Selling a laptop on ebay

billybob79

Hi all,

New to the forum so hopefully posting in the correct place!

I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 6400 in May for university work but after the delivery i found it abit of a bind to carry to a from university because it is very heavy! I was in a local computer shop today and saw Acer laptops with similar specs, price but much lighter!

So my question is does anyone have any experience of selling a used (not much though!) laptop on ebay? Do you think I'd make my money back? Also, the techie guy in my building installed Microsoft Office on the laptop - would I have to remove this before selling?

I look forward to your input!

dc1pop

billybob79 wrote:

Hi all,

New to the forum so hopefully posting in the correct place!

I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 6400 in May for university work but after the delivery i found it abit of a bind to carry to a from university because it is very heavy! I was in a local computer shop today and saw Acer laptops with similar specs, price but much lighter!

So my question is does anyone have any experience of selling a used (not much though!) laptop on ebay? Do you think I'd make my money back? Also, the techie guy in my building installed Microsoft Office on the laptop - would I have to remove this before selling?

I look forward to your input!

If you have an office licence and wish to use it on the new machines yes remove it. However a full format is best when selling a laptop or indeed any computers on eBay.

Its unlikley you will make your money back if you buy it new.

I pruchased a laptop on January sales from a shop for £500. However on ebay its goes for around £280ish new.

So you can see there that its unlikley i doubt you will most likley make a loss. Espically with brand new dell machines being only £350 now. Wish you luck though.

pin

Shame. The 6400 is a good valued laptop for what it does. I've got a 6000 (which is pretty much the same as the 6400, but without the core duo). I agree it is a bit heavy to carry around.

In terms of selling, you will not get anywhere near the same price as you bought it for, just be warned of that.

In terms of selling, take plenty of photos of the laptop for selling. Do a Dell system restore of the laptop, so it is sold as it would have come out new in terms of software on the computer. When you do the system restore Office will go, probably a good idea. N.b. you are able to transfer your warranty with Dell to the new owner.

Have a look at ebay for other examples of how people have sold their laptops.

Have you thought about selling it to a friend or family member sinstead.

Remember p&p will be about £25 (because you will need to send it by courier or royal mail special delivery and insured).

15lsp

i sell apple macs on ebay and always make a profit. Macs are more expensive then pcs but I get at least £100 profit on each. Im a powerseller with 1000+ feedback which obviously helps. I have had no problems selling laptops but i always offer my contact details to the winning bidder should any problems accur. Leave the software on, you will get more money. Mention any warranty on the listing. Offer collection as people seem to like that.

People tend to think the laptop is faulty if you're selling after such a short space of time so give a reason for selling like you need a desktop pc instead.

joshtbh

15lsp wrote:

i sell apple macs on ebay and always make a profit. Macs are more expensive then pcs but I get at least £100 profit on each. Im a powerseller with 1000+ feedback which obviously helps. I have had no problems selling laptops but i always offer my contact details to the winning bidder should any problems accur. Leave the software on, you will get more money. Mention any warranty on the listing. Offer collection as people seem to like that.

People tend to think the laptop is faulty if you're selling after such a short space of time so give a reason for selling like you need a desktop pc instead.

where do you buy them from for cheap if you don't mind me asking? Or would that ruin your business?

ka7e

Having bought a laptop on ebay, I can recommend you include pictures of the item actually up and running to prove it is actually in working order! Include as much detail of the technical specs as you can and itemise every little ding or fault. Otherwise you get lots of queries.
Make sure you specify UK buyers only - watch out for scammers bidding from abroad or making offers outside ebay.

barrymoney

Hi,

I'm an ebay newbie, having just sold a couple of items incl my laptop. I would reiterate what the other posts said, and just warn of the obvious scammers, for whom laptops are a good target. e.g. claiming non-delivery (which you then have to try to prove to paypal), or returning items. I actually sold mine cash-on-collection.

Interestingly, both my buyers said they had been recently scammed for fairly expensive items, incl a laptop

I'm sure the majority of ebayers are great, of course, and you can try to filter/block by their feedback (tho even that can be bought/faked).
Selling via your university notice board is perhaps a good old-style approach to try too!

b.

soolin

Hi Barry,

If the laptop is sent special then you should be Ok for at least the first of your points as special requires a signature on delivery and is proof of delivery according to paypal's own rules. Obviously if it doesn't arrive then you can claim from the RM so a seller is covered against all eventualities. The full list of paypal acceptable methods of delivery proof are here:

https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_help-ext&ui_mode=answer&prior_transaction_id=0&action_code=4&answer_id=6894796&leafid=95937&_PPP=511&_PPC=4&_FI=Tracking_Deliveries

However, a seller should always protect themselves and use the correct postage method to insure themselves against Royal mail losing the item. So whilst Recorded is acceptable to paypal it wouldn't be good enough for a laptop as it only covers up to £32 of loss.

I think your advice about trying the uni notice board is spot on as that saves all ebay and paypal fees and may actually get a better price as it can easily be collected rather than posted.

Soo

15lsp

joshtbh wrote:

where do you buy them from for cheap if you don't mind me asking? Or would that ruin your business?

joshtbh, Im a graphic designer in an art studio and I order from our business account, because we buy in bulk we get good deals.

wolvesinwales

I sold my Dell tonight for £333, i paid £360 4 months ago so even with E Bay fees it's not too bad a loss.
I only sold it because i got a Toshiba on offer last week for £347 with a free Vodafone data card.
So all in all not a bad swap.