How to Know the Value of Your Used Computer

That used computer has been such a friend to you. It is worth every penny you paid for it two, five, or seven years ago. Now, you are ready to sell it. As you recall how much you spent to get it, you wonder what someone will pay for it today? Maybe you are used to selling cars. After five years, most cars will be worth about 1/3 to 2/3 of the new price if it has been taken care of. New cars have gone up in price and this gives extra support to the used value of a car.

Welcome to the world of computers. Every year computers become more powerful and cheaper per unit of power. This means in five years, new computers run many times faster than yours and cost less than you spent five years ago. The combined force of these two facts means that the value of a used computer drops faster than a rock into a black hole.

If you bought a state-of-the-art system, your computer has lost value at the rate of about 35% per year. Let's do the math. After one year, a computer that costs $1,000 will be worth about $650. At two years of age, it will be worth a little less than $400.

After three years, you may be able to get $250. When four years have passed, the price will have fallen to about $175. At this point, you will get a little break. Most people who want a used computer need it to learn about computers, or they are looking for a cheap one for a child going off to college. The value will settle in to a range between $100 and $150 for the next two years.

After that, it will be worth maybe $50 to $75 for another two or three years. At this point, it really turns into a machine for parts. A lot of things come into play beyond the five year mark. If you were unlucky enough to buy technology that was on the verge of becoming obsolete, your computer could be headed to the scrap pile by the five year mark.

Most of the time, problems with components cause computer values to drop quicker than normal. If a monitor gets dark or starts to twitch, this means the computer will be hard to use without replacing the monitor. Since new monitors can cost almost as much as new computer sold as a package with a monitor, it can make a used computer hard to sell unless you can locate a good used monitor. The same is true for a keyboard and a mouse.

The dial-up modem and network card usually need to be in working order to be able to sell a used computer. Good software and working games can add back as much as 50% to the value of a five-year-old computer. These can be recycled to a newer system many times.

When you get ready to sell an old computer, look for someone who wants to get into the online world without spending much. This will be the best opportunity to get maximum dollars. As long as the person can get a year or two of use from an old machine while learning, it will be worth it to him or her. If you sell it to a geek, you will only get about 1/2 or less of its value.

Laptops and notebooks can retain slightly better value as long as the battery holds up. With a good display and keyboard, most laptops will retain their value longer. If your laptop is faster than a 1 gig system, it will hold at least 25% of its new value for a long time. A five year old laptop might still be able to bring $250 with a decent sized hard drive and at least 256 megabytes of ram.