Memoirs From Flipping ThinkPads

[TPFanatic]

Circa 2016, I was seventeen years old, homeschooled, an undiagnosed autist/aspie/shcizophrenic, dad is Jewish in all meanings of the word and mom is effectively out of the picture.

I had no job, no friends (present company excluded), no mentors, teachers, community (present company excluded).

Don't tell eBay that I was under 18 when I made by eBay account. Actually I don't care, if they want to use that as a pretext to drive me to create a new and legal eBay account, while simultaneously permitting other illegal eBay accounts, so be it.

I observed a wide range in the prices of used ThinkPads and figured out I could purchase used ThinkPads on eBay for anywhere between $40-60 and flip them for anywhere over $100.

I proceeded to purchase old R-series and old T-series, install drives, install Windows, and sell them. I remember the results as follows:

• No one wanted to buy R500s.
• T410 sold very well, very good markup, especially with 1440x900.
• T410s sold well.
• T520 sold with the greatest markup.
• X200 and X201 sold very well.

After about a year I net-profited $100, but I also figured out how to ride a bicycle to my local Walmart and started working there, which to-date has grossed me about $100,000.00 USD, so I stopped selling ThinkPads for-profit. The last T410 I sold was about at-cost, and I started giving away everything else or hoarding them for myself.

[shawross]

Some interesting posts lately from our valued member TPFanatic which may or may not resonate with our community.

I am probably closer to your father's age and I too am an undiagnosed autistic/aspie although I dare say the correct classification is neuro-divergent.

Although I skipped the schizophrenic part I am definitely a Luddite. The neuro-divergence is probably far more common than most people realise and while it brings challenges it certainly can bring stronger abilities in other cognitive areas.

If you understand astrology you will realise that the universe creates us to be a varied breed with different strengths and abilities which overall will make the herd stronger. Nothing is simply random or just down to chance.

Yes many here definitely resonate with your Thinkpad collecting and hoarding.

You still are relatively young compared to many here and I enjoy your forthright opinions and knowledge. You do have plenty of time to expand your consciousness and if you keep your body healthy you might even "Find Nemo" - Temet Nosce.

[RealBlackStuff]

Temet Nosce, better known as Gnothi Sauton.

[unix_joe]

Good introspection.

Over the past 20 years, I think the quality of business transactions has declined when it comes to ThinkPads.

The positioning of the ThinkPad as a military-use, professional, and premium product in 2006 versus today where it's a value-based product line has a lot to do with it. With my generation, my friends at the flagship UNC campus got issued ThinkPads as part of their tuition (to be fair, Apple was still ascending in that space and not at all dominant). On my side, in the military, the ThinkPads were the premium systems we used to monitor the battlefield from the command operations center, so of course we all wanted one. When I finally made it to a campus for myself, everyone commented on how quiet my ThinkPad was compared to their laptops (think 2008 or so when everything sounded like a jet engine), and how good the battery life was.

I've owned 100+ ThinkPads now but I never made a profit off a ThinkPad. Actually, after seller fees, I don't think I ever made a profit with anything on eBay. I just saw it as a flea market to get rid of stuff that I didn't need anymore. My last sale was 2 years ago and the kid who bought it was upset that the trackpad wasn't as good as their MacBook, and wanted a refund. Regarding eBay as a platform, as long as I didn't get scammed and the seller didn't try to get a refund 45 days in, I felt like it was a successful transaction.

Back to my main point, I don't think that the customer base is reliable enough or wealthy enough for someone to make a profitable business in the used ThinkPad space.

A dream scenario is a reputable company that buys, refurbishes and warranties used ThinkPads, like OWC does for Apple products, or Bob Johnson does for Toughbooks. Such a company would be invested in the blog space, have videos on YT, and probably have a strong social media profile (Mastodon, Reddit, etc). I don't realistically see how they would make a profit though.

To be honest, I don't see how OWC stays afloat since the M1 Mac came out, but they are still standing 5 years later.

If I won the lottery, I wouldn't tell anyone, but there would be signs.

[dr_st]

Nice memoirs.

To me Thinkpads are a hobby in its own right. I don't try to profit off them, nor do I see them as strictly work tools.
Like any hobby, though, there is a risk for it to become a burden when you accumulate more systems that you can use, handle and maintain.

[RealBlackStuff]

While I lived in USA (2006-2019), for a hobby I bought about 165 Thinkpads (nearly all with SVP).
Took the SVP out and/or repaired them, then sold them on.
I kept a list of them, and it showed that I made a profit of about $13,000.
Sounds great, but when you do the maths, that comes down to an average of less than $100/month.
Pocket money at best!
I stopped that, since Thinkpads from 2014 and newer require more complicated SVP removal.
I can do it, but it is no longer any fun and I'm also getting too old for it.

[Splashing3860]

Wallmart sells Thinkpads too! Great story

[dr_st]

Wallmart, eh?
https://creepypasta.fandom.com/wiki/Wallmart

[Splank]

love your tenacity OP awesome story would love to hear more