How to Dispose Old Laptops Securely and Earn Cash

In planning for the future, are you often looking for the next best way to make a few extra dollars? Even if it’s just to add to your savings? The future is unknown so it’s wise to make as much provision as possible.

Now, are you sure you’re using all possible means to manage your budget or add to that savings fund?

There are many unique ways of earning cash. Some of these methods aren’t the norm yet but should be, for your own and others’ benefit. For example, if you have an old computer or laptop that needs replacing, you can actually recycle your old laptop for the extra cash you were hoping for this month.

Benefits of Proper Laptop Disposal

To dispose of a laptop does not mean putting it in the garbage. You could much rather earn a bit of cash for it. Here are all your benefits:

• Less clutter in your home, so you can keep on living a minimalistic life

• Cash in your pocket, which you can put towards a new laptop

• You’re living greener by enabling responsible electronic recycling and not simply throwing devices in the garbage

• That discarded laptop could have practical value for someone else using it or its parts

The only thing to be concerned about: are you disposing of it securely?

Let’s walk you through each important step of secure disposal of your laptop and all your options, for the above benefits but also to safeguard yourself.

Why is the RIGHT (Secure) Way of Disposal so Important?

You shouldn’t only look at the helpful ways of disposal listed below. When it comes to technical devices—using AND disposing of them—your security must always be a number one priority.

Research shows that over 90% of millennials don’t think social media platforms will keep their information safe. And they have good reason to feel this way. Simply consider the 50 million users’ information that became exposed during a Facebook breach in 2018.

Still, we’re often not as vigilant as we should be, such as logging out of accounts from devices we no longer use.

You need to make sure there’s no chance of anyone accessing your private information via that device after you dispose of it. And that’s just one reason why secure disposal—discussed at the end of this article—is so essential.

5 Ways to Dispose of Old Laptops and Make Some Money

These are five popular ways of how to dispose of laptop units and parts. You can identify the most practical option based on the services available in your area or the future benefits you want to contribute enable.

Sell it in Your Immediate Network

The first place to consider is your circle of friends and family.

An older laptop may be too outdated for you to use for work, modern gaming, and other tasks that require the latest software versions or parts like state-of-the-art graphics cards. But if it still works, someone could find it valuable for less demanding activities.

Perhaps someone needs a laptop with basic features for a new business or doing research and typing assignments while studying.

Pay it forward by selling your old laptop for a minimal amount, helping someone with a small budget get the resource they need. Both your budgets will still benefit even if your asking price is low.

What are family and friends for?

Advertise it

Another group of people that would gladly take it off your hands you’ll find on the online marketplace. Whether the laptop works or not, you’ll find a buyer here.

An interested party could be someone in desperate need of a laptop that still works, or people making a living from selling discarded tech devices. Some buyers can repair devices, so they don’t mind buying outdated, malfunctioning ones either.

These buyers will sell it to their clients or take it apart and sell the components.

Post an informative ad on Facebook Marketplace and portals like eBay. Make it easy for someone to determine whether it’s a worthwhile buy by sharing images of the exterior, manual, battery, and any accompanying accessories. If the laptop is still in working condition, include a photo of the laptop’s screen when switched on.

This is an effortless electric recycle option to pick. There are many people who will offer you cash for the laptop and then it’s their job to find a third party to sell it to.

Sell it for Repurposing

A handy service you can opt for these days is a company whose vision is to repurpose laptops. They often have a specific group they’re trying to assist in obtaining tech resources:

• Startups that will grow faster if they don’t have to spend capital on new devices.

• Businesses in the developing world that require computers. The vision here is to limit technological inequality between countries and competitors, by helping business owners in less fortunate areas improve their operations.

• Helping students gain access to technology to improve their learning resources. With a laptop, they have more online learning options.

• Individuals in search of laptops at good prices.

Once again, the benefit here is how effortless it is, because the company does the work.

