You're underestimating the hobbyist Thinkpad community.

I’m not, I’m sure for every modder that puts a new motherboard and mech keyboard in, there are 100000 that just get pitched

They're also not purchased at the volumes that Macbooks are, I do think you're underestimating how well they hold their value. You picked an unfortunate laptop line to make your point, especially since this is in no way a recent phenomenon. I'm sure people chuck away their Macbooks instead of reselling them too.

More like put it in a drawer. I question the notion that laptops are thrown away as opposed to put in storage. Especially when they’re used for sensitive information and not normally wiped if they’re not used for resale.