How much is my tablet worth?

August 18, 2008 12:14 PM

I'm trying to determine the value of my Fujitsu Tablet pc. It is a Fujitsu Lifebook T2010. I bought it in May ('08), and have barely used it since June... Specs to follow:

Specs:
intel core 2 duo @1.20 GHz 1.20 GHz
2GB RAM
120GB HD
It's really lightweight, has fingerprint reader, smart card reader, media card reader. No materialistic flaws.

I don't know how the value of laptops works. Anyone know how much I should sell it for?

posted by smartless to computers & internet (8 comments total)

Go to eBay, type in Fujitsu Lifebook T2010 and look for one with the same specs. Go with a lower price than the new ones are going for. Maybe thre will be a lightly used one like yours.

My 2 cents though - you're more likely to get more money selling it from Craig's List than with all the competition on eBay.

Be sure to wipe it clean and restoring it to the factory settings and include all the paperwork and discs.
posted by k8t at 12:24 PM on August 18, 2008

Well it looks like they sell new started at $1,300 or so. So a used price discount would be something less than that. Do you have the packaging, warranty info (can the warranty be transferred?) - can you make it look as new as possible? Otherwise $1000 is a starting point.

Really it just depends on where and how you're going to try to sell it. If you sell it locally via Criag's List you may have to price it lower. You may get more on eBay if you take a bunch of nice pictures and write a good description...
posted by wfrgms at 12:26 PM on August 18, 2008

I'll probably sell it to an acquaintance or friend of a friend. I know a number of designers through friends who will likely be interested. It seems that on ebay, they're mostly refurbished or from hong kong, and i don't know how that measures up to gently used, one owner. Also, the $1300 ones are (i believe) the models with only 60 or 80 GB HD, and 1GB or less RAM.

Does this spark any other ideas?
Thanks for the help so far.
posted by smartless at 12:30 PM on August 18, 2008

also, it was $2000 CAD new.
posted by smartless at 12:32 PM on August 18, 2008

It goes for $2100 new, and yours is used. Savvy buyers are going to expect to see the asking price of a used laptop in awesome condition, with a big slice of the warranty already gone, 20% or lower than retail when dealing with an honest seller (if I wanted one of these, I'd offer you $1600 take-it-or-leave-it).

Having said that, you stand a good chance of getting close to $2000 by calling it "like new," "still under warranty," and waving it around on eBay or Craigslist waiting for an uninformed buyer. eBay and CL buyers are notoriously willing to pay more than the actual value of an item -- you could probably sell a five dollar bill for six bucks and shipping -- though you have to deal with a lot of hassle to close the sale.
posted by majick at 12:33 PM on August 18, 2008

"they're mostly refurbished or from hong kong, and i don't know how that measures up to gently used, one owner."

I'd buy the refurbished device in preference to yours, because yours is the worst possible situation: used and has not passed through the hands of a technician before sale to me. A used device is worth less than a refurbished device.

"$2000 CAD new."

The Canadian dollar and market may differ substantially from my description.
posted by majick at 12:36 PM on August 18, 2008

Check out "completed auctions" on eBay for a better view of what they are going for. Pay particularly attention to auctions that received a lot of bids as those more closely represent auctions where many buyers felt a high level of confidence buying.

Ram and hard drive space are mostly meaningless when it comes to pricing a used laptop. No one is going to pay a huge premium for an extra gb of ram or 60 more gb of storage.

Ebay will put you in touch with the largest number of potential buyers, and buyers of laptops tend to prefer individual sellers to dealers - so make sure you play up that angle. Also, no reserve auctions with low starting bids will attract a lot of bidders. Whatever you do don't foolishly list it with a high opening bid or a reserve... no one will touch it.

Also, if you sell it to a friend and it dies, expect to be held responsible even though it was completely beyond your control. Also expect to hear about it anytime anything goes wrong...
posted by wfrgms at 12:40 PM on August 18, 2008

Let me just suggest using caution when selling on ebay.
posted by procrastination at 2:52 PM on August 18, 2008