I feel like all these hardware shortages will supercharge 2nd hand electronics and their refurbishing from repair specialists.

For many years I had been advocating for Linux distros to optimize for lower spec machines as their life times got extended. Best case, you head off potential hardware end of life, worst case you allow newer hardware to run more effciebtly. The latest shortage I didnt see coming, but it would have helped out regardless. Keeping old hardware going is vital nowadays, need to end the mind set of disposable goods.

Might even bring back some value to those _westerners_ who are still hooked into the nostalgic scene -- have you made a trip to Akihabara district lately?

2nd hand is up massively already. Built a ssd nas with eBay parts in mid 2025 and everything is up 100ish percent