hop off and watch my eBay auction :)

brome09

Very nice info. Not a single spelling error that I saw. Job well done.

The Duke

Well done :)

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