Changed my mind about thrift store electronics after one guy at the Goodwill in Austin

I used to skip the electronics section entirely at thrift stores. Just figured everything was broken or outdated junk. Then last Saturday at the Goodwill on Burnet Road, this older guy was digging through a bin of cables and old routers. He pulled out a beat-up Brother laser printer, plugged it in right there at the outlet, printed a test page perfectly, and handed it to me with a smile. He said 'this one retails for $200 new, and it's twelve bucks.' I bought it on the spot and it's been running solid for two weeks now. Who else has had luck with thrifted tech?

2 comments

2 Comments

grace_gonzalez4620d ago

Brought home a thrifted scanner from a Salvation Army in Houston last month for seven bucks. Figured it would be a dud but it connected instantly and my old photos came out crisp. I think people underestimate how much electronics get donated because someone just upgraded, not because they stopped working. That Brother printer story is exactly the kind of find that makes the hunt worth it. You really have to be willing to test stuff on the spot though, half the time the employees don't care if you plug things in. What other brands have you seen hold up well after years of use?

jade_johnson20d ago

Took a chance on an old Canon all-in-one from Goodwill a couple years back for ten bucks. Thing prints, scans, copies like it's brand new. People sleep on Canon hardware from like 2012-2015 era because they think anything that old won't work with modern computers. But that's the secret, most of those old drivers are STILL supported. Also saw an HP LaserJet 1018 at a thrift once, those things are basically indestructible tanks. The key is avoiding the cheap plastic consumer stuff and grabbing the ones that look like they belonged in an office back in the day.