Do you have old hardware lying around in a closet or a box? These things could be worth significantly more right now. Because prices for almost all components are reaching record highs, and even reselling can be worth it in some cases.
Those who upgrade their computers often stash the old parts in a box to possibly use them again as spare parts or for a second PC. An HDD is quickly replaced by a better SSD, and the HDD initially ends up in the closet, only being used as data storage at most.
All these components have been gaining value sharply for weeks. Many people may not even be aware of how much valuable hardware they have lying around at home that they might have forgotten about somewhere in a closet.
Prices for almost all technical components are rising
Why are the items worth more now? The AI hype is currently causing many manufacturers to shift their production to data centers. Additionally, data centers are buying hardware in large quantities, some manufacturers have already stated that they will be completely sold out by 2026.
Where is reselling worth it? Hard drives, RAM, and SSDs have all seen significant price increases. In some cases, the hardware today costs double or triple.
Just to demonstrate this with two examples:
- For a kit with 32 GB from G.Skill, you paid around 70 euros in September 2025 (via Geizhals.de). For the same kit, you pay about 200 euros today (March 2026). That’s an increase of 200% and sometimes even more.
- A user bought 1 TB of RAM and 20 TB of storage for around 1,200 euros a few months ago, today the hardware is worth over 8,000 euros. This alone shows how enormous the value for certain components has risen in just a few months.
If you still have old hardware at home that you definitely do not need, then reselling may be worth it. Such extreme price increases were last observed during the COVID pandemic, where scalpers resold Nvidia graphics cards for millions of dollars on eBay.
Some users are even buying 18-year-old hardware, including DDR3 RAM, to avoid the AI hype: Even here, prices are now rising significantly in some countries.
What should you keep?
- Complete systems that can still be used as a second PC, NAS, home server, or test machine.
- Anything that could be important as a reserve for you: such as spare RAM or a graphics card in case your current model breaks, as otherwise buying new could become very expensive.
- Small hard drives/SSDs with low capacity that might still be usable as backup media or for test systems. Here, reselling is not really worth it yet.
Therefore, do not randomly get rid of your hardware just because you can make a lot of money with it right now. Because in the end, you will still need the parts.
Cheap Chinese RAM was long regarded as a tip. Meanwhile, the chance for cheap RAM from China is over. Because even Chinese companies are increasingly focusing on memory for data centers. You can read more about it on MeinMMO: Chinese RAM was seen as hope by many gamers, but the chance is already gone after just a few weeks