Other benefits include:

• The expert technicians working for these companies can give an accurate estimation of the value of your device. This ensures you get paid an appropriate amount, instead of haggling with amateurs online.

• An established company gives you peace of mind that you’ll get paid, instead of being scammed by strangers.

• These service providers can often help you with the process of wiping the hard drive of the device. There won’t be any chance of someone accessing information you may have forgotten to delete.

• The process is usually effortless, with drop-off venues available in some locations, or you can simply ship it to them. That’s often preferable to trying to arrange a meeting time with a family member or online buyer.

Sell Certain Parts

If your laptop doesn’t work well anymore, it can still carry value. Simply sell off certain parts. There may be someone in need of the charger or battery of your laptop. They would only be too happy to pay your price, rather than a retailer’s rate for new stock.

Trade it in

Although not very common, your laptop manufacturer may have trade-in programs of their own. Contact them to hear if there’s any chance of returning your laptop, since they may be able to repurpose some parts.

Companies are also passionate about correct electronic recycling these days. So, you can have peace of mind that any unusable parts will be disposed of in the safest manner possible.

You may not get a cash amount for this method, but there’s a chance you’ll get some discount if you buy a new device from the brand.

Apple is one brand that still runs an extensive trade-in program.

Before You Sell—What to Do

So, you know what you can do with your device, but how do you manage security and safeguard your data and personal details? You should follow these steps whenever you dispose of a computer or a mobile device.

Save Your Information

Don’t wake up one morning and realize a very important personal document was safely stored on your laptop and is now lost forever after donating it. Even if you think you’ve placed everything in the cloud or if you haven’t accessed folders for months, do a complete data backup of your redundant laptop.

You can use a cloud backup, copy files to another computer, or use an external hard drive.

We also suggest you clear your entire browser history.

Cancel Subscriptions

That laptop may even contain software subscriptions you’ve forgotten about. Some of them come with automatic yearly renewals which you may not notice if costs are low. But those payments add up over time, so best to do a quick audit and cancel any subscription still in place.

It’s also the easiest to do it from your old laptop since you’re probably still logged in via the device. If you’ve forgotten the account password it would be much more effort to manage this from a different device.

Don’t Forget to De-authorize and Unpair

Now you have to limit access to your multiple online accounts with social media platforms, app stores, software packages, and more.

If you know someone else will use your laptop in future, you don’t want them accessing these accounts—possibly viewing your personal details and purchasing products using your profile—when they get your device.

Unpairing is also an important step to ensure you can use certain software programs or apps on your future device. Remember, some subscriptions only allow a limited number of devices per account, so disconnect your old laptop before passing it on.

Some of these tasks are easy to do. For example, with Facebook, simply navigate to ‘Settings & Privacy’ on your profile from any of your devices. Under ‘Security and Login’ you can de-authorize any device you’ve ever used to log in to the platform.

Wipe the Hard Drive

Apart from your accounts, you also don’t want anyone viewing your collection of files. A complete clean doesn’t mean you send all your documents to Trash! Proper ways include:

• Using the ‘Reinstall Mac OS X’ on a Mac.

• On a Windows device, different versions use different methods, but under Settings, look for options such as ‘Update and Recovery’, ‘Reset your PC’ and ‘Fully Clean the Drive’.

• You can encrypt an SSD, which prevents the data you erased from being recovered.

You also have the option of removing a hard drive to turn it into a USB hard drive. Then add a brand new one to your laptop. But this is a costly exercise and not ideal if you’re trying to make some cash. It’s all about how comfortable you are with giving your laptop to strangers to use. But know that the steps mentioned above will provide extensive security. 

Do the Right Thing for You, Others and the Environment

These are the methods of disposal everyone should be following whenever there’s a laptop—or other PC—which no longer serves its purpose.

We do need to plan for our futures, but also the future of the environment. So, apart from following these guidelines, please pass on this message. Let’s keep ourselves and the environment safe.