How to Buy a Used Computer Online Without Getting Burned

A used computer is often the best value out there — but the buyer takes on all the risk. Here's how to do it safely in Southern California, what the major marketplaces are good (and bad) at, and roughly what you should expect to pay.

Where to look

Facebook Marketplace has the biggest selection and real profiles you can glance at, which makes sellers a little more accountable. Message through Messenger and always meet in person.

OfferUp has seller ratings and a shipping option with some buyer protection, which is handy if you can't meet locally — but a local, in-person test is still safest.

Craigslist has the most local, cash deals and often the lowest prices, but zero buyer protection and the highest scam rate. Cash only, meet in public, and test everything before money changes hands.

Typical used prices (Southern California, ballpark)

Older budget laptop (5+ years, basic CPU, spinning hard drive): about $80–$150 — only worth it after an SSD upgrade.

Solid mid-range laptop (3–4 years, Core i5 / Ryzen 5, SSD, 8–16GB RAM): about $200–$400. This is the sweet spot for most people.

Recent or premium laptop (1–2 years, Core i7, or Apple MacBook Air M1/M2): roughly $450–$800+. A used M1 MacBook Air tends to run $450–$650 and is a great buy.

Used desktop tower (off-lease business PC, i5, SSD): about $120–$250. Used gaming desktops run $400–$900 depending mostly on the graphics card.

Test before you pay

Bring it up to the desktop and check: it powers on and charges, the screen has no cracks or dead pixels, the keyboard and trackpad work, Wi-Fi connects, and the USB/charging ports work. Confirm the charger is included.

Check the storage and memory actually match the listing (a quick look in Settings/About). On a laptop, ask about battery health — a worn battery is a cheap fix but a fair haggling point.

The red flags that mean "walk away"

Activation/account lock is the big one. On a Mac, make sure the seller has signed out of iCloud and turned off Find My / Activation Lock in front of you — otherwise the machine is a paperweight. On Windows, be wary if it boots into someone else's account or asks for an unknown password.

Also avoid: "sold for parts / not working," prices far below everything else (classic bait), sellers who won't meet in person or only want to ship for cash/gift cards, and anyone rushing you. Meet at a daytime public spot — many police stations have a marked "safe exchange" zone.

After you buy

Before you trust it with your files, do a clean wipe and fresh OS install so nothing of the previous owner's is left behind, then check whether an SSD or RAM upgrade would make it noticeably faster. That's exactly the kind of setup and tune-up we do — and we're glad to look over a listing before you buy if you're not sure it's a fair deal.