As PC parts like RAM proceed to be devoured up by AI hyperscalers, resulting in increased costs and restricted provides, a big electronics retailer in Japan is working out of computer systems and components and is asking its clients to please promote them some previous PCs.
It has turn into costlier to construct or improve a PC over the previous couple of months. An enormous motive for that’s AI-focused tech corporations gobbling up PC components to construct huge information facilities. It’s turning into fairly expensive and difficult on your common individual to purchase PC RAM and graphics playing cards, as corporations like Micron cease promoting to shoppers and focus increasingly on large corporations that purchase in bulk. Prebuilt PCs from corporations like HP, Dell, and Asus will possible see a worth improve of 15 to twenty % as nicely, in keeping with PC World. All of this, plus tariffs inflicting different issues, has led to fewer PC components and computer systems on cabinets in some shops, forcing one store to beg individuals to promote them some {hardware}.
ゲーミングPC、中古も本当に在庫なくて今これ
あの、お願いなので買い替えたらぜひ弊社にゲーミングPCを売ってください…結構高く買い取っていますので…ゲーミングのデスクでもノートでも、もちろんゲーミングじゃない普通のでもPCなら大体買い取っているので… pic.twitter.com/IinBuGgRV7
— ソフマップゲーミング (@sofmap_gaming) January 7, 2026
On January 7, as noticed by PC-Watch and Tom’s {Hardware}, Sofmap Gaming, a big electronics store within the Akihabara district of Tokyo, posted a considerably desperate-sounding plea. Right here’s the tweet textual content through machine translation:
“Um, as a favor, if you happen to purchase a brand new PC, please promote your gaming PC to our firm. We purchase them again at fairly excessive costs. Whether or not it’s a gaming desk or a laptop computer, or perhaps a common non-gaming one, we just about purchase any PC.”
Connected to the tweet was a photograph of what seems to be a principally empty shelf inside Sofmap Gaming with just a few PCs and screens left. “Gaming PCs, even used ones, are actually out of inventory proper now. That is it,” claimed Sofmap Gaming. The account can also be replying to just about each person who responds with questions on what they will promote and the way a lot it is perhaps price.
With some specialists saying the continuing demand for reminiscence and different PC parts, like GPUs, will probably be an issue for 2026 and even 2027, it is perhaps a very good time to start out trying round your home to see what random bits of {hardware} you will have mendacity round someplace gathering mud. If the components aren’t too previous, they is perhaps price a fairly penny quickly.
