Can you sell a projector that does not work?
Yes. Repairers, people replacing one component and buyers who want a project all shop deliberately at this end. None of them will accept a fault they discover after paying.
What actually goes wrong with projectors
These are the faults that move a projector down the grades, and the first things a buyer will ask about:
- High lamp hours near end of life
- Dust inside the light path showing as spots
- Missing remotes, which are often proprietary
- Dead pixels on the imaging panel
Grading it honestly
Fair covers something heavily used, or with a described fault or missing part: around £22 to £135. For Parts covers something not working or incomplete, sold as seen: roughly £12 to £75. Grades are seller-declared and nobody inspects them for you, so grading up does not raise what you get — it produces a buyer who arrives expecting something else. All five grades explained.
Working out what you actually have
Establish the fault properly rather than guessing at it:
- Find the lamp hour counter in the menu and state it
- Project a plain white image to reveal dust and dead pixels
- Confirm the remote and cables are present
Photographing the fault
Photograph the damage directly and in focus — it is the evidence that the rest of the description is honest:
- The projector from the front, lens visible
- The menu screen showing lamp hours
- A projected white image on a wall, showing any spots or banding
- The ports, remote and any cables or bag included
What to state in the listing
Alongside the fault itself, buyers of broken projectors want these confirmed:
- Native resolution and supported maximum, stated separately
- Brightness in lumens and contrast ratio
- Lamp hours used and the rated lamp life
- Ports available, and whether the remote, cables and bag are included
Resolution, brightness and lamp: “Epson 1080p Projector, 3000 Lumens, 800 Lamp Hours Used”. Lamp hours in the title is unusual and immediately credible. State native resolution rather than the supported maximum, which is how projectors are commonly oversold.
What buyers will ask
Answer these in the listing rather than waiting to be asked:
Read it from the menu and photograph the screen. Replacement lamps are expensive, so this figure sets the price.
Give the panel’s actual resolution, not the maximum input it accepts. Many projectors accept 1080p and display far less.
Say so. Projector menus are difficult to navigate without the remote and replacements are model-specific.
Is it worth repairing first?
Usually not, unless it is cheap and you can evidence it. What lifts the price is condition and completeness, which a repair rarely restores:
- Low lamp hours with the counter shown
- LED and laser light sources, which last far longer
- Higher resolutions and brightness ratings
- Original remote, cables and ceiling mount
If the work would cost more than the gap between £75 and what a sound one fetches, sell it as is broken and let the buyer decide.
When to list it
Lifts before Christmas and in summer for outdoor viewing. Bright, genuine 1080p and 4K models sell fastest.
Getting it to the buyer
Reasonably robust but the lens needs protecting. Use the original bag if you have one, and never post with a hot lamp recently used.
WishThrift does not process payments, arrange delivery or hold funds. Confirm the money has cleared before the item leaves your hands, and keep the conversation on the site so there is a record of what was agreed.
Ready to list it? Free to list, no commission, and neither side pays a buyer-protection fee — create a free account, or read the full projector selling guide if yours turns out to be sound.
Frequently asked questions
Is a broken projector worth anything?
Yes — typically £12 to £75 at For Parts against £50 to £300 working. Repairers and people harvesting one component buy deliberately at this end. High lamp hours near end of life
Should I repair it before selling?
Usually not, unless the repair is cheap and you can evidence it. The things that genuinely lift the price are low lamp hours with the counter shown and a repair rarely restores those.
What do buyers ask about a faulty projector?
The fault itself, in detail. Read it from the menu and photograph the screen. Replacement lamps are expensive, so this figure sets the price. The listing that answers it before being asked is the one that sells.
See also: what projector is worth by condition · how to sell projector · condition grades explained · all broken & damaged guides · all selling guides.