Question What's a Fair Price To Sell My Laptop For? (Very SLIGHT issue from suspected bent pin on motherboard)

[PocketCalculatorOperator]

Hi and thank you very much for any help. What's a fair price to sell my Laptop for? (Very SLIGHT issue from suspected bent pin on motherboard)

A few months ago, I almost dropped my laptop off my desk, but I caught it mid air so it never hit the ground, however the headphones were plugged in and one of my hands that caught it, just happened to grab the area where the headphone jack plugs in. Right after this happened, I was concerned that I might have damaged the headphone jack from the tension when I caught it, but after testing it, the sound played flawlessly with no crackling, etc. Also, the headphone jack is still just as tight as before, straight, and does not look or function damaged in anyway. So I thought I got lucky. I use the laptop for at least a few hours everyday and it wasn't until about a week later that at a random time, the sound from a youtube video or music I listened (online or off) went into slow-motion for about one second, then returned to normal.

This only happens randomly about 1-2 times per week and I usually do at least a few hours total everyday between youtube, movies, games, etc. For such a slight annoyance it really is too bad that there is no easy fix besides a motherboard replacement or risking bending a pin on the current motherboard.

Is it likely that this problem will only stay with the sound, or can more new problems be created in the future by continuing to use a damaged motherboard?

I don't have the experience or want to take the chance of replacing the motherboard, so I am considering selling it to someone tech savy, and in this case, how much should I ask for?

The laptop is one year old and I bought it brand new for $1,300(on sale): ASUS ROG 14inch with Ryzen 9 -5900HS, RTX3600, 6 GB VRAM, 1080p 144hz screen, 1TB Solid State Hard Drive, 16GB DDR4 RAM (model GA401QM-211.ZG14)

BTW, this was my first PC after a lifetime of mac, so I was just simply happy at how much better everything was, and didn't research that I didn't need a Ryzen 9, and so I should have saved money getting a cheaper CPU with maybe a RTX3070 instead of the 3060.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Aeacus]

and in this case, how much should I ask for?

Age old issue: for seller the price is low, while for the buyer, the price is high.

If your laptop would work issue free, $650 would be tops i'd pay for it (50% of purchase price). But since yours have an issue, and can be serious issue, you probably are looking at $200-$400 (sold as parts).

 

[PocketCalculatorOperator]

Age old issue: for seller the price is low, while for the buyer, the price is high.

If your laptop would work issue free, $650 would be tops i'd pay for it (50% of purchase price). But since yours have an issue, and can be serious issue, you probably are looking at $200-$400 (sold as parts).

Thanks for the info. One last question if you will.

Is it likely the issue will stay the same (only audio) or could it get worse over time, with new problems created like crashing or files not written correctly, etc. if the motherboard is not replaced/fixed?

 

[Rokinamerica]

Why not just bluetooth some speakers and test it/use it that way. That should help narrow it down to headphone jack issue or not. If just headphone jack issue, I don't see why it would spread if bent pin or whatever.

As said above, for seller, price low, for buyer, too high. I would not buy it for much since I have no clue how true the story is as a buyer. I don't doubt you OP, because you are on here asking genuine questions, but on the street, I don't know anything about you so I have to make sure if I get stuck with a box of parts, I at least get MY money back, if not a bit more.

 

[PocketCalculatorOperator]

Why not just bluetooth some speakers and test it/use it that way. That should help narrow it down to headphone jack issue or not. If just headphone jack issue, I don't see why it would spread if bent pin or whatever.

As said above, for seller, price low, for buyer, too high. I would not buy it for much since I have no clue how true the story is as a buyer. I don't doubt you OP, because you are on here asking genuine questions, but on the street, I don't know anything about you so I have to make sure if I get stuck with a box of parts, I at least get MY money back, if not a bit more.

I'm pretty sure from my research that a pin got slightly bent on the motherboard, because the exact same symptoms happened to others I read about on forums. I'm 40 years old and the type of person that uses everything carefully, exactly for the reason of preventing this type of thing.

I've been moving around and one place I stayed in was not furnished with a desk in one area, so I temporarily used a big bin sitting on top of another bin as a desk. It seemed sturdy enough, but the top one slowly moved off the bottom bin. I caught the laptop mid-air so it never hit the ground, but like I said: when I caught it, I could tell a lot of tension was place on the headphone jack.

I don't blame you one bit about not trusting people. But let's say for argument's sake: If I had a friend who knew I was telling the truth, and they knew how to replace motherboards, how much would that friend ask for? I'm trying to find the absolute best case price.

Thanks so much for your help.

 

[DSzymborski]

There are a lot of problems that have vaguely similar symptoms. I certainly wouldn't want to assume the problem is or is not an issue like that on the motherboard unless you actually discovered it yourself and had images of it. I'm about 0% certain the problem is even what you say it is; you report confirmation of a problem by looking not by speculating. I'm not sure what "motherboard pin" would be doing this since the socket FP6 is not an LGA socket.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

I would give you exactly zero dollars for it in that condition. That is a dealbreaker. That is not a very slight condition.

 

[harisrehman]

It's difficult to estimate a fair price for your laptop without knowing the current market conditions and the extent of the damage caused by the suspected bent pin on the motherboard. However, considering that the laptop is only a year old and has high-end specs such as a Ryzen 9 processor and RTX 3060 graphics card, it would still hold some value even with the slight issue.

If you're planning to sell it, you should be transparent about the issue and price it accordingly. You can try looking up similar models on online marketplaces and see what they're selling for to get an idea of a fair price. You can also consider taking it to a repair shop and getting an estimate for fixing the issue, which may increase its value.

