For those who wondered where and how to sell a laptop in the Boston area, don’t worry–you’ve got plenty of options.

This article will walk you through the ins and outs of laptop selling in Boston and compare selling a laptop in person instead vs. posting it for sale online.

Selling a Used Laptop Locally in Boston Area

Boston, MA is a student city, and students need laptops. For that reason, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get rid of a used laptop through a network of peers or acquaintances. And because students are almost always on the budget, they will likely choose to buy a cheaper pre-owned computer as opposed to spending double the money on a brand new one.

If you are still in school, we recommend starting with college message boards, asking around the dorm, and checking in with classmates. But if you had no luck finding a buyer within your educational establishment, you can easily expand your target market.

To reach a wider audience, start by posting your laptop for sale on Facebook Marketplace, or should we say Meta marketplace? This way, you can connect with potential buyers all over Boston and the suburbs. Listing items on Facebook is free, but it might take a while to sell it, depending on your laptop model. 

Another good alternative is OfferUp. It works similarly to Facebook Marketplace. All you need to do is download the app on your phone, sign up, link your card or a bank account, and start selling. There are no fees. However, if you want to get your item featured, prepare to spend some money. So paying for the feature might be a good idea if you see other sellers with similar or identical laptops on OfferUp.

Lastly, you can go the old-fashioned way and put your laptop up for sale on Craigslist. 

So to sum it up here is a quick pros and cons list of selling your laptop in person:

Pros

• With a bit of time and patience, you are likely to get the cash highest offer if selling locally.
• Plus, there are no additional expenses, like postage, packaging cost, fees, etc.

Cons

• Depending on your laptop model, it can take a while to sell it. Therefore, you would probably have to revise your asking price (lower it) multiple times.
• It is time-consuming.
• Exposure to scams.

Regardless of the local marketplace you choose, do not take prepaid cards, personal checks, etc., as a form of payment. And if the buyer is trying to pay you with one of those, don’t be afraid to just walk away. You’ll sell the laptop to someone else. Unfortunately, scammers like to target marketplaces, so both sellers and buyers must be extra vigilant. 

Selling Your Laptop Online if You are Located in Boston

Generally, it does not matter where you live if you decide to sell your computer online. The beauty of online selling is that your listing can reach potential buyers all over the country and even the world. What’s important is that how you choose to sell.

Selling Laptop Online the Old Complicated Way

eBay is what traditionally comes to mind when thinking about an online platform for selling pre-owned goods. It has been around the longest and has a greater outreach compared to other similar platforms.

We wrote about using eBay as a seller at length before, but, if you never sold on eBay, here are a few things to consider:

• When registering an account, you must provide personal information, like social security or a TIN. eBay will also ask you to link a bank account. It is a new thing they implemented in 2020. 
• The platform is restrictive for new sellers, especially when it comes to selling format. For example, you cannot post an item for sale as “good-till-canceled” unless you have minimum feedback of 10.
• Figuring the cost of selling can be complicated. You will receive an incentive to post an item for sale without an insertion fee, typically 35 cents an item. But eBay also takes a percentage of the sale, and it’s 12.55%. If you want to sell the laptop quicker, consider offering free shipping. 
• eBay is prone to scams: fraudulent buyers, unauthorized transactions, hijacked accounts, you name it. Unfortunately, almost in every instance, eBay will side with the buyer, so be prepared for the possibility of losing both your laptop and the money you earned from selling it. 

Selling Laptop Online the Easy Way

If you want to skip all that headache and get paid faster, consider picking a laptop buyback site instead. And there are plenty of those nowadays. 

Unlike eBay, you can sell the laptop more or less instantly. All you need to do is to pick a few sites, shop around for prices, check out online, and get paid.

Most buyback sites will give you an instant dollar estimate based on your laptop’s model and overall working and cosmetic state. However, there are a few sites that like to gather this information and get back to you with an offer via phone or email. 

Another cool thing is that they will pay for the cost of shipment. Once you place a sale order, you will receive a prepaid shipping label to print out. Your task is to package the laptop well, secure it in the box with plenty of cushioning, tape this shipping label onto it, and send it via the designated carrier.

After that, wait for the payment to arrive. It can take anywhere from one to seven days for your laptop to be delivered. And another one to two days for the buyback company to inspect it and issue the payment.

Pros of selling online via buyback site:

• It’s secure. You dont have to worry about bounced checks or counterfeit bills. 
• It is faster and easier than using eBay.
• It is free.

Cons:

Your cash return most likely is going to be less than if you sold it yourself locally.

In Conclusion

As you can see, there is more than one way to sell a laptop in Boston. But, regardless of the platform you choose, make sure to prepare your computer for sale, clean it well, but most importantly, erase and reset it. If you are selling a PC laptop, please check out our reset guide. And Mac owners can use our How to Factory Reset an Apple Laptop for guidance.