Fixed a game console at a garage sale and got a surprise tip

I was at a neighborhood garage sale over on Maple Street last Saturday and saw an old Xbox One just sitting there with a 'broken' sign for $10. The lady said it wouldn't turn on at all. I figured it might just be a dead power supply or a loose internal cable, so I bought it on a whim. Got it home, cracked it open, and found a swollen capacitor on the motherboard that was causing a short. I replaced it with a spare from my parts bin, and the thing fired right up like new. I took it back to her house to show her it worked and she insisted on giving me $40 for my trouble. Now I'm thinking about hitting up more garage sales for broken electronics. Has anyone else found gold like that at a random sale?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscarh161mo ago

Scored a $500 espresso machine for $20 at a yard sale once.

milap351mo ago

That $20 espresso machine, was it just sitting out in plain sight or did you have to dig through a pile of junk to find it? I always wonder how people miss stuff like that. Like, did the seller not bother looking up what it was worth or did they just not care? I've seen too many yard sale prices where people ask almost new price for broken crap. You got lucky if it actually works without needing a major repair. Those things can be finicky even when they're new.