The used PC parts market is full of deals — and traps

Know what you’re buying

Technology can be frustratingly opaque and there are so many specs and numbers to know about: clock speeds, capacities, bandwidths, VRAM quantities, socket generations, chipsets. It’s confusing even for people who work with (and write about) this kind of hardware all the time.

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Before putting money down on anything, Google the name and model number. Ideally, get a SKU number to check the specific item you’re interested in. Is it current? Does that laptop have a decent graphics card or is it the base configuration? If it does have a GPU, is it the version with more or less VRAM? Is it overclockable?

When you’ve decided to buy that specific component or device, make sure the seller confirms that it is what you think it is. Some devices and components can look nearly identical yet offer vastly different performance and features. If you buy the wrong one, you might find it doesn’t work with your existing hardware, so be doubly sure.

Watch the phrasing

There are enough second-hand parts on the market that you might as well skip over any that seem problematic. The language in the product listing can give you some red flags to watch out for.

For example, skip anything that says “untested” unless you fancy repairing components yourself. Untested often means the seller can’t be bothered to confirm it’s working, but it could also mean they know there’s a problem and don’t want to be forthcoming about it.

Roman Loyola/IDG

“Open box” products can be incredible scores once in a blue moon, but often they’re returned products that original buyers didn’t like. Whatever it was, you probably won’t like it either.

And even when the seller is honest, it’s better to skip any hardware that was used for cryptocurrency mining or hard overclocking, which will have put it through immense stress. Flashing the BIOS or upgrading the cooling can void warranties, so skip those as well.

Trust your gut, not your excitement

This is just good life advice in general, but when you’re buying hardware online, it’s important to trust your gut. If something about a listing feels off, if the deal seems too good to be true, if the seller is evasive when questioned… these are all signs to move on.

Scammers often rely on FOMO (fear of missing out), limited-time offers, calls to urgency, and other high-pressure sales tactics to make you lower your guard and ignore your good sense. Don’t let your excitement at finding a cheap RAM kit blind you to the likelihood that you’re being taken for a ride by a cunning seller.

Ask them the kinds of questions they should know the answers to if they were a genuine seller. How long have they had it? Why are they selling it? Did they use it for cryptocurrency mining or heavy overclocking? How’s the battery health? And when possible, ask for proof.

See it to believe it

A seller’s account status, reputation, and listing practices are all clues to how real the hardware is, but what you really want is to see the hardware with your own eyes. There are a few different ways you can do that:

• See it in person: The ideal scenario is meeting the seller and getting to see the product with your own eyes. Even better, get them to run benchmarks to check for performance degradation. If you can’t see it working, at least get your hands on the hardware before handing over any money.
• See it in a video: Video of the component in working condition is a great vote of confidence. However, it’s possible to fake these with AI and clever editing, so make sure the seller appears in the video and have them show an agreed-upon web page in it. The web page should have today’s date so you know it’s current.
• See it in images: Images are increasingly easy to fake, but you can get around this by asking for multiple images from different angles, ideally containing some reference to the current date.

Whatever proof you get, look for inconsistencies or weird artifacts or quirks that might suggest AI manipulation. If you get any sort of weird vibe about what you’re being shown, don’t buy it.

Where you buy still matters

Some online marketplaces have more hoops to jump through for sellers and offer more protection for buyers. eBay might be ancient but it’s quite buyer-friendly, with layers of security and clear reputational ratings for sellers. And if you get scammed, you’ll probably get your money back.

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Meanwhile, Facebook Marketplace is easier for scammers, and traditional classified sites and apps are a complete Wild West. Focusing on platforms that have additional protections for buyers is a good way to avoid some of the most prolific scammers.

This advice goes if you pick up the hardware in person, too. Have them meet you in a well-lit, public space, ideally with lots of other people around. Have a friend or family member go with you. Trust your gut. If the seller seems shifty, tries to argue over the previously agreed-upon price, or tries to move the deal somewhere else, just walk away.

Buy with a credit card

Bank transfers, cash, debit cards, cryptocurrency—they’re all convenient ways to buy, but those transactions can’t easily be reversed in case of a scam, at least not without jumping through serious hoops… and even then there’s no guarantee.

If you use a credit card, you’ll have a much better chance of a successful chargeback if you’re scammed or you end up in a dispute with the seller. It gives you an extra layer of protection. Don’t pass it up.

Record yourself opening it

This is good advice for brand-new retail purchases of high-value items, too. There have been plenty of cases of graphics card sellers and manufacturers not honoring returns on bricked GPUs because they believe the buyer was at fault for the malfunctioning item.

Make a recording of yourself opening the box, then clearly show off the item to the camera. Later, if you need to ask for a refund or return, you can prove what state it was in when it arrived in your hands. And if it was damaged in transit, or you ended up receiving the wrong item (or even a box full of rocks), you can prove it with your recording.

Test it thoroughly ASAP

If everything looks good with your new buy, confirm it with thorough testing. Install it, make sure it works with the latest drivers, run some benchmarks, play some games.

If there’s any system instability, overly loud fan noise, or weaker-than-expected performance, consider asking for a refund. There’s no point in saving money on used if it leaves you with a lackluster experience.

Do this right after getting the product, by the way. Don’t wait a week or more since you’ll need to move quick to secure your refund.

Got storage? Wipe and reset

If you’re buying a complete PC, laptop, or anything with storage on it, make sure to factory reset it—or better yet, securely erase the drive by zero-filling it. While it’s unlikely, if the previous owner had malware, the last thing you want to do is suffer that infection yourself.

Clear the drive out and you can rest easy knowing there isn’t a nasty surprise waiting for you inside.

Further reading: Want to build a gaming PC in 2026? Don’t