Another problem with buying second-hand tech is that you can get scammed incredibly easily. Second-hand tech sales are seldom from well-known sellers, and many are being sold by private individuals.
By Bradley Prior
Buying second-hand can offer great value if you are looking to buy tech on a budget.
You can get significant discounts on almost any tech product you can think of if you are looking in the right places.
However, there are also a number of risks associated with buying second-hand tech.
Firstly, you don’t know how the device was treated. The seller may say the device is virtually new in the advert, but until you see the device, you do not know if this is true.
Sometimes, a device may look in good condition, but it in fact is barely working due to internal problems.
Another problem with buying second-hand technology is that you can get scammed incredibly easily. Second-hand sales are seldom from well-known sellers, and many are being sold by private individuals.
This means there is a low trust factor, as it is easy for a scammer to fool you and get away with it.
The best way to solve this problem is by using well-known second-hand marketplaces and stores, as these usually have measures in place to protect buyers.
We have detailed some of the best places to buy second-hand tech below.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is a great place to buy and sell second-hand products because there are so many people who use the platform.
It has therefore become one of the first places people think of when looking to sell their unwanted possessions.
Facebook Marketplace has a large catalogue of items which makes it a great place to find an awesome deal.
Another benefit is that it is built on the Facebook platform, which means it is easy for buyers and seller to communicate through the Messenger platform.
Gumtree
Gumtree has firmly established itself as South Africa’s most popular dedicated classifies website.
You can find almost anything you could want on this platform – you can even buy or rent a home through the Gumtree website.
Gumtree has integrated various methods to communicate with the seller, and the seller can decide which options they will make available.
Other cool features include the ability to create lists of listings you’re interested in, share functionality, and the ability to report adverts that do not abide by Gumtree’s guidelines.
Carbonite
Carbonite is a classifieds forum dedicated to tech products such as computer components, consoles, electronics, and digital products such as software and in-game currency.
Sellers and buyers have a rating whereby those who engage in transactions are encouraged either to give someone an upvote or a downvote based on whether the transaction went smoothly.
This makes it easy to determine if someone is a reliable buyer/seller, and users with low or no ratings are treated with more caution as a result.
The system works well, and has resulted in the platform becoming a popular platform for buying and selling technology.
MyBroadband forum
The MyBroadband forum is the largest forum in South Africa, and the My Broadband website is the largest tech website in South Africa.
It is therefore unsurprising that the MyBroadband forum is a great place to buy and sell second-hand tech products.
This can be done in the “Commercial” section of the MyBroadband forum, where users can choose whether to list their items, make it known what they are looking for, and there is also a platform where hardware and software dealers can list their products.
Originally published at My broadband