‘Better than gold market’: Singapore used-laptop resellers profit from surging AI chip demand

A reseller using the alias James told The Straits Times he had long resold used laptops locally and overseas, but since late 2025 has begun buying them to dismantle for parts after clients requested only specific hardware components.

Each laptop yields a RAM chip for temporary data access and a solid state drive (SSD) for storage, which James sells at premium prices to a client in China, while the stripped laptops are exported at discounts to businesses in Indonesia.

Alex Capri, a senior lecturer from National University of Singapore Business School, said, "It’s not cheap to break down a laptop and extract a chip, so this would suggest that these items are in high demand and fetching good prices."

James said the business has been "very profitable." "This business is better than gold or the stock market," he said. "Gold prices and the stock market have dipped, but the prices of computer chips have not dipped."

A person fixes a laptop. Illustration photo from Pexels

Prices of PC components such as RAM chips have surged by as much as fourfold after major chipmakers shifted resources toward advanced semiconductors for data centers to capitalize on the AI boom rather than producing consumer-grade chips.

A report from Taiwan-based market watcher TrendForce said DRAM contract prices in the third quarter of 2025 jumped 171.8% year on year, while tech site TechSpot noted that the increase exceeded gains in gold prices over the same period.

Rapid advances in AI are also driving demand for newer laptops equipped with AI-capable hardware, with industry insiders reporting rising imports of used and refurbished devices into Singapore.

Sat Singh, managing director of Guru Electronics Singapore, said he has recently seen more orders from Asian markets, including Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka, for used devices sourced from the U.S. Another dealer said there was "more volume now to turn a profit" in the used-device market as profit margins for new devices have shrunk.

While the component shortage has benefited some resellers, consumers are facing higher prices. T. K. Lee, a technical manager at Bizgram Asia, said manufacturers are likely to pass on extra costs as RAM chip prices have risen by 300% to 400% in recent months "largely due to upstream supply constraints".

He added that prices of new laptops and desktops have increased by 50% to 100% on average and are expected to remain elevated.

Counterpoint Research associate director David Naranjo expects global PC shipments, including desktops and laptops, to decline by 5% to 8% this year, driven primarily by rising memory prices that could pressure service providers and dampen demand.

Madhan Kumar, owner of PC retailer and services provider Zalpha, said his long-time supplier has raised RAM chip prices more than fourfold, reducing his profits and driving customers away.

"We can’t make a profit. Customers don’t want to buy because of the price hike," he said. "We are waiting for prices to drop. Once prices drop, customers will come in again."