Stores That Buy Old Laptops
There are plenty of companies where you can sell electronics -- places that'll happily buy old fitness trackers, smartwatches, gaming consoles, laptops, digital cameras and other electronic equipment. In exchange, they'll send you cold hard cash, often in the form of a gift card or PayPal transfer. (Not too shabby for that MacBook gathering dust in your closet.) You can even sell your old electronics without having to visit a physical location such as a pawn shop, now that used electronics website options are becoming more popular. And you won't have to worry about paying for shipping or shouldering the cost of a fee, which is somewhat commonplace with services that sell electronics and old equipment.
stores that buy old laptops
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The prices offered with trade-in programs on an old device are usually a little lower than what you could sell electronics for, but the reduced price is worth forgoing the headache of trying to sell on your own. Some places will even take broken items, but keep in mind that broken tech will sell at a much lower cost than a gadget that is still in good working order.
When your device is received, ItsWorthMore will verify if the indicated working condition is accurate -- that is, whether it's in good condition, fair, broken, and so on. If there's a discrepancy, you'll have a chance to ask for the device back or accept the revised offer.
BuyBackWorld will buy a wide range of products including phones, tablets, iPods, cameras, game consoles, computers, headphones, drones and, well, you get the point. You can even get a custom quote for products that aren't listed on the site.
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Thankfully, there are plenty of options out there if you're looking for a good deal on a laptop and don't mind that it's not the latest and greatest tech. Big-name retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, and even Apple have certified refurbished, open-box, and pre-owned tech covered by a myriad of return and exchange policies as well as limited warranties. They either have their own teams or use third-party suppliers to thoroughly inspect, clean, and repair units for resale so you can buy with confidence. The drawback is that you may not get the kinds of discounts you'd like to see, especially from Apple Certified Refurbished.
If you're willing to put in the work, you can also buy with confidence from sites like Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, and Craigslist. Craigslist is the most difficult to work with, since listings don't include photos of what's being sold, just text descriptions; this means you have to be willing to exchange contact information with sellers in order to get photo and video proof of working condition. Even then, it's possible that this evidence has been faked in order to dupe you into buying a dud item or sending money without ever receiving your laptop.
Facebook MarketPlace and OfferUp have built-in messaging systems for talking to buyers and sellers. While this gives you some level of protection, you still need to be careful of accidentally giving away too much information. Never use your real name as your username. If the seller wants to meet up for the sale, choose a neutral place that's well-populated (like the parking lot of a local Target or Walmart), and bring someone with you. People looking for trouble will think twice if you aren't alone. Craigslist does not have an internal messaging system. Instead, it relies on outside email chains to communicate.
If you aren't comfortable giving out your email address, you can always make a backup Gmail account specifically for shopping on Craigslist. That way, you don't have to worry about any personal information being tied to that account, limiting the risk of being scammed or tracked. And make sure to meet in neutral, well-lit, and well-populated areas for sales, bring someone with you, and make sure others know where you are going and when to expect you back so they can either come look for you or contact police if you don't call, text, or show up by a certain time. And don't forget to mask up! Even if you're vaccinated, you want to protect yourself and the seller from any nasty germs and new Covid variants. And a mask helps protect your identity from anyone with unsavory motives.
Buying used from a local seller is much different than walking into a big -name retail store and browsing their pre-owned items. You often can't get your hands on the actual laptop to make sure it works. So you have to get creative. If a listing provides pictures that show the laptop is on and running properly, ask for a video of the entire boot-up sequence from black screen to home screen. You'll be able to tell if the seller has made any cuts to hide problems or has faked the still photos. You should also ask for a photo of the laptop model and serial number; you can plug these into Google to find exact manufacture and release dates, build configurations, known issues, and any product recalls. This helps you to fact-check seller-provided information.
If a seller is insistent that you send money via check, money order, or services like Venmo and PayPal before you ever lay eyes on the laptop, that's a huge red flag. A reputable seller should have no issue with you asking to send payment after the item arrives (if able to be shipped to you) or after you've confirmed yourself that the laptop boots up properly during a meet-up sale. Sending payment after an item arrives in the mail or you can actually see it for yourself will save you a lot of heartache as well as cash; unlike typical online shopping, it's a lot more difficult to get your money back from a bad Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist sale since it isn't a business transaction.
This mostly applies to retailers who offer pre-owned and refurbished laptops, since you can often get limited warranties to cover things like bad batteries, cracked screens, or dead components. But it never hurts to ask an individual seller if a laptop is still covered by any manufacturer's warranties, especially if it's a somewhat newer model. This way, if anything goes wrong, you can contact someone to help troubleshoot or offer repairs. Apple offers AppleCare coverage for their certified refurbished laptops as well as 90-day tech support so you never have to worry about your used computer giving up the ghost and leaving you high and dry.
Now that you know how to protect yourself and double-check seller information, you can keep reading below to see the best places to buy a refurbished laptop and find great deals on pre-owned computers.
At Best Buy Outlet, you can browse not only pre-owned and certified refurbished laptops, but also brand new units on clearance. Open-box laptops are rated from "fair" to "excellent-certified," meaning conditions range from pretty worn and parts missing to basically brand new. Refurbished, open-box, and clearance laptops from Best Buy Outlet are also covered by return and exchange policies as well as varying warranties. So if for any reason you're not happy with your new-to-you laptop, you can bring it back to the store for your money back, a different unit, or repairs. Prices also range from as little as $75 to just under normal retail, depending on condition. So if you're looking for a casual-use computer for web browsing and watching Netflix or something your kids can use for school, Best Buy Outlet has something to fit your needs and budget.
Amazon Renewed has a similar structure to a brick-and-mortar store which sells pre-owned and refurbished laptops, but with one key difference: they don't have a dedicated team of their own which inspects and repairs units. Instead, much like how they list and ship new items from various retailers, refurbished laptops are repaired and inspected by third-party suppliers and sold via Amazon. The nice thing about Amazon Renewed is not only the steep discounts you can find on great laptops, but they are very up-front about unit condition and backed by a 90-day return policy and the Amazon Renewed Guarantee which offers a full refund or unit replacement if you are at all unsatisfied. The downside to Amazon Renewed is that there isn't a physical store for you to go to if something needs repaired or if you need help troubleshooting issues: you have to pack everything up and ship it off to a nebulous repair center, which could lead to lengthy repair times and the possibility of your laptop getting lost in the mail.
Mac users looking for discounts on laptops or other Apple tech are often forced to browse local buy/sell/trade groups for used units, which comes with its own risks. But thankfully, Apple has a dedicated store page for certified pre-owned and refurbished MacBooks, desktops, and accessories. You won't find any super steep discounts on anything, but if you're looking to at least save a couple hundred dollars on retail while also getting peace of mind you aren't getting hosed, you'll be able to buy with confidence. Certified refurbished laptops from Apple are backed by a one year warranty, optional AppleCare coverage for accidental damage or loss, and 90-day returns as well as 90 days of tech support if you need help troubleshooting common issues. 041b061a72
