9 easy ways to sell an old Surface PC so you can buy a new one

Microsoft is always looking to improve their Surface line, the latest being the Microsoft Surface Book 2. With each new Surface, many people are wondering how they can offload their old device in order to make room (and funds) for a new one. I have some good news! Surface devices are built exceptionally well and hold onto their value for quite some time.

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Here are the best places you can sell your old Surface before the new one arrives.

Selling your old Microsoft Surface

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Surface Book 2 (Image credit: Windows Central)

There are a number of great spots where you can sell your old Surface device to make room and money for a new one.

Craigslist

Craigslist is a great way to sell your Surface locally. All you need to do is check a few boxes to specify what you're selling, fill in a few fields detailing your Surface, and upload a picture (optional but recommended).

You set the price so you can be happy with what you're getting, but you also have to deal with meeting up with someone to exchange goods. Make sure it's in a public place because Craigslist has a worse scammer reputation than the Canadian equivalent, Kijiji.

Sell your Surface with Craigslist{.cta .large}

Facebook Marketplace

The great thing about Facebook Marketplace is that you get some free advertising directed at all the people on your Friends list and beyond. You can also see — in most cases — who you're dealing with by visiting their profile. This doesn't entirely remove the scam aspect, but it will likely make you a bit more comfortable when meeting up.

It's only available in certain regions, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, however. Everyone else is out of luck. Still, it's a great way to have your Surface seen by a lot of people, and it's free to use.

Sell your Surface with Facebook Market{.cta .large}

letgo

If you have an iPhone or Android and are located in the U.S., letgo is a stylish way to go about your business. It features ads with a bit of writing and a large image, so you definitely want to take some nice shots of your Surface. Potential buyers just enter a keyword and their address, and they're shown a selection of options that match.

It's a lot like Kijiji and Craigslist but with more of a hipster vibe. There are no fees to pay, but you can choose to upgrade your ads to be more attractive for a small price.

Sell your Surface with letgo

Swappa

Want to expand past your local marketplace? No problem with Swappa. Sellers choose the item they're listing, create an account, and fill in the information required to sell. There is a graph that shows how much these devices have sold for on the site over the last six months, and it will even tell you when you should sell.

There is a set list of conditions that your device must meet before it can be sold, which also gives the buyer more confidence. If the device doesn't meet expectations, PayPal's protection should handle it. Sales go through PayPal, and it takes a certain, small cut.

Swappa doesn't charge sellers but featured listings can be purchased for a small fee. If you aren't having any luck selling in your neighborhood, check out Swappa.

See your Surface with Swappa (opens in new tab)

eBay

The online auction giant eBay has been around for quite awhile, and it's a proven method of selling your stuff. It gets tons of traffic and the auction aspect of it can be exciting, but there are often some hefty fees (opens in new tab) that will come out of your own pocket after selling.

There are plenty of return policy options to make the buyer feel more comfortable, but as long as you advertise honestly, the sale should go smoothly. If you don't mind the fees or the auction format, eBay is a great way to get a lot of eyes on your Surface.

See your Surface with eBay (opens in new tab)

Amazon

Amazon is another giant when it comes to online sales, so you're pretty much guaranteed to have traffic flowing past your Surface listing. You have to pay fees to use Amazon, but setting up a listing is about as easy as possible, and you get to set your own price.

The return policy that Amazon employs for third-party sellers might be a bit too much for some. You must either provide a return address, a pre-paid return label, or you must be ready to give a full refund. Don't mind any of those options? Amazon lets you get rid of that old Surface without much heavy lifting.

Sell your Surface with Amazon (opens in new tab)

NextWorth

NextWorth operates a bit differently than the other options here. It's more of a virtual pawn shop than a place where you can create a listing. You search for the device you want to sell, answer some questions about the quality of the device, and get a quote for how much NextWorth will pay you for the device.

If you accept, you can receive a payment through PayPal before you ship (NextWorth pays) your Surface away. The only downside here is that you might not get the price you want, just like a real pawn shop. An unblemished Surface Pro 4 with an Intel Core i7 processor was quoted at about $190.

Sell your Surface with NextWorth

Windows Central Marketplace

The Windows Central community is full of avid Microsoft users, meaning there are plenty of Surface devices for sale and for trade. All you have to do is follow the guidelines while posting, and your device should get a bunch of eyes on it.

If you'd like to keep the sale in-house, our Marketplace is full of honest buyers, sellers, and traders.

Sell your Surface with the Windows Central Marketplace

Windows Store Recycle for Rewards program

If you're lucky enough to have a physical Microsoft Store near you, you might be able to take advantage of the Recycle for Rewards program. You essentially take your old Surface device (or really any device) into the store, a member of the staff examines it, and you get a store credit that can be applied to a new Surface.

Any devices that no longer retain any value can be left behind to be properly recycled. Mother Nature appreciates it!

Find a physical Microsoft Store near you (opens in new tab)

Where can you buy a new Surface device?

Don't forget, any of the selling methods listed above can also be used to pick up a used Surface. However, if you want a new device, the Microsoft Store is still the best place to shop.

