[kristopolous]

I think the reason is that, on laptops, the cosmetic has such a high correlation with what you can expect wrong with the device - people don't take their laptops in for "body work".

Also these devices in the second-hand market are probably 80+% < $1,000 and let's be real - getting a bad $400 computer is kinda whatever in the dramas of life. Just get another.

(I've sold about 5k things on ebay btw).

[bigfatkitten]

This is true for normal business and consumer laptops, but rugged machines (eg Panasonic Toughbooks) often go to the surplus market after living very hard lives. There is a thriving “refurbishment” industry putting lipstick on these pigs.

If you see a Toughbook on eBay that has been painted black, for example, that was done to hide the battle damage.