Thanks to the enormous popularity of tablets, smartphones and laptops, many people are putting their desktops up for sale. You benefit, because you can take over a second-hand system for next to nothing. What should you pay attention to when buying a used PC?
Tip 01: Why second-hand?
Used PCs are attractive because they usually cost little money. You can consider a used machine if, for example, you need an extra computer or want to set up a media server in the attic. For a new PC with a little computing power you can easily spend between four and seven hundred euros. If you search carefully, you will find a ready-made system at online trading places and physical stores for roughly two hundred euros. Of course you will not get a speed miracle for this money that can run the very latest 3D games.
No problem, because for the vast majority of PC tasks you don't need the very latest hardware. Perhaps there are still parts of a (broken) computer in the attic, which you can use to increase the performance. For example, an SSD drive and/or more RAM can make a big difference. Incidentally, we do not recommend spending more than two hundred euros on a second-hand machine, because otherwise the price will be very close to a new computer with better specifications. Please read the box 'Dirt-cheap notebook' for this.
Tip 01 A new PC with reasonable specifications can easily cost four hundred euros.
Tip 02: Marketplace
The vast majority of people immediately think of Marktplaats when they think of second-hand items. Logical, because private traders and shops add hundreds of thousands of new advertisements to this website every day. You can also find second-hand PCs here. Navigate to the section Computers and Software and then click Desktop PCs. At the top are mainly screaming calls from professional traders.
If you scroll down a bit, you will also find plenty of private individuals who offer their system for sale. You can make a selection on the left. For example, you enter the maximum amount you want to spend. You can also sort the range by processor, clock speed, working memory and hard drive. It is also possible to search only for used systems. With some computers, the seller also offers a monitor. Once you have found a suitable second-hand system, contact the advertiser directly. After a bit of negotiation, you may be able to push the price down a bit.
Tip 02 There are thousands of second-hand systems on Marktplaats.
Tip 03: Reliability
Marktplaats is a handy tool to score an affordable system, but unfortunately there are also scammers active on this website. It is therefore important to correctly estimate the reliability of the advertiser and to limit the risk as much as possible. Details of the advertiser are always included with an advertisement. This way you can see how many years someone has been active on Marktplaats. Scammers quickly switch online identities, so they never seem to be active for a long period of time. It is therefore better to work with someone who has been selling stuff through Marktplaats for a while. Often there is a telephone number in the advertisement, so that you can get an impression of this person. Furthermore, it never hurts to search for the name of the advertiser in Google. If you are dealing with a scammer, stories of victims may come up. In collaboration with Marktplaats, the police have set up the National Reporting Center for Internet Scams.
Via this website you can easily check whether there are known complaints about the advertiser. You can check the bank account number, e-mail address and telephone number, among other things. Finally, avoid ads that seem too good to be true, because often they are.
Tip 03 On Marktplaats you can see how long an advertiser has been active.
Tip 04: Shops
Large companies write off their computers en masse after a few years and sell the equipment to dealers. In this way they end up at webshops and physical stores. Keep in mind that these machines have been used very intensively for several years, sometimes every working day. That is why they are often overhauled before a store offers such systems for sale. In just about every town and village there is a shop that sells second-hand computers. You can of course also go online.
This website is a well-known name in the field of second-hand machines, which often come from the business world. Before this store offers a used PC for sale, the hardware is cleaned and checked. In addition, the store employees install a genuine version of Windows if necessary. This point of sale promises a lifespan of three to five years for all equipment sold. In addition to computeroutlet.nl, there are countless other online stores that use a similar method.
Tip 04 Computeroutlet.nl even offers complete desktops for a few tens.
