How to price a used laptop at the pawn counter
Short answer: identify the exact model and its configuration, check the condition, and price it from recent real sales of the same configuration. Laptops with the same name can differ a lot in processor, memory and storage, and those differences decide the price.
Read the configuration, not the sticker
The model name on the lid is only the start. Open the system information and note the processor and its generation, the memory (RAM), the storage size and type, and the screen. Two laptops called the same can be very different machines.
What moves the price most
- Processor generation. Newer generations hold value better.
- Storage and memory. More of both sells for more, and an SSD is expected today.
- Condition. Screen, keyboard, hinges, battery and charger.
- Age. Laptops lose value year by year, faster when a new model replaces them.
Check before you lend
- The laptop starts and reaches the desktop without the owner's password, or can be reset.
- No company management or theft-protection lock that would stop the next owner.
- The battery charges and holds a charge; the charger is included.
- Keyboard, touchpad, ports, camera and Wi-Fi work.
Price from real sales of the same configuration
A listing for the same model with twice the memory is not a comparable. Use recent real sales of the same model and storage, and at least three of them, then apply your loan percentage to the median.
How PawnMeter does it
PawnMeter recognises brand, model and storage from what the clerk types, looks for real sales of the same configuration in the last 180 days, and shows the median, the range and the sales behind it, or says it has no comparable sales.
PawnMeter: Type the item. PawnMeter shows the resale price and a suggested loan, calculated only from what comparable items really sold for. When there is not enough data, it says so instead of guessing.
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