6 Steps You Should Always Take Before Selling An Old Laptop
If you are thinking of replacing your laptop, you might decide that you want to sell your old one. Even though it doesn’t meet your needs anymore, that doesn’t mean that it needs to go in the bin. As long as it’s still working, you can earn a bit of money from it to put towards your new laptop. However, before you sell it, you need to prepare it properly so you can protect your private information and get the best possible price. Here’s what you need to do with your old laptop before you sell it.
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Back It Up And Clear It
Protecting your personal information is so important when selling an old laptop. When you delete files, they are not actually gone and people with the right know-how can still access that information. This is a huge problem if you use your laptop for things like banking etc. So, before you sell the old laptop, make sure that you back everything up on an external hard drive and then completely wipe the laptop. Follow these steps to make sure that everything is completely gone and cannot be accessed. Once you have cleared the laptop, you should format the hard drive to make sure that it is completely blank.
Reinstall The Operating System
When you format your hard drive, it will be completely blank, so you need to reinstall the operating system before selling it. Depending on where you are selling it, you need to set up the computer so it’s ready for use. If you are selling it locally on a site like Craigslist, people will probably want to see that it works, so you need to create a user account to demonstrate that the laptop is working. But if you are selling it online, you don’t need to worry about that.
Consider Making Some Upgrades
If you want to get a better price for the laptop, you could consider making a few simple upgrades to the hardware to make it run better. Updating the RAM is a relatively simple job and it will boost the performance of the laptop, meaning that you can get a better price for it. You could also consider swapping the hard drive for a larger one or an SSD. However, be careful about how much you spend because you could end up losing money if you do a lot of expensive upgrades before selling the laptop.
Clean It
Laptops get dirty over time, so you should give it a good clean before you sell it. Clean up the screen and keyboard with a can of compressed air to make it look as good as new. If the laptop looks better, people will assume that it is well looked after and you’ll get a better price for it. However, cleaning it isn’t just about how it looks, it also makes it run better. If the laptop has a lot of dust and dirt inside, it heats up faster and it will slow down. So, open up the back and clear out any dust, especially from the fans.
Check The Average Price
A lot of people struggle to sell their laptop because they price it wrong. If you overestimate the price, nobody will buy it because it’s not worth what you are asking for. However, you need to be careful that you don’t price it too low because you’re selling yourself short. Older computers tend to lose their value more than people think, so you need to check what the average price is before you list your own laptop. Check sites like eBay and see what other people are selling the same model for. You can also check sites that sell refurbished laptops, but be aware that they will sell them for a bit more because they have done more work to them.
Provide Repair History
If the computer has been repaired in the past, you should always be upfront about it. You should also give information about any upgrades you have made. Whenever you have any work done on the laptop, make sure that you keep the invoices so you can prove that the repairs were made by a reliable computer repair professional. Don’t try to hide any information about the repair history because it’s better to show that you have looked after it and invested money in upgrading it.
If you want to sell your laptop, it’s crucial that you follow these steps beforehand. If you don’t, you risk sharing personal information with a stranger and you won’t get a good price for the laptop.
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