Hardware

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This is a community dedicated to the hardware aspect of technology, from PC parts, to gadgets, to servers, to industrial control equipment, to semiconductors.

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Is it worth trying to make money from buying broken laptops, repairing them (and maybe try installing Libreboot onto), and then reselling? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 4 days ago by ComputerNerd@lemmy.ml to c/hardware@lemmy.ml

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I just love working with computers and I have a bit of money. Problem is that I don't have a job, and this hobby is quite expensive. So, I thought of perhaps trying to make at least a little bit of money from it by buying old and broken laptops, repairing them, and then reselling them. Perhaps if I get a laptop that's compatible with Libreboot, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad T480, I could also flash Libreboot onto it.

Nevertheless, I'm also planning to get a real job soon.

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[–] AlphaOmega@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago

In order to be profitable you will need to either pull the laptops out of the garbage or get a really good deal. Most of the time, the profit margin is too thin to be viable. I used to get laptops for $10 to $20 at Goodwill, but they would need $50 to $100 worth of parts and only sell for $100 to $200. After labor, parts, etc. You would be lucky to break even. I would spend more time looking for some good repairable laptops at a decent price, then actually selling them. Maybe if I had a store and people brought me laptops to buy, it could be profitable.. But its extremely thin margins.