What to do with your old home Computer
Sell, recycle, or donate it?
Altair Computer
You may have come across an old computer found buried in your parents garage that's been hiding since the 1970's, or you've finally decided to get rid of that old family computer you bought 10 years ago that's been gathering dust in the closet....
Whatever the case, you have a few options on ways to get rid of it without just throwing it in the trashcan (which doesn't benefit yourself, or anyone else, and is not ecological):
First, Search the Internet and eBay and see what similar computer models have sold for to determine it's rarity and value.
Some vintage computers such as the Altair Computer (pictured) are highly valuable to collectors. eBay is a great place to auction off rare and valuable computers.
List of rare and valuable vintage computers sought after by collectors:
Whatever the case, you have a few options on ways to get rid of it without just throwing it in the trashcan (which doesn't benefit yourself, or anyone else, and is not ecological):
First, Search the Internet and eBay and see what similar computer models have sold for to determine it's rarity and value.
Some vintage computers such as the Altair Computer (pictured) are highly valuable to collectors. eBay is a great place to auction off rare and valuable computers.
List of rare and valuable vintage computers sought after by collectors:
- Cromeco
- MITS Altair
- IMSAI
- Apple I
- Apple II (Original)
- Apple Lisa
- DEC PDP
- Compucolor
- Micral
- RCA COSMAC
- Intel MDS/MCS
- Sol
- Kenbak
- Synertek
Original IBM PC
If your old computer is not highly valued but still worth selling for some extra money then consider offering it for sale on eBay, locally on Craigslist , or offer it for sale in a yard sale.
More common vintage home computers,
still having value to collectors and hobbyists:
- Apple II+
- Apple IIe
- Apple Macintosh (Original)
- Atari 400 / 800 / XL
- Commodore 128 / 64
- IBM PC 5150
- Texas Instruments Ti/99-4a
- Apple Macintosh
- Commodore PET
- Timex Sinclair
- Osbourne Portable Computers
- Amiga
- TRS-80
- Z80
- Heathkit
- Kaypro
- Coleco Adam
- Mattel Aquarius
If your old computer is not worth selling:
Older Windows PC
If your computer is not worth the trouble of selling due to having a low resale value, then consider donating it to a local thrift store (like Goodwill Industries) - be sure to get a receipt for your donation and save it for filing for a charitable tax write-off when you do your taxes!
Other options include contacting your local school district to see if they accept donations of modern, but out of date, computers for use by students.
Lastly, you can also drop off your old computers and peripheral devices at your local metal recycling facility. They may even give you a small amount of money for it depending on the type of computer it is and what recyclable precious metals may be inside.
Common - out of date computers, good candidates for charitable donation, or take to the recycling scrapyard:
Other options include contacting your local school district to see if they accept donations of modern, but out of date, computers for use by students.
Lastly, you can also drop off your old computers and peripheral devices at your local metal recycling facility. They may even give you a small amount of money for it depending on the type of computer it is and what recyclable precious metals may be inside.
Common - out of date computers, good candidates for charitable donation, or take to the recycling scrapyard:
- 5 to 15 year old PC & Laptop computers running Windows 98, Vista, ME, NT & XP.
Disassembled hard drive with destroyed platters
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