While eBay is a great place to find all sorts of items, from clothes and collectibles to used electronics. However, it’s not typically the first place you’d think of when buying new computer hardware. Nevertheless, I took the plunge. Here’s how it went.
Why I Bought the Hardware on eBay from a Seller in China
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re from the US. This means you have access to affordable computer hardware that you can buy on a host of different sites, such as Amazon, Newegg, and Micro Center.
Unfortunately, I live in Europe, where hardware tends to be a bit pricier than in the US due to taxes and import duties. Being a bargain hunter, I’m always looking for ways to save money. By the way, that’s how I ended up buying an AMD Ryzen 7 7700 on AliExpress, fully aware that I probably won’t be getting a warranty on the $200 piece of hardware.
I figured I’d try doing the same with memory and storage. Since AliExpress didn’t have any good deals, I turned to eBay instead, which has a surprisingly large selection of new hardware from sellers across the globe.
Aside from Newegg’s official eBay store (which has expensive shipping for my location), most of the RAM and NVMe listings with good prices were from unknown sellers from China. After some scrolling, I found a decent deal on a Crucial DDR5 32GB Kit and P3 Plus M.2 NVMe, and I pulled the trigger.
Crucial Pro Overclocking DDR5 RAM 32GB (2x16GB) 6000MHz CL36
The Crucial Pro Overclocking DDR5 RAM kit is an affordable, no-frills option that delivers exceptional performance across all tasks. Compatible with both Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO, the RAM works in any modern system at its rated speed.
It Arrived Surprisingly Well Packaged
When the package arrived after 15 days, I was immediately surprised by how robust the packaging was. Honestly, it looked like it could survive being dropped out of a plane—the RAM and NVMe were that well-protected.
The products came in genuine, factory-sealed Crucial packaging—identical to what you’d find in any retail store, complete with English text. This gave me high hopes for the actual hardware.
The RAM and NVMe Work Without Issue
After installing the components into my new PC, I was pleasantly surprised to see my system boot up immediately without any errors. The BIOS confirmed that my system had 32GB of RAM, and there was an EXPO preset that allowed me to run the RAM at the advertised speeds. Storage showed up as well, and the Windows 11 Installer instantly recognized the 2TB.
After setting up Windows, I installed CPU-Z and confirmed that the RAM ran at 6000MHz with a CAS latency of 36. That further confirmed that it was a standard set of Crucial Pro Overclocking RAM, and not a defective unit that had slipped through quality control and found its way onto the gray market.
It’s actually been a couple of months since I bought this RAM and NVMe, and I’m happy to report that everything still works exactly as expected. I’ve been gaming and working on this PC for eight to ten hours a day, and the NVMe is filled to the brim with games, and it still hasn’t slowed down.
Was eBay Worth the Hassle?
For me, buying on eBay was worth it. The prices I paid ($93 for the RAM, $128 for the NVMe) weren’t mind-blowing, but the hardware was still cheaper than buying locally.
I saved around $15 on the RAM, another $20 on the NVMe, and another $7 on shipping. That $42 of savings is a decent chunk of change—enough for a new set of keyboard keycaps and switches, a lightweight gaming mouse, or a couple of extra case fans.
However, if you’re lucky enough to have access to major online retailers like Amazon, eBay might not actually be worth it. If the price difference is only a few bucks, you’re probably better off buying from a store that guarantees purchase protection and a warranty.
In some cases, you can even get a worse deal on eBay. For example, the same NVMe that I bought for $128 is currently listed for $121.99 on Amazon, and the RAM is only about $2 more expensive. Plus, they frequently go on sale, so you can get them for even cheaper.
That said, eBay is still a good option for finding used computer hardware or tracking down very specific products.
For instance, I recently upgraded my laptop’s RAM, and I needed to get the same SK Hynix DDR4 module to ensure dual-channel memory support. After my positive experience buying RAM and the NVMe for my PC, eBay was the obvious choice for laptop RAM as well, which resulted in yet another successful purchase.
