The era of buying cheap used laptops is over.

The computer market at the beginning of 2026 is witnessing an unprecedented paradox: RAM and hard drives are more expensive than complete computers, contributing to difficulties in the used computer market.

Companies are stripping RAM and hard drives from old laptops to sell for profit, preventing affordable refurbished products from reaching consumers. Photo: OpenEdu .

In a recent announcement, Andy Harding, owner of the popular tech YouTube channel Salem Techsperts, officially stated that he will cease his business selling refurbished, low-cost laptops. This is not just the story of an individual, but a reflection of the harsh realities of the global technology supply chain starting in late 2025.

The main reason for the collapse of the used laptop business model is the skyrocketing price of RAM and storage. According to Harding , the current price of a DDR5 RAM stick or NVMe hard drive is even higher than the advertising revenue from a million-view YouTube video .

This situation has created a strange phenomenon. Instead of selling complete used computers, suppliers are opting to dismantle them for parts. A business laptop from a company, when discarded, will have its RAM and hard drive completely removed and sold separately for significantly higher profit margins.

What's left for the repair technicians are just "lifeless corpses" consisting of the casing, screen, and motherboard.

Andy Harding and many other laptop repair technicians are being pushed to the brink of losing their jobs due to the memory crisis. Photo: YouTube.

When refurbishers have to purchase additional components to fully assemble a machine, the total cost often exceeds the price consumers are willing to pay.

"We're in an extremely bad position where the internal components are more expensive than the laptop itself," shared Salem Techsperts, the channel owner.

For many years, savvy consumers have often sought out older business laptop lines (such as ThinkPad or Dell Precision) due to their durability and ease of upgradeability.

However, this price surge is forcing the market to shift towards devices with RAM and hard drives soldered directly onto the motherboard, like Macbooks – a type of device often criticized by the tech industry as "disposable."

Using fixed-soldering devices reduces manufacturing costs and input prices, but deprives users of the right to repair components.

When an 8GB RAM stick (the minimum requirement for Windows 11) malfunctions or becomes outdated, users are forced to discard the entire machine instead of spending just a few tens of dollars to upgrade. This inadvertently turns electronic waste into a huge burden on the environment.

Not only are used appliance sellers struggling, but small repair shops are also on the verge of bankruptcy. With soaring component prices, the cost of repairing even a minor issue can shock customers.

The computer repair industry has always faced accusations of overcharging customers. Now, honest technicians are in an even more difficult position as skyrocketing component prices continue to erode the reputation they have worked so hard to build.

According to the YouTuber, this supply-demand crisis is not confined to one country but is spreading globally. In areas not yet affected, experts warn that this is only a temporary delay in demand. Once the old supply runs out, the "components are more expensive than the machines" scenario will repeat itself everywhere.

The withdrawal of dedicated companies like Salem Techsperts is an alarming sign. When the market is dominated by irreparable devices and component prices are out of control, the ultimate losers are the consumers.

Source: https://znews.vn/hoi-ket-cho-laptop-cu-gia-re-post1620976.html