good source for used or clearance components (particularly in Canada)?

[neiler0847]

It strikes me that, for all but the most ambitious uses, many older components are still pretty darn useful. I've resurrected 4 and 5-year old machines just by popping an SSD in. My teenaged son happily plays modern video games on a 2nd-gen core i5 with a new GeForce GTX 1050 video card that he got on Amazon(.ca) for $150.

As I think about trying to build specific-use machines with modern components, I can't come close (in price) to the starter machines offered by the big box stores. Part of the problem is that they probably get the operating system for free, but they clearly also have access to massive volume discounts on "last-year's" components.

So where does the system builder go to find the clearance deals on gently used or clearance components? I'm particularly thinking about in Canada, to avoid customs and the US$. But I'm willing to follow the deals.

 

[GhislainG]

You can find a lot of used parts on Kijiji; they are not always a good deal, but you can very good deals if you're not in a rush. As an example a couple years ago I bought a GTX 660 Ti for $85 and it has been running fine since I bought it. I also bought a few almost new motherboards, PSUs, etc. at a very good price.

 

[Paperdoc]

If you're a real scavenger and will accept risk, try looking for a local business that specializes in "eco-friendly" disposal (for free) of old electronics. They might be willing to give you a cheap price on parts, with no guarantee they will work. A step up might be a local used-computer-parts shop.