RULES AT A GLANCE
Eligible + acceptable condition
CPUWindows: Intel 10th gen+ or verified equivalent.
RAMFixed 8 GB: pass. Other 8 GB: prove upgrade slot.
AllowedCleanable marks / residue; minor outer-lid scratches.
Not allowedPermanent damage elsewhere; deep gouges, cracks, faults or missing parts.
ChromeOS → Pass. Includes Chromebooks and Chromeboxes.
Evidence determines the status
Confirmed breachExclude. Name the part, defect and source.
Unclear evidenceReview. No invented damage or assumed pass.
No current breachCandidate. Physical checks still pending.
Before buying: verify identity, RAM, battery / SSD, diagnostics, locks and keyboard. Then research price.
Full criteria & screening procedure
RESALE SCREENING · VERSION 5 · 8 OCTOBER 2026
Criteria, evidence and decision procedure
These rules apply to each laptop in both auctions. Description screening and the 324-lot queued gallery triage are complete. Detailed photo checks, variant conflicts and functional verification remain separately recorded. A pending step is never presented as a passed check.
1. Your acceptance criteria
- Seek resale opportunities across a range of models; no target purchase budget has been supplied.
- Accept removable labels, adhesive residue and cleanable marks on any surface, plus minor superficial scratches on the outer lid. These are cleaning or acceptable wear, not exclusion reasons. Reject deep gouges, coating loss, structural damage, permanent damage elsewhere, broken or missing device parts and hardware faults. Unclear scratch severity or possible permanent damage remains on hold; cosmetic and structural damage must be labelled separately.
- Exclude all ChromeOS devices, including Chromebook laptops, bundles and Chromebox desktops, regardless of their specifications or condition.
- Reject a confirmed 8 GB configuration when all memory is fixed or soldered and there is no upgrade slot. An 8 GB model with a manufacturer-verified usable upgrade slot can remain a candidate. Soldered memory of 16 GB or more is not excluded by this rule.
- Windows laptops must have Intel 10th-generation or newer processors, or a verified equivalent. Confirmed older Intel processors are excluded for CPU eligibility, separately from condition. AMD and other processors require model-specific equivalence evidence; branding and release year alone are insufficient. Conflicting CPU claims remain on hold until identity is resolved.
- Do not accept unresolved issues that could prevent reliable resale, including locks, uncertain identity or unverified advertised configuration.
- A missing charger is recorded as an accessory and later cost requirement, rather than proof of a broken laptop. A compatible charger must be sourced and tested before resale readiness can pass.
2. Precise decision rules
- Excluded
- A clear seller statement, an unambiguous full downloaded photo, or a verified model-specific memory specification establishes a breach of your criteria. Record the affected part, issue type, exact wording or photo number, and source. A seller-reported fault is labelled as reported, not independently tested.
- Needs verification
- The wording, photographs, model identity, memory layout or specification conflicts remain inconclusive. This is a hold, not a confirmed defect or an accepted laptop. I investigate available descriptions, full downloaded photos and manufacturer documentation first. Only cases that remain unresolved after that effort are left for your decision, with the specific uncertainty and work already done.
- Description candidate
- No exclusion or current hold was found in the description screening. This is provisional; it does not confirm pristine condition, unlocked status, battery health or profitability.
- Priority research candidates
- Individually reviewed lots with gallery triage, decisive full-photo inspection and manufacturer compatibility checks, without an established exclusion or specific unresolved condition hold. They may support provisional comparator research; battery, SSD, display diagnostics, locks and installed configuration still require evidence before buying.
- My shortlist
- Shared provisional selections. Saving here does not add Troostwijk favourites or place bids. A new finding can invalidate an earlier saved selection.
3. Screening sequence for every device
- Collect and preserve the listing. Keep the auction, lot ID, quantity, original title, description, attributes, remarks, photographs and source link. Separate bundles from individual devices and assess every device in a mixed bundle.
- Screen the description. Identify cosmetic wear, chassis or hinge damage, display defects, missing parts, keyboard and port faults, battery issues, locks and accessory omissions. Quote the actual evidence; do not infer a precise damaged part from vague wording.
- Match the exact variant. Cross-check title against description, labels, service tags and visible firmware or system screens. Flag impossible model/CPU combinations, RAM discrepancies and malformed CPU labels. Verify against official manufacturer documentation for that generation and variant. Preserve both conflicting claims; do not silently replace them.
- Apply Windows CPU eligibility. Require Intel 10th generation or newer, or verify equivalent capability for the exact alternative processor. Preserve conflicting listing claims and investigate the actual device before deciding.
