Is There Any Value in Old Computers? (the Answer Is Yes)

Did you know that almost 65 million computers were shipped in a single quarter in 2020?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have taken the opportunity to upgrade their personal computers so that they can work from home. Since many people are getting rid of their old machines, many entrepreneurs are asking: Is there value in old computers?

The answer is yes. Why not read on to find out how you can turn a profit from your old computer.

Sell It

Depending on the age. model and condition of your computer, you may be able to sell it. While you might never think of buying an old computer, it may surprise you just how many businesses would and for what purposes. 

eBay is the obvious place to start. Research how other people are offering similar computer models to yours and for what price. Some offer bundles of the same models to computer shops who will use them for parts. 

Of course, if the PC belongs to you and you have stored any kind of personal information on it then you should take steps to remove it. This is actually harder than most people think. 

Simply performing a factory re-start will remove the information from the display, however, it still lies on the hard drive and a savvy person could access it. 

If you have used the computer for your business and stored sensitive information it would be good to remove or replace the hard drive before giving it to someone else. 

Donate It

Among the organizations that are looking to purchase cut-price PCs are charities. These could include local schools or other charitable organizations.

In some cases they will use the computers themselves, others will refurbish the computer and provide it to families who cannot purchase a PC themselves. Even an old PC running an older version of Windows can give a person the opportunity to learn the basics of computer usage. 

A person who is looking to get an office job would greatly benefit from the opportunity to get to use Word and Excel in preparation for their new career. 

While you might not think that donating to charity is a profitable decision, think again. Along with property and cash, there are benefits of donating items to charity. Among these are the tax breaks that come from donating items of value.

Salvage it for Spare Parts

If your computer is older and not in working condition, you might not be able to successfully sell it. However, with a little ingenuity, you may be able to separate it into its working parts and sell these individually. This is a very profitable way to sell your old computer. 

If you are not savvy with computer hardware, you could simply take the peripherals such as the keyboard, mouse, and external camera. However, with a little ingenuity, you could open up the casing and get to the more profitable parts. 

Hard drive, Motherboards, and graphics cards are just some of the parts that you can harvest from an old computer. Even the casing itself may be worth advertising for sale. A person who is building their own computer may be looking for a computer case of that size and shape.

It is also possible to harvest parts from laptops, however, because of their reduced size it can be more difficult.

Scrap it For Metals

If you are willing to work with a large number of computers and harvest their valuable internal parts, you could benefit from the precious metals they contain. 

Did you know that you have gold in your computer? Not many people know, but older computers contain small amounts of gold, copper, and aluminum. While you might feel that you can not sell your computer because of its age, the good news is that the older computer the more of these metals it will contain. 

Modern computers, and laptops, in particular, contain only small amounts of these metals. However, they are still present. 

By nature, computers are made up of many hundreds of smaller parts. Finding these precious metals may not be easy. It would be good to do research to find out what models you could harvest metals from more easily. 

According to some reports, over $60 million is lost every year as phones are thrown away or disposed of without removing these metals. A person who finds a method to efficiently remove these metals and sell them on can easily make a good living.

The Antique Computing Market

Any item of value today will likely become an even more valuable antique in the future. This has certainly become the case for older computers, such as Apple and Commodore machines. 

Some early computers are now up for sale for prices of over $10,000. This is a great opportunity. Many of these machines are sold for a few dollars by persons who simply want to remove them from their houses. Since they are not aware of their value, these computers are often sold for just a few dollars. 

If you stumble across one at a garage sale, make sure that you do not pass up the opportunity. Why not research what vintage computer models are worth their weight in gold? You could find a computer that will pay its value back many times over.  

Did You Know That There Is Value in Old Computers? And Other Important Questions

If you have an old computer, or better if you have purchased a batch of computers, you may have a treasure trove in your hands. While most people may not know that there is value in old computers, by applying the above principles, you can turn a tidy profit. 

If you are interested in learning more about finance and tech subjects, why not take a look at our blog articles? We write and publish articles every week that we know will benefit you and your business.