Tariffs, shortages, supply-chain issues. If you’re looking for deals on PC hardware this holiday season, you might want to consider an alternate route: buying used instead.
Traditionally, we’ve recommended you buy new products for various reasons. They’re untouched, they usually carry warranties, and so on. But like anyone who’s considered a used car, depreciation can be your friend. You can often save substantially just because someone else has previously owned that item.
It’s a little different than an “open box” return, where a customer buys an item, decides they don’t like it, and brings it back to the store. Here, you have a couple of different paths to choose from: buying an item from from a major retailer like Amazon’s “Renewed” program or simply engaging with an individual owner and conducting a private transaction. The latter typically involves choosing between eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or a similar route. But that route carries risk, too.
At best, you risk getting pestered nonstop with “Is it still available?” messages. At worst, you might end up buying a used item and end up with a literal brick.
That was the whole impetus for Jawa.gg, a marketplace for PC components and pre-built systems from small builders, said Amanda Stefan, the company’s chief executive.
Mark Hachman / Foundry
Jawa.gg was founded in 2021 on the back of the COVID pandemic, Stefan said, when customers were trying to buy during a severe shortage of graphics cards. Today, that’s one of the site’s strengths, she said. Customers can pick up a last-generation graphics card for substantial discount, up to about 40 percent off MSRP.
Originally, the site was just a Discord channel where community members would buy and sell hardware. Today, there are about 5,000 active sellers and about 10,000 buyers per month — though that increases to 100,000 historically. “Ever since the word ‘tariff’ was uttered, our business has tripled,” she said.
“It very much was this rallying cry of, we’re so sick of these people scalping graphics cards,” Stefan said. “That was the start of it. And then what it has turned into is a marketplace for used, but also new.”
Jawa also attracts a community of small PC builders who view the site as an e-commerce front end, Stefan said. Those small builders have driven the site’s growth, she said. One of the site’s strengths is that buyers and sellers actually interact, allowing a buyer can ask questions or a builder to provide recommendations.
“Buyers are like, hey, I like the looks of your build, but I play League of Legends, and this is my monitor. Is this going to be good for me?” Stefan said. “And they might do some customization. And sellers actually appreciate that type of interaction.”
Buying and selling on Jawa.gg takes place from person to person via the site as an intermediary. Jawa attempts to defeat GPU scalping by using a formula: the “price cap” for a listing is the MSRP on Best Buy or Newegg, plus 25 percent for taxes and fees, plus a $100 buyer fee. The site also maintains a community spreadsheet of those capped prices. Buyers have 48 hours to inspect their purchase and, if necessary, ask for a refund. After that, the payment proceeds to the seller as per the site’s protections.
If you have a used graphics card, you can sell it too. Tell Jawa.gg what it is and they’ll issue a quote. $296.75 for an RTX 3080, for example. The site will then send out a shipping label, ask you to ship the component, then test it. If it passes, the site will pay the seller within a week.
Competing sites include MBPC.gg, which allows you to buy or sell components or PCs, and SellGPU, which caters to those looking to sell older equipment. There’s also the traditional route, eBay, which has a similar refund policy (the buyer will get a refund if they don’t receive the item or if it doesn’t match the listing).
Competing with the traditional “open box”
The major retailers also offer competing services, too. Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart all have options to buy previously-owned or otherwise restored products. You can check out these services via Amazon Restored, Best Buy Refurbished, and Walmart Restored.
Amazon and Walmart have the most sophisticated offerings, though the Best Buy Outlet also offers truly open-box items, including its own Black Friday deals.
Amazon’s Renewed program offers a 90-day return period on most items while some “Premium” offerings stretch that to a full year. “Select” items even include an 11-month warranty.
The Amazon Renewed program includes four quality tiers, depending upon the condition of the item:
- Premium (no screen scratches, no signs of damage from 12 inches away, 90 percent of the original battery life)
- Excellent (no screen scratches, no signs of cosmetic damage from 12 inches away, 80 percent battery life)
- Good (no screen scratches, light scratches when held 12 inches away, 80 percent battery life)
- Acceptable (possible screen scratches, clear light scratching from 12 inches away, 80 percent battery life)
Walmart’s Restored program is slightly less sophisticated, pledging to offer 80 percent battery life on Restored products and 90 percent or more battery life on Restored Premium items. It too has various quality tiers. Products are either restored and/or cleaned by Walmart employees or by the suppliers themselves.
Best Buy offers something a little different. You’re allowed to view the “open box” listing and see how much you could save on the item depending on its condition. Unfortunately, the discount isn’t great. On the HP Victus laptop seen below, you’ll pay $549.99 new but $503.99 for a “fair” item that may have minor dents or missing non-essential parts.
There’s an interesting juxtaposition between the two models. A site like Jawa.gg doesn’t go overboard in publicizing how much you’re saving over MSRP; buyers and sellers seem to only need a basic sense of what they’d otherwise pay.
Conversely, sites like Amazon’s Renewed emphasize the savings, but they don’t tell you if you’re actually getting a good deal. In my own experience, for example, Amazon offered a Renewed Chromebook for well under $100, but didn’t note that the processor inside of it had long since exited support.
Nevertheless, buying used is another arrow in your quiver to save money during Black Friday and the remainder of the holiday season. And in 2025, it’s an option worth considering.
