I love Roku as much as the next person, but even I have my limits. What I mean by that is that new Roku sticks, and even the Ultra, are frequently on sale, and you can regularly grab them for a low price. A Roku stick is probably the most budget-friendly streaming stick available, and if you’re a fan of the Roku interface, it’s almost a no-brainer.

Even one capable of streaming in 4K comes in at under $50, and that’s a steal. I understand being on a budget, so it’s nice to see Roku meet you here. It’s for that reason that I’d actually rule out ever buying a used Roku. I’d much rather spend the few extra dollars and get something straight from the manufacturer instead of rolling the dice and hoping the previous owner treated their stick nicely. The price is just far too low for me to justify buying used — something that doesn’t apply to other brands. For example, I picked up a used Apple TV 4K because I was able to save $100. That’s not the case with Roku.

4/5

Used Roku models aren’t worth it

Buying new is better here

I don’t want to sound like I’m being down on the used marketplace, because I’m not. I love buying used things. I bought a receiver, a TV, my Apple TV 4K, and countless other electronics from eBay. All of these things have arrived without an issue, and if you find a good price on something, I’d say you should pull the trigger. My hangup with Roku devices is that the good price doesn’t really ever come into fruition. Considering that you can find a Roku stick for as low as $20 new sometimes, what would that price have to be for it to be a good deal? Even if I could get a new stick for $10, I’d still rather get a new one for $20 just for peace of mind.

Shopping for used things comes with a lot of benefits, and I’d say price is the biggest one. With Roku sticks being priced as low as they already are, I’d say that the major selling point is effectively wiped out. When something is still in production, like a Roku Streaming Stick, it just makes more sense to buy it new. You know you’re getting something that works, something that can be covered by a warranty. It’d also be a bummer to get a device that’s still tied to the previous owner. That can be fixed with a factory reset, but it’s just an extra step that I’d rather avoid.

It gets even wilder when you browse around eBay and see people trying to sell decades-old models for $10. I understand wanting to get some type of value back, but when you can just get something modern for double that price, there’s no reason for anybody to buy something that old. Sadly, it does mean a lot of your old Roku devices, and streaming devices in general, become useless as time goes on. I’m sure some tech enthusiast out there can find some clever uses for your old Roku devices, but I wouldn’t consider myself to be one of those people. I have a perfectly functional Google Chromecast 4K collecting dust right now, for example.

Lack of updates is a concern

Be careful what you get if you do buy used

The thing that keeps a streaming stick alive and relevant long after you bought it is software updates. If it’s not getting updates any longer, then there’s a good chance that the streaming apps you bought it for won’t even work on it. That’s an important thing to consider when buying used, so make sure you look up the model and see if apps still work on it before buying it. Something from the early 2010s probably doesn’t have access to the newest apps, so keep that in mind.

Again, the great thing here is that a new Roku doesn’t cost a lot of money, so this is only a situation you’ll find yourself in if you didn’t do any research. The good news is that even if you make a mistake and buy a Roku that doesn’t work, it’s not like you’ll be out a lot of money as a result.

If you have a 4K TV, it shouldn’t be difficult at all to find something new from Roku that’ll plug right into your TV. The benefit here is that you’re practically guaranteed to get something modern, even if it’s used, if it’s a 4K-branded device. The waters get a lot murkier if you are fine with 1080p or even 720p. There are a lot of older devices out there for that, but you’ll have to roll the dice on whether it’s still getting updates or not.