Buying a Used Computer Mouse: What to Check

A fair price for a computer mouse in good condition is around £5 to £29 (approximately $7 to $39), against £8 to £45 across the full condition range. Mice are cheap new, so only gaming and ergonomic models hold meaningful value, and the switches are what wear.

What a fair price looks like

Condition on WishThrift is described by the seller against five grades, and nobody inspects it on your behalf — so the description and the photographs are what you are buying on.

Condition	Typical	What it means
New with Tags	£45 (~$60)	Unused, tags or seals intact
Like New	£38 (~$51)	Barely used, no visible wear
Good	£29 (~$39)	Light signs of use, complete and working
Fair	£20 (~$27)	Heavily used, or a described fault or missing part
For Parts	£11 (~$15)	Not working or incomplete, sold as seen

Sterling guide ranges with an approximate US dollar equivalent at £1 ≈ $1.33 (July 2026). Sellers set their own asking price; these are a starting point for judging an offer. All five grades explained.

The checklist before you pay

An account lock is the single biggest one — a device still signed in to an iCloud, Google or Microsoft account cannot be reset and is effectively unusable. After that, battery health and undisclosed third-party repairs.

Run through these before money changes hands — they are the things that decide whether a computer mouse is worth what is being asked:

Double-clicking from worn switches
Peeling or sticky rubber grip coating
Worn PTFE feet
Generic office mice

And the things worth paying more for, because they hold their value:

Recognised gaming and ergonomic brands
Click switches with no double-clicking
Intact grip coating with no peeling
Wireless models with good battery life

Common faults and fakes

Outright counterfeits are rare outside accessories, where fake chargers and cables are a genuine fire risk. The commoner problem is a device described as working that has a fault the seller knows about.

Ask the seller to factory reset and remove their account BEFORE you pay, and to send a photograph of the settings screen showing it signed out. Ask for the exact model identifier and, on anything with a battery, the battery health figure.

WishThrift does not authenticate, inspect or grade anything, and no marketplace check replaces your own. If a seller will not answer a direct question about condition or origin, that is the answer.

Questions to ask the seller

These are the three that get asked most often about a computer mouse, and the answers tell you most of what you need:

“Does it double click?”

Test it properly and say. Switch failure causing double clicks is the standard end-of-life fault and buyers will find it within minutes.

“Is the dongle included?”

Confirm it. Many wireless mice use a proprietary receiver and are unusable without it, though some also support Bluetooth — say which.

“Is the coating peeling?”

Photograph the grip areas. Soft-touch coatings degrade into a sticky finish over time and it is unpleasant enough that buyers ask.

Also worth establishing before you commit:

Click each button repeatedly checking for double registers
Inspect the grip coating for peeling
Check the feet are intact

Photographs to ask for

If the listing does not already show these, ask — a seller who has the item will send them in minutes:

The mouse from above and the side
A click-test result showing no double clicks
The underside, showing the sensor and feet condition
The model label and cable or dongle, plus any worn coating

Details to confirm before you commit

Brand, model, and wired or wireless
Sensor type and DPI if it is a gaming mouse
Whether the dongle, cable or charging lead is included
That it has been tested for double-clicking, plus feet and coating condition

Live computer mouse listings

Nothing matching is listed at the moment. Browse electronics for what is live now, or everything on the site — stock changes daily and new listings are free to post, so it is worth checking back.

When to buy

Steady year round with a lift in September and January. Premium office and gaming mice sell within days; basic mice are worth very little.

Prices move against that cycle for a buyer: the cheapest time to buy is when sellers are listing most, not when demand peaks.

Paying and collecting safely

WishThrift does not process payments, hold funds or offer buyer protection — you agree the price and the method with the seller directly, which is what keeps the platform free on both sides. Meet somewhere public where you can, inspect before you pay, and keep the conversation on the site so there is a record of what was agreed. Be wary of any seller who wants to move the conversation elsewhere before you have agreed anything.

Selling one instead?

If you already have a computer mouse sitting unused, it is free to list and there is no commission — the price you agree is the amount you keep. Read how to sell computer mouse for what to photograph and how to price, or what computer mouse is worth at each condition grade.

Frequently asked questions

What should I pay for a used computer mouse?

Around £5 to £29 in good condition, more for barely-used examples and less for anything with a described fault. Compare against the seller’s photographs rather than the grade alone.

How do I check a computer mouse before buying?

Is buying a computer mouse second hand safe?

Yes, with the ordinary care any private sale needs. WishThrift does not authenticate, inspect or hold funds, so inspect before you pay where you can, meet somewhere public, and keep the conversation on the site. An account lock is the single biggest one — a device still signed in to an iCloud, Google or Microsoft account cannot be reset and is effectively unusable. After that, battery health and undisclosed third-party repairs.