See the Surface lineup at the Microsoft Store (opens in new tab)

Updated January 15, 2018: This list has been refreshed to ensure you're still getting the absolute best ways to sell your old Surface device.

Cale Hunt
Senior Editor, Laptop Reviews

Cale Hunt is formerly a Senior Editor at Windows Central. He focuses mainly on laptop reviews, news, and accessory coverage. He's been reviewing laptops and accessories full-time since 2016, with hundreds of reviews published for Windows Central. He is an avid PC gamer and multi-platform user, and spends most of his time either tinkering with or writing about tech.

33 Comments
  • Or get a 3 year warranty covering accidental damage, have an accident and get sent a cheque for the original amount plus outstanding pro rata left of the warranty. Repeat 😎
  • Don't forget in Canada there's also http://www.kijiji.ca/
  • Good info I might buy a used one myself
  • Not on your life.  Whether I get a new Surface Pro or the Eve, I'm keeping my still-awesome SP3 as a spare.
  • Won't be doing this for at least another year, the new Surface Pro just isn't worth the upgrade to my Surface Pro 2 with it lacking Thunderbolt 3...
  • Whatever!
  • Oh boy..if you are waiting for Thunderbolt you may be waiting a while. But TRUST me, the difference between the SP2 and SP3/4/(5) are well worth the upgrade. The weight, thinness, heat dissipation, pen, screen, battery life..its all better bro. When you finally do make the leap you'll be mad you waited so long.
  • Lol, patience must be a God sent gift. Had no problem keeping a 2008 HP Laptop till 2014 (where the Surface Pro 2 fully replaced it). Won't have any problem waiting even longer until a worthy upgrade appears, all those little improvements here are there will merely be icing on the cake when the worthy upgrade appears...
  • This Pro is SO worthy an upgrade. The only reason they seem small, although they are NOT, is that the device was almost perfect. How can much better battery, better chip, slimmer, lighter, much better pen and screen and new typecovers be considered small??????
  • They bring no new usage for me in the tool, merely incremental improvements in what's already possible. Albeit Windows hello and integrated LTE are exceptions to that, but not enough IMO, especially when I got access to them via simple USB accessories on my Surface Pro 2. With a Thunderbolt 3 port, the Surface Pro becomes a high-end Desktop replacement when docked with a Desktop GPU, further expanding in its versatility. I buy my tools to make use of them, not merely for the version numbers. Only upgrade when there's significantly added use.
  • Blah blah blah...
  • I understand your desire for thunderbolt 3, but that is a small upgrade compared to many of the other improvements already done to the Surface line.
  • That upgrade significantly expands the versatility of the device, that's a bigger upgrade IMO vs improved components.
  • Yep 🤓😀
  • SP2 to SP4 is a BIG jump up.  The screen dimension itself is worth it.  Much thinner, kick stand, windows hello.  Its a different beast.
  • Bigger screen ain't enough for me, and it brings no added use, already got that via a second display to which I extend my Surface Pro 2. Thinner/lighter, fortunately, I wasn't born with spaghetti hands, the Surface Pro 2 is light enough for me as a Tablet. Windows Hello is the added use in the SP4, and that's not enough to justify an upgrade for me. Especially when I got that on my Surface Pro 2 via a mini USB dongle. Don't get me wrong, it's a great new version of the hardware, just not enough added use to make it worth the upgrade. Again, I buy my tools to make use of them, not merely for the version numbers. Only upgrade when there's significantly added use.
  • Sounds like you need a mini pc.
  • Get an Intel Skull Canyon NUC.  They're upgradable with Thunderbolt 3 external displays, faster SSD's are available between 500MB/s to 2.5GB/s, and max out at 32GB of DDR4 RAM.
  • Heh, patience for MS fans is essential, I like your style. I kept with Win2K and skipped WinXP completely. That was quite a wait. Still, when you do decide to sell, just stick an Apple logo on the thing. They'll be queuing outside your house to buy.
  • I dunno man, the CPU/iGPU itself is a tremendous improvement over the Haswell in the SP2. And anyway, I advise against the SP5 anyway due to still being dual core. It's not worth it anymore.
  • I like how this article is about the Surface, but really, can relate to any device.  I've considered selling a few things on these different places.  I was impressed by Swappa, though.  It didn't feel as large as Amazon or eBay.
  • MS store offers trade in too.
  • True. Rather give my console back to ms
  • Best Buy does trade-ins as well. They pay in Best Buy gift cards, but it wouldn't be out of line to buy the new Surface there.
  • How much would a SP3 i5/8gb in very good condition with typecover and pen sell for?
  • Are you talking dollars?
  • Yep, USD or AUD.
  • $300 maybe.
  • I think its time go upgrade to surface pro 5!
  • That Surface Pro 4 i7 w 256GB SSD sounds like a steal at 280.  That's ridiculous they offer so little.
  • microsoft is the bestoption so youll know your files are safe. i hear thjey can still be extracted even after u reformatted ur pc.
  • Anybody know of a way or a company that can anondize or color the surface book to black ?
  • I'm kinda heartbroken that my SP4 started exhibiting a flickering screen and it costs 800 euros to repair. And Microsoft *never* acknowledged this issue officially.