How would you list a laptop with a cracked screen on eBay?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

you could maybe find a same model 'spares or repairs' cheap on ebay, just use the case and swap the guts over.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Spares and repairs no question.

Aside for anything else if you list it as used someone may snap it up because it's cheap and not read anything. 

Granted that could happen with spares also but you'd hope to have more support from eBay in the even of a return or bad feedback.

A buyer who understands wat they are buying will pay £x regardless, I can't see any reason to list it as "used". 

DullGreyGuy

frugalmacdugal said:

you could maybe find a same model 'spares or repairs' cheap on ebay, just use the case and swap the guts over.

Cheapest sold similar model with a confirmed working monitor is £425, there are a few in the mid £300s which are listed as simply "doesn't power on" so a gamble on if the monitor is working or dead. 

DullGreyGuy

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Spares and repairs no question.

If the category was "spares and repairs" then it would be a more obvious selection but the category is "For Parts or Not Working"... no mention of it being partially working or repairable etc  @the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

If you go into the full description of the categories then "used" is supposed to be fully functional and anything below that should be "For Parts or Not Working". I agree in my case a broken screen is a major consideration but by strict application of the definitions if 1 of the 4 USBC ports was temperamental it should be listed as "For Parts or Not Working" whereas for many they'd be happy just living with 3 working ports and wouldn't consider it as "not working" or only being fit for being broken up for parts. 

soolin

Regardless of what the technical bits say I would list as spares. For me the criteria is does it work as expected without making any adjustments for broken or non working bits, if not then it is beyond used. Needing an external monitor means this is not working as a laptop, and since buyers don’t read a lot of the description (or even see it easily on certain devices) I wouldn’t risk the potential costs of 2 lots of postage when it is returned.

incidentally, there are sites on FB that carry adverts taken from selling sites , I cannot name the bigger sites due to the language in the title, but selling used TVs or monitors /laptops as working, just needs a new screen or repair etc, gets a lot of amused responses. 

Spoonie_Turtle

For Parts / Not Working

soolin said:

For me the criteria is does it work as expected without making any adjustments for broken or non working bits,

This exactly.

DGG if you didn't have an external monitor then you wouldn't be able to be posting on the web from the laptop!  It half works.  Which means the other half is not working - and a very important other half too.  People expect laptops to be portable and to be able to use wherever, which this isn't if you have to lug a monitor and external power source around in order to be able to use the working bit of the laptop … !

DullGreyGuy

Spoonie_Turtle said:

soolin said:

For me the criteria is does it work as expected without making any adjustments for broken or non working bits,

This exactly.

DGG if you didn't have an external monitor then you wouldn't be able to be posting on the web from the laptop!  It half works.  Which means the other half is not working - and a very important other half too.  People expect laptops to be portable and to be able to use wherever, which this isn't if you have to lug a monitor and external power source around in order to be able to use the working bit of the laptop … !

Which to me is why there is a category missing between fully working and dead duck 


My reasoning for the Q is as an associate has made an offer to buy it as he wants to use it as a desktop computer effectively and so the screen issue is not of consequence to him. Unfortunately his offer isn't great compared to the range of prices achieved under the "Not Working/ Parts Only" for the exact same model so agreed to list it with a reserve that'll mean its better for me to sell on eBay than accept his offer, if it doesn't sell then he buys it. 

This got me thinking, if I was looking for a machine like my former colleague where I don't care if its a laptop or desktop just that it has the specs would I look in the category called Not Work/Parts Only if I needed it to be fully functional (other than screen and battery)? I wasn't sure I would, he said he'd be filtering them out. Hence the Q here. 

soolin

DullGreyGuy said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

soolin said:

For me the criteria is does it work as expected without making any adjustments for broken or non working bits,

This exactly.

DGG if you didn't have an external monitor then you wouldn't be able to be posting on the web from the laptop!  It half works.  Which means the other half is not working - and a very important other half too.  People expect laptops to be portable and to be able to use wherever, which this isn't if you have to lug a monitor and external power source around in order to be able to use the working bit of the laptop … !

Which to me is why there is a category missing between fully working and dead duck 


My reasoning for the Q is as an associate has made an offer to buy it as he wants to use it as a desktop computer effectively and so the screen issue is not of consequence to him. Unfortunately his offer isn't great compared to the range of prices achieved under the "Not Working/ Parts Only" for the exact same model so agreed to list it with a reserve that'll mean its better for me to sell on eBay than accept his offer, if it doesn't sell then he buys it. 

This got me thinking, if I was looking for a machine like my former colleague where I don't care if its a laptop or desktop just that it has the specs would I look in the category called Not Work/Parts Only if I needed it to be fully functional (other than screen and battery)? I wasn't sure I would, he said he'd be filtering them out. Hence the Q here. 

I imagine the market for laptops with no integrated screens is pretty limited and not enough to warrant a new category. The item is not working as a lap top, for the majority of potential buyers it is therefore beyond used and is in fact not working as a lap top should, so therefore for parts or spares only. If you just want the base unit part of a lap top then the place to look would be under parts or spares- as it is a part of a laptop.

Miser1964

For Parts / Not Working

If I bought a 'Used' laptop and the body arrived bent and the screen broken I'd be raising a SNAD immediately 

Grumpy_chap

For Parts / Not Working

DullGreyGuy said:

an associate has made an offer to buy it as he wants to use it as a desktop computer effectively and so the screen issue is not of consequence to him. Unfortunately his offer isn't great compared to the range of prices achieved under the "Not Working/ Parts Only" 

If you decide to list this online, then it has to be in the "Parts / Not Working" category.  It simply does not work as a laptop - the key differentiator between a laptop and a desktop is the portability including the integral screen.

If you list online, then you are faced with the possibility of a buyer receiving the laptop, then raising a NAD case, then they return it to you, then they get a refund.  OR the buyer doesn't return it to you / lost in the return post but the host site refund the buyer anyway from your account.  Or whatever.  It all seems like a lot of potential hassle.

If it were me, I would simply sell this to the associate and save the hassle that the online process would involve. 

The associate knows exactly what the laptop is and the state of it, so no risk of any comeback or any "scam" buyers.  You also have the safety net that the associate is, presumably, a person in whom you can trust and that is a big safety net in the event that any of your data is not fully wiped and the associate stumbles across it, you can rely on them to keep whatever they found confidential and simply delete it.  Selling online, any inadvertently left over data could be in anyone's hands.