# I'm thinking about selling my computer on Ebay....How much??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 16, 2000, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763 "2000-03-16T16:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SkySlash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@SkySlash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkySlash)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/1 "2000-03-16T16:09:00Z")
I’m wanting to sell my computer and start fresh building a new one. It cost me close to $13,000 to put everything together in it and I want to unload it before it depreciates much more. I figured Ebay is probably the best place, but I’m not sure what to make the reserve limit. How much do you guys think I could get for it with everything below included? **Everything!** **HARDWARE** : **Antec** Full tower case with 400W ATX 2 custom power supply and 5 case fans(cooled to room temp) **Tyan** S1832DL Dual CPU Tiger 100 Motherboard **Intel** Dual(2) 550Mhz Pentium III’s w/Custom Heatsinks **SimpleTech** 768MB Cas-2 PC100 SDRAM (128mb in each of 2 slots, 256mb in 2 slots) **Maxtor** Quad(4) Ultra ATA-66 40gig HDD’s @ 7200RPM w/2mb buffers (Running Striped Level 0 Raid Array in Single 160 Gigabyte Partition) **Promise** Fasttrack66 Ultra ATA-66 Level 0/1 Raid Controller **3dfx** Voodoo3 3500 TV Video Card w/3dcool custom heatsink + ATT Cable TV service **Sony** 6-Head Hifi S-VHS VCR w/remote, Dolby 5.1 and S-Video **Creative** SBLive Full w/SPDIF Digital Daughter Card **Bose** Acoustimass 15 Home Theatre surround sound speakers ($2000.00) **Pioneer** VSX-D557 600Watt Dolby-Digital Receiver (Pioneer’s 1999 top of the line receiver) **Cerwin Vega** 15" Powered Down-firing Subwoofer **3Com** Fast Etherlink XL Combo Deluxe 10/100 Ethernet NIC (Running at 100mbs per sec) **Motorola** CyberSurfer Wave Cable Modem w/cable sevice@8Mbps per sec **3Com** USB 56K ISDN Modem _(Never gets used)_ **Toshiba** SD-M1212 6X DVD **HP** Surestore 4X4X24 CD Writer **Kenwood** Zen 72X True-X CD-ROM **Iomega** 250mb Zip Drive **3Com** Home Connect USB Digital Video Camera **Netgear** 4-port 100mbps Hub **Belkin** 4-port USB Hub **Microsoft** Internet Keyboard w/Accessory Keys **Microsoft** Intellimouse Pro USB w/Intellieye Laser **Quantex** 21" Diamondtron Flatscreen Digital CRT Monitor **HP** Deskjet 812C USB Printer **APC** Surge Arrest Pro w/6 outlets and Modem protection. **APC** Backups 500 Series w/3 outlets and 10mins. Battery power. **MAIN SOFTWARE** : **Microsoft** Windows 2000 Professional Retail (_Dual booting Windows 98 Second Edition_) **Microsoft** Office 2000 Premium Edition (_All Programs Loaded_) **GRAPHICS SOFTWARE** : **Autodesk** AutoCAD Release 14 **Corel** Draw 9(_All Programs Loaded_) **Adobe** PhotoShop 5.5 **Adobe** Imagestyler 1.0 **Adobe** Pagemill 3.0 **Macromedia** Flash 3.0 **Macromedia** Dreamweaver 3.0 * * * In my limited experience, I’ve discovered everyone is an idiot until they’ve prove themselves otherwise! -SS ---
**Author:** ![KarmaComa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@KarmaComa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaComa)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/2 "2000-03-16T17:01:00Z")
I have the strangest feeling that anyone with anything close to 10,000 dollars will be hell bent on buying his parts himself. Also ask yourself this: what happens if you post for $8K and it doesn’t sell? OH NO! You’ll have to post it again. Not exactly torture. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/3 "2000-03-16T17:51:00Z")
a couple of random thoughts here. Your cost means nothing. I am looking to buy a used laptop and I keep hearing people tell me “but it cost me $2000 just two years ago”. Sorry buddy, today it is not worth $500. the market is what counts. Also, in Ebay the reserve price means you are not obligated to sell under that, not that you can’t. many sales are under the reserve when the seller realizes the bids are just not coming in. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/4 "2000-03-16T17:51:00Z")
Are you sure you can post it on eBay? What’s the legality of selling software? There was article in today’s LA Times about eBay con artists, and one of them was caught for pretending to sell computers. You might face some skepticism. [Some E-Auction Users Get Less Than They Bargain For](http://www.latimes.com/print/20000316/t000025148.html) Good luck! I have no idea how much to ask. Probably, like KarmaComa said, start high and work your way down. ---
**Author:** ![EnigmaOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EnigmaOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnigmaOne)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2000, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/5 "2000-03-17T06:56:00Z")
{{{Are you sure you can post it on eBay? What’s the legality of selling software?}}}—AW Short of a proper transfer of all program media and licenses with the sale, he’ll have to ditch the OS’es and program installations. One can always try to let it slide, but with the BSA and Microsoft on the rampage lately, it just isn’t worth the risk. Sky, your investment looks like one at retail pricing. I hate to say it but, given the current market, you’ll be doing good to recoup 50% of what you spent on it. Use the A/V components elsewhere. Dump the Raid 0, go with Raid 1 and use it as a server at home. Pratically speaking, you’re better off getting the use out of it that than taking a serious hit on your wallet. If you use it for your continuing education (thinking W2K or MSDBA Cert here), you can actually deduct your investment as an professional educational expense. 😃 * * * – **Kalél** [TheHungerSite.com](http://www.thehungersite.com) “If ignorance is bliss, you must be orgasmic.” “Well, there was that thing with the Cheese-Wiz…but I’m feeling **much** better now!” – John Astin, Night Court ---
**Author:** ![bizerta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/6 "2000-03-16T19:15:00Z")
Try this analogy: my neighbor spent 1.2 million building his dream house. He was estatic when the town only assessed it for $838k. Then he got transferred. After 6 months, the real estate broker convinced him that he should accept an offer for $862k. As the real estate broker explained it, he built his own dream house, not necessarily someone elses. Now, I can buy all the computer I need at COSTCO for $2300, and it’s NEW. If I add the features I want, I might spend another $800. Why should I gamble on a pig-in-the-poke used computer from someone I’ve never met?? ---
