Guide · Buying used tech

How to check a used monitor

How to test a second-hand monitor: dead pixels, backlight bleed, flicker, ports, stand and cables. A short checklist for buyers on Bids Kenya.

A monitor is simple, which makes problems easy to find if you know what to look for. Most faults show up in the first five minutes.

What to look for in the listing

A photo of the screen switched on, ideally showing a plain colour.
Size, resolution, panel type if known, and the ports it has (HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA).
Whether the stand and the power and video cables are included.
Any scratches, marks or yellowing, shown in a photo.

Tests when it arrives

Dead and stuck pixels: show full-screen white, black, red, green and blue in turn and look for dots that stay the wrong colour.
Backlight bleed: in a dark room on a black screen, look for bright patches at the edges.
Flicker: look at it at low brightness, and take a phone photo of it. Visible bands can mean a flicker problem.
Colour and uniformity: a grey screen should look even across the panel.
Controls and ports: test the buttons, the menu, and each input you plan to use.
Stand: check it holds the angle and height you set.

How checking works on Bids Kenya

You cannot hold the item before you bid, so use what you can: the photos, the condition description and the seller’s answers. Once you win, you can ask the seller for extra photos or a short video before you pay the balance.

You pay the balance to Bids Kenya, not to the seller. After the item arrives, test it before you tap “I have received the item”. The seller is paid only after you confirm, and if something is wrong you can report a problem from your order first.