- Apply the RAM rule. Check installed capacity, soldered memory, slot count, supported capacity and current slot occupancy separately. A model's ability to upgrade does not prove the installed modules or free-slot arrangement.
- Inspect the largest retrievable photos. Review every available view and zoom into corners, lid, base, hinges, bezels, screen, keys, trackpad, ports, screws, labels and charger. Download every photo locally before reviewing it. Seek omitted damage and evidence of repairs or missing parts. Distinguish scratches and dents from reflections, dust, adhesive residue and uncertain marks. Record decisive photo numbers and links. Missing views remain an evidence gap.
- Assess functional evidence. Look for credible tests of display pixels/backlight, keyboard, trackpad, ports, webcam, Wi-Fi, audio, charging and thermals, plus battery and SSD health. An off screen cannot establish display quality. A boot or setup photo does not establish full function. Seller “tested” wording is not a full diagnostic report.
- Check resale blockers. Review BIOS passwords, Activation Lock, MDM, Windows Autopilot and company enrolment, supported OS and licence, keyboard layout, serial labels and provenance. A setup screen alone does not prove account or management locks are cleared.
- Reconcile the decision. Apply only exclusions that breach the current acceptance criteria; do not exclude for cleanable marks or minor outer-lid scratches. Retain all other findings and uncertainties, and reassess the proposed group when new evidence appears. Do not remove a fault simply because it is absent from another part of the listing.
- Later: market research and hammer limit. The Planning and Auction Day modes share the same conditional limits and saved settings. After promising devices are identified, research comparable sold units for the verified configuration and condition. Account for auction charges, applicable taxes, collection, charger, upgrades, resale costs and desired margin. Current bids are snapshots, not valuations or safe hammer limits.
4. Evidence standards and limits
- Separate seller claims, direct photo observations, manufacturer facts, inference and unresolved questions. A clear seller-reported defect is sufficient to exclude under your rules, but remains labelled as a seller report.
- Give exclusions a concrete reason: cosmetic surface damage, chassis deformation/breakage, display issue, hardware fault, missing part, fixed 8 GB RAM or CPU eligibility. If the seller gives no location for cosmetic damage, say the location is unspecified.
- Use public Troostwijk lot pages for listing evidence and primary manufacturer manuals or specifications for model capabilities. Model-family facts apply only once the relevant generation/variant matches.
- Photographs can reveal damage; clean-looking photographs cannot guarantee absence of faults. No battery, SSD, lock or diagnostic pass is invented from appearance.
- Windows Intel processors below 10th generation are excluded under your CPU rule. All ChromeOS devices are excluded by platform preference. Unverified equivalent processors, Intel Macs and AZERTY layouts remain verification holds for eligibility, support or resale suitability; these holds do not establish damage.
- Investigation is owned by me. Your optional notes and confirmations remain separate from the catalogue findings. If only physical testing or missing seller evidence could resolve an issue, I explain that limitation before handing the decision to you.
Saved personal reviews
Pending review contains only remaining decisions after investigation. Saving provisional shortlist or pass removes a laptop from Review and puts it in Acceptable. Passed lots retain their Pass label; Acceptable is the shared saved-decision list. Shortlisted laptops appear in Acceptable with a Shortlist label. Notes, evidence checks, decisions and save times are stored in shared lists and restored across sessions. Updates to catalogue findings preserve these records. Provisional selection does not clear evidence gaps; confirmed exclusions cannot be shortlisted. The local preview and published website use separate stores.
Device details and cards show the same exclusion and verification categories used by the catalogue filters, including their evidence-based subcategories. Priority devices show their named batch and advertised ranking factors. These categories describe the decision; source quotations and photo observations remain below for evidence.
5. Current prioritisation procedure
Priority membership now requires explicit individual approval after evidence review. High advertised specifications never automatically replace withdrawn lots. Up to 12 reviewed single-device lots per auction may be grouped, with at most two similar model alternatives. The current ordering favours newer stated processors, more RAM (ranking capped at 32 GB), 512 GB/1 TB storage, mobile workstations and seller-stated testing. This is an investigation priority based on advertised specifications, not a profit forecast. Four initial priority lots have researched comparator records and conditional model limits. Exact auction fees and physical readiness remain gates; newly promoted lots require their own research.
All 1,024 laptop lot descriptions have been screened. Individual findings state which later checks are complete, unresolved or still pending. Rules and findings will be updated as investigation continues.
