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 | £300 (~$400) | Unused, tags or seals intact |
| Like New | £255 (~$340) | Barely used, no visible wear |
| Good | £195 (~$260) | Light signs of use, complete and working |
| Fair | £135 (~$180) | Heavily used, or a described fault or missing part |
| For Parts | £75 (~$100) | 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 projector is worth what is being asked:
- 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
And the things worth paying more for, because they hold their value:
- 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
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 projector, and the answers tell you most of what you need:
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.
Also worth establishing before you commit:
- 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
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 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
Details to confirm before you commit
- 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
Live projector 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
Lifts before Christmas and in summer for outdoor viewing. Bright, genuine 1080p and 4K models sell fastest.
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 projector 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 projector for what to photograph and how to price, or what projector is worth at each condition grade.
Frequently asked questions
What should I pay for a used projector?
Around £32 to £195 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 projector before buying?
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.
Is buying a projector 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.
See also: all buying guides · projector value guide · selling projector · Electronics · condition grades.