Has anyone had success selling older computer monitors locally?

pete6032

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2010
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I have a couple of 22-inch 1680x1050 IPS monitors from around 2008. Are these even worth trying to sell or should I just take them to Best Buy to recycle? My local FB marketplace is full of monitors.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
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Dunno what the market is, but if the price were right, and they used led lighting, I'd buy a couple.
 

pete6032

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2010
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Dunno what the market is, but if the price were right, and they used led lighting, I'd buy a couple.
CCFL. I posted them for $30 each on Marketplace. Will see if I get any responses. Would almost rather donate them at those prices and not deal with the hassle of scheduling a pickup, haggling, etc.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,867
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CCFL uses too much energy. I picked up a 23" LED LCD from the thriftshop for ~$20. It was kind of a sidegrade. It replaced an old CCFL 4:3 20" I was perfectly fine with, but the lower power consumption and price made it worth buying. All things being equal, I think I'd prefer the 4:3, but this is fine. I keep my eyes open for used monitors that are interesting. Another 23" to go with this one would be nice for some things.
 

bbhaag

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2011
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I've never had any luck selling old monitors so now I just dump them off at Goodwill. Like you I would list them for $20-50 but it just wasn't worth the hassle. If Goodwill can't sell them then they recycle them.

IMO the only monitors worth selling right now are old CRT ones and even those have to be just right for the collectors. Ever since the vintage computer craze took off around 5-8 years ago the demand has skyrocketed and the prices for them reflect that.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
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www.anyf.ca
I've had good luck but you practically need to give them away to get any bites. Recently sold a bunch of misc old monitors for around $50 each.
 
Dec 10, 2005
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I've tried listing stuff on Craigslist for some cheap price (pickup only). If it doesn't sell after a week or so, I either take it to Goodwill (to donate) or BestBuy (free electronics recycling).
 
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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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There's a kid's charity locally that takes computer stuff. Anytime a client deprecates older working PC's, we just super-wipe the drives & throw ChromeOS Flex on them.
 

manly

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Jan 25, 2000
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Be nice to find them a home, but at 17 years old, there is little value remaining.


There's a kid's charity locally that takes computer stuff. Anytime a client deprecates older working PC's, we just super-wipe the drives & throw ChromeOS Flex on them.
No idea where OP is located; GN had a nice segment about Kramden Institute in Durham, NC.


 
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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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Be nice to find them a home, but at 17 years old, there is little value remaining.



No idea where OP is located; GN had a nice segment about Kramden Institute in Durham, NC.



Sometimes I'll throw Rufus 11 on old machines or Tiny11 on really old machines: (FWIW they generally still activate with 7/8/8.1/10 keys)


We can use the built-in Windows Unified Write Filter to create a quasi-Deepfreeze setup for free, so if they need Windows, there ARE ways to reduce management hassles!!

I'm a functional-equipment hoarder...I'd much rather see old-but-working equipment find a good use somewhere, as opposed to populating landfill. Yes, old computers waste more electricity & whatnot, but over 30% (2 billion+) of human beings still don't have Internet access, so the need is definitely there!

We also have a college tech lab we donate to for oddball stuff (old servers, thin clients, etc.) that can be repurposed to learn Linux on, use for OpenELEC boxes, turn into routers using stuff like Proxmox with OPNsense or OpenWRT, setup Home Assistant on, etc. just to get some exposure to what's out there!
 
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pete6032

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2010
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I sold one for $15. The other I dropped to $10 and it didn't sell so I posted it for free on my neighborhood Facebook group and nobody wanted it. Guess I will recycle it. Too bad as it works just fine. Dell branded 1680X1050 IPS 22 inch with adjustable stand. Surprisingly nobody wants.
 
Feb 25, 2011
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Nah.

I have a friend who’s a remote contractor. Every year a different company sends her a pair of 1080p monitors and doesn’t ask for them back.

At this point we can’t give ‘em away. All our friends are rocking dual monitors.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
52,370
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Nah.

I have a friend who’s a remote contractor. Every year a different company sends her a pair of 1080p monitors and doesn’t ask for them back.

At this point we can’t give ‘em away. All our friends are rocking dual monitors.

Same, people went from 20" to 24" to 27" over time. Amazon Basics sells a 27" IPS Full HD monitor for $89 shipped these days:


Lately I snag 34" curved ultra-widescreens whenever they go on sale for $199:


Spreadsheet-heavy people looooove dual 34's haha!
 
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Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
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www.anyf.ca
Multiple 4k monitors is really where it's at for things like spreadsheets or coding. Or NOC. 1 4k monitor is equivalent to 4x HD. At work we have 3 and it's still not enough! I've joked that we need 2 8k TVs right at our desks. Yeah that's not happening. :p
 
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mikeymikec

Lifer
May 19, 2011
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LCD monitors in my experience are very reliable, I think I've had to replace maybe two in five years, and my customers don't often upgrade because they wanna (if they do then they want a new monitor). I've sitting on 1x 1280x1024, 1x 1080p 19" WS, 1x 1080p 27". I don't recall selling any second-hand off the top of my head in semi-recent years. It also doesn't help second-hand sales when new monitor prices seem to be dropping.
 

waffleironhead

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2005
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Yeah, i finally ditched an old syncmaster 17" because nothing i had used a vga port. I kept around for a few dinosaurs i used as space heaters. Finally retired them.