**Author:** ![M2Lepton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@M2Lepton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/M2Lepton)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2000, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/7 "2000-03-16T19:48:00Z")
Set your reserve at 6k, I doubt you’ll get more than 9k for it. You might want to sell some of your components seperately, that’s what i’d do. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2000, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/8 "2000-03-17T05:55:00Z")
I think you are _much_ better off selling everything seperately. It is my opnion (from lurking around eBay enough, and selling a few things there) is that computer geeks who would be able to properly appreciate the “dream” PC you have built would probably be building one themselves. Which means that they’d be looking for parts, and individual components. They might look at your comprehensive configuration and think “Nice! But I don’t want this particular thing, and I already have that thing, so I’ll pass on the whole enchilada that this person is selling.” My advice would be to strip the PC down to a “bare bones” (or less fancy and souped-up) system, sell that. Then sell all the other goodies seperately. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2000, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/9 "2000-03-17T06:02:00Z")
Also - another thought: Have you been a member of eBay for a while? Do you have any “feedback” points? If you haven’t signed up for eBay yet, my advice would be to SIGN UP RIGHT NOW. Earn some feedback points. I’ve done a lot of browsing in the computer section (I especially am looking for an iMac) on eBay. Whenever I see a computer that is selling for _a lot_ less than other simular computers, it is because the seller is new, and has little or no feedback points by their name. Buyers who are thinking of forking out a lot of money to a stranger want to feel some confidence that this person has had a decent track record selling and buying on eBay. So, it would be worth your while to buy (and sell, if you want) a few small items first. You will not be sorry that you did - those feedback points are profoundly important. ---
**Author:** ![chief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@chief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chief)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2000, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/10 "2000-03-17T10:30:00Z")
why are you selling it??!! well, i agree that you should sell the parts separately… you probably wont get much more that half the price, maybe 5,000$ if you sell the entire thing. * * * Check out my site: [Chief’s Domain](http://www.seas.ucla.edu/~ravi) ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2000, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/11 "2000-03-17T16:09:00Z")
Why don’t you visit [ebay.com](http://ebay.com) & search for a similar system & see what it went for? yose is right, you can’t sell anything that expensive without proper feedback ratings. No one would buy it with a low feedback rating. I have looked at computer stuff selling at ebay & its the cheapest place in the world to buy computer stuff. Boy, is it ever cheap there. Put an ad in the paper. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/12 "2000-03-18T05:11:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m wanting to sell my computer and start fresh building a new one. there is no logical reason to do this. you have many useful components that you would end up buying again for more than you could sell them for. (that is assuming you really have this stuff) does nobody else see this post as a heap of dung? i vote troll. please prove me otherwise. * * * _what is essential is invisible to the eye -the fox_ ---
**Author:** ![Squee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Squee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squee)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/13 "2000-03-18T05:29:00Z")
You are quite the cynic, KT… 🙂 * * * “Penises don’t belong in the mouth, girls and boys. You’ve got the wrong hole there. Just like you wouldn’t shove pizza up your nose.” -From the **Brother Jed** flyer- ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/14 "2000-03-18T05:42:00Z")
Trolling or not, the advice we have given may benefit others. Hmmm…a weird thing to troll over, though. I just assumed he was this hyper-geek that enjoys building computers more than actually _having_ them. ---
**Author:** ![Louie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Louie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Louie)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/15 "2000-03-18T09:16:00Z")
Kilgore, I agree, this sounds a little like stolen property. ---
**Author:** ![EnigmaOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EnigmaOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnigmaOne)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/16 "2000-03-18T12:16:00Z")
{{{there is no logical reason to do this. does nobody else see this post as a heap of dung? i vote troll. please prove me otherwise.}}}—Kilgore Trout My gut reaction was similar, (Sys Admins are generally not possessed of such naiveté) but I figured that, given the benefit of the doubt, things would come to the surface on their own. I tend to agree, and have noticed the same pattern with other very recent “Newbies.” Wondering if IP filtering might help out with the Troll issue, but guessing it to be less than feasible. As yosemitebabe says, the advice stands to benefit others. * * * – **Kalél** [TheHungerSite.com](http://www.thehungersite.com) “If ignorance is bliss, you must be orgasmic.” “Well, there was that thing with the Cheese-Wiz…but I’m feeling **much** better now!” – John Astin, Night Court ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-thinking-about-selling-my-computer-on-ebay-how-much/8763/17 "2000-03-18T15:48:00Z")
’ Sony 6-Head Hifi S-VHS VCR w/remote, Dolby 5.1 and S-Video’ Huh? Where does this fit in?