How to Sell a Broken Monitor

A broken monitor is still worth selling — typically £10 to £55 at For Parts, against £40 to £220 in working order.

Can you sell a monitor 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 monitors

These are the faults that move a monitor down the grades, and the first things a buyer will ask about:

Dead or stuck pixels, which buyers check first
Backlight bleed visible on dark screens
Missing stand, which is model-specific and awkward to replace
Older low-resolution panels

Grading it honestly

Fair covers something heavily used, or with a described fault or missing part: around £18 to £99. For Parts covers something not working or incomplete, sold as seen: roughly £10 to £55. 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:

Display a full-screen black and a full-screen white image to find pixel faults
Note the exact resolution, refresh rate and panel size
Check the stand and all 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 monitor on, displaying a normal image, straight on
Full-screen white and full-screen black, evidencing the panel
The rear label with model number
The stand, cables and any bezel or screen mark

What to state in the listing

Alongside the fault itself, buyers of broken monitors want these confirmed:

Screen size, resolution, refresh rate and panel type
Available inputs: HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, USB-C
Whether the stand and correct cable are included, and VESA compatibility
Dead pixel count and any backlight bleed

Size, resolution and panel: “24in 1080p IPS Monitor, 75Hz, HDMI and DisplayPort”. Size and resolution are the primary filters. Say which inputs it has, since a buyer with a specific machine needs the right port.

What buyers will ask

Answer these in the listing rather than waiting to be asked:

“Are there dead pixels?”

Cycle solid colours and photograph. Offering that evidence unprompted separates your listing from most others.

“What inputs does it have?”

List them. A buyer with a USB-C laptop or an older machine needs to know the ports before travelling.

“Is the stand included?”

Confirm the stand and its screws. Replacements are model-specific and awkward to source.

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:

High refresh rates, which gaming buyers pay a premium for
Higher resolutions and larger panel sizes
A panel with no dead pixels or backlight bleed
Original stand, power lead and video cables

If the work would cost more than the gap between £55 and what a sound one fetches, sell it as is broken and let the buyer decide.

When to list it

Steady with lifts in September and before Christmas. Larger and higher-resolution panels sell fastest.

Getting it to the buyer

Fragile without the original box. Collection with the monitor powered on is the safer route for both sides.

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 monitor selling guide if yours turns out to be sound.

Frequently asked questions

Is a broken monitor worth anything?

Yes — typically £10 to £55 at For Parts against £40 to £220 working. Repairers and people harvesting one component buy deliberately at this end. Dead or stuck pixels, which buyers check first

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 high refresh rates, which gaming buyers pay a premium for and a repair rarely restores those.

What do buyers ask about a faulty monitor?

The fault itself, in detail. Cycle solid colours and photograph. Offering that evidence unprompted separates your listing from most others. The listing that answers it before being asked is the one that sells.