How to flip PCs in the UK
Flipping a PC means buying a used computer for less than it is worth and selling it — whole, refreshed, or as separate parts. The money is in the gap between the asking price and what the parts actually sell for. Here is how it works in the UK, with numbers from the listings we check every day.
By Artem Kulyk, founder of PathAu · Updated 27 October 2026 · Numbers from PathAu's own data, refreshed daily
Key numbers
- 132,688 used PC part sales on eBay UK in our price ledger since 8 June 2022.
- about 3,079 new used PC and part listings a day on eBay UK, Gumtree, Vinted and Facebook Marketplace.
- 869 listings in the last 30 days priced at least £30 under what their parts sell for, after costs; median gap £84.
- of the 206 we tracked, 90% were gone within an hour and 59% within 10 minutes.
1. Find listings priced under their parts
Most underpriced PCs are listed by people who want them gone, not by traders: a gaming PC sold after an upgrade, a house clearance, a "just want it gone" Gumtree post. In the UK they appear on eBay (about 1,907 new used PC and part listings a day in the categories we watch), Gumtree (about 236 a day), Vinted (about 501 desktop PCs and graphics cards a day) and Facebook Marketplace. See where to buy used PCs cheap in the UK.
2. Value it part by part, from sold prices
Never value a PC from asking prices or from one average for "gaming PC". Split it into its CPU, graphics card, memory, storage, motherboard and power supply and price each one at what it actually sold for used. Typical medians right now:
| Used part | Median eBay UK sold price |
|---|---|
| RTX 3060 12GB | £260 |
| RTX 3070 | £245 |
| RTX 3080 | £333 |
| RTX 4060 | £249 |
| RTX 4070 | £475 |
| RX 6700 XT | £282 |
| Ryzen 5 5600X | £101 |
| i5-12400F | £90 |
| 16GB DDR4 | £55 |
| 1TB NVMe | £94 |
From PathAu's ledger of sold listings, updated 27 October 2026. Every model: used PC part prices.
Step by step: how to value a used gaming PC.
3. Take your costs off
Since October 2024 private sellers on eBay UK pay no final value fee; business sellers pay a percentage of the sale that depends on the category, plus a small fixed fee per order. Postage for a whole PC is typically £10–20 with a courier, parts less. Selling locally for cash on Gumtree or Facebook has no fees and no postage, but takes longer. Keep a small reserve for returns and for parts that turn out faulty.
4. Be fast
Speed matters more than anything else: of the underpriced listings we tracked in the last 30 days, 90% were gone within an hour and 59% within 10 minutes. Good deals are found by many people at once, so checking eBay by hand a few times a day mostly shows what is left after others have bought.
5. Avoid the traps
- Too cheap to be true: an RTX 4090 at 40% of its price is usually a scam, a box or a photo of the item.
- Missing parts: "no RAM", "no SSD" or "no GPU" in the description changes the value completely.
- Faulty or "spares": higher margin, higher risk — price the parts you can verify.
- New sellers: on eBay, a seller with fewer than 5 reviews selling a high-end PC deserves extra checks.
6. Mind tax
Buying to resell for profit is trading. Under £1,000 a year of trading income the trading allowance usually covers it; above that you register for Self Assessment. Details: tax on reselling PCs and electronics in the UK.
Questions
Is PC flipping still profitable in the UK?
There are still underpriced listings: in the last 30 days PathAu found 869 used PCs and parts on UK marketplaces priced at least £30 under their parts value after costs, with a median gap of £84. They go fast and not every deal works out, so treat these as estimates, not promises.
Where do people find cheap used PCs in the UK?
Mostly on eBay UK (Buy It Now and Best Offer listings), Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace and Vinted, usually from private sellers who price the whole machine without checking what its parts sell for.
How do you know if a used PC is a good deal?
Price each part at its median used sold price — CPU, graphics card, RAM, storage, motherboard, power supply — add them up and compare with the asking price after your fees and postage.
Do you pay tax on flipping PCs in the UK?
Buying to resell is trading. The £1,000 trading allowance usually covers small amounts; above it you register for Self Assessment. Check gov.uk or an accountant for your case.