As for the potential for more problems in the future, it's difficult to say for sure. It's possible that the issue may stay limited to the sound and not affect other components, but there's also a chance that other problems could arise down the line. It's always a risk to continue using a damaged motherboard, so selling it may be a good option if you don't want to replace it yourself.

 

[Aeacus]

I'm not sure what "motherboard pin" would be doing this since the socket FP6 is not an LGA socket.

Socket FP6 is PGA. Meaning that pins do protrude from the socket, while with LGA, pins protrude from the circuit board.

Handy guide: https://www.raypcb.com/lga-pga-bga/

You can try looking up similar models on online marketplaces and see what they're selling for to get an idea of a fair price.

This would only work, if laptop is issue free. But since it isn't, it can't be compared to other, similar laptops determinating it's value. As it currently stands, with serious issue it has, it's value is low to none.

But let's say for argument's sake: If I had a friend who knew I was telling the truth, and they knew how to replace motherboards, how much would that friend ask for? I'm trying to find the absolute best case price.

Depends on your friend and how good of a buddy they are.

E.g if my good friend would come to me with same offer, my standpoint remains the same as i wrote above. Just because i buy something from my friend, doesn't mean i'm willing to pay (far) more. On the contrary, i expect to pay (far) less than current rate at 2nd hand market, or get it completely free. (One benefit of friendship is getting stuff cheaper/free than market rate. Else-ways, you'd just be abusing your friendship, if you ask (far) more than market rate is.)

This reminds me a trade i had with my buddy (we met because we bought our GR puppy from him and now we are good friends). He had air cleaner station which he used to get rid of litter smell (he has bitch, our pup's mom). Once litter was sold off, he didn't have a need for that air cleaner station anymore, so, he offered it to me, cost free (except me needing to pick it up from his place). If i would've refused the offer, he would've sold it. He did pay some €300 for it brand new, and at that time, air cleaner station was ~6 months old. So, i accepted it.
Now, i have a plan to make him a counter offer, namely i'd like to give him powerful air compressor (which works directly from mains), and which i've used only once (found out it's way too noisy for indoor use). So, i'm willing to give it to him, cost free, despite me paying €180 for it and it's only 4 months old. I'm even willing to deliver it to his house.
Now, this is proper friendship. Not the upsale friendship you are trying to do.

 

[PocketCalculatorOperator]

Now, this is proper friendship. Not the upsale friendship you are trying to do.

If I had a friend with expertise that knew how to replace motherboards, it takes away all the element of distrust. That is the only reason I used dealing with a friend as an example: to find the true value of the laptop, at least in parts, NOT to get a deal on it.

It's not proper for you to make personal assumptions about me. You don't know me.

I never said even ONE thing slightly negative about you.

You're here to help people with computer tips, not to personally attack them when they have not attacked you.

But here's a tip for you: Keep your antisocial autistic behavior to yourself if you want to come across as a professional.

harisrehman also left a reply right before yours, and unlike yours it was very professional and helpful.

 

[PocketCalculatorOperator]

It's difficult to estimate a fair price for your laptop without knowing the current market conditions and the extent of the damage caused by the suspected bent pin on the motherboard. However, considering that the laptop is only a year old and has high-end specs such as a Ryzen 9 processor and RTX 3060 graphics card, it would still hold some value even with the slight issue.

If you're planning to sell it, you should be transparent about the issue and price it accordingly. You can try looking up similar models on online marketplaces and see what they're selling for to get an idea of a fair price. You can also consider taking it to a repair shop and getting an estimate for fixing the issue, which may increase its value.

As for the potential for more problems in the future, it's difficult to say for sure. It's possible that the issue may stay limited to the sound and not affect other components, but there's also a chance that other problems could arise down the line. It's always a risk to continue using a damaged motherboard, so selling it may be a good option if you don't want to replace it yourself.

Thank for your help. I appreciate it.

 

[Aeacus]

If I had a friend with expertise that knew how to replace motherboards, it takes away all the element of distrust. That is the only reason I used dealing with a friend as an example: to find the true value of the laptop, at least in parts, NOT to get a deal on it.

Since you do not have such friend as your example asked, you can not get rid of distrust issue, if you sell it to stranger.

I'm trying to find the absolute best case price.

With your laptop, there is no such thing as absolute best case price. You, yourself, even doesn't know what exactly is wrong with your laptop. You only assume. So, how should potential buyer know more than you do?

Like i said in my 1st reply, your laptop, as it currently stands (with unknown issue), is worth $200-$400 bucks. Sure, this price is way too low for you, since you payed $1300 for it and most likely are expecting to get $1000 from it, since you've used it for 1 year and it has a "slight" issue.

You can ask whatever you want for your laptop, but what matters is what buyer is willing to pay.

Lets look at it on buyers perspective;

Buyer sees your advertisement, with issue listed at $300. So, buyer pays $300 to get the laptop. Here it is highly possible that buyer has to replace the MoBo. Laptop MoBos are hard to get, if at all. Now, lets say there is spare MoBo to buy, but MoBos aren't cheap, so $200 for replacement MoBo. Also factoring in all the time, effort and labor spent to find 2nd MoBo + MoBo replacement (which also includes replacing thermal paste and thermal pads). That i'd put at $100. <- In this case, buyer has spent $600 in total, which would be the price of working, 2nd hand laptop with same specs as yours.

Now, if you were to list your laptop with the price that is comfortable for you, $1000, and same situation as above, means that buyer, in the end, has spent $1300. At that price, going with brand new laptop is smart thing to do, rather than wasting time, effort and money on a broken laptop that even doesn't have a warranty.