I want to buy a laptop?

Question

I want to get a laptop that is good and also good value,i have looked on ebay and you can get them alot cheaper second hand through auctions which I would like to do. But I'm not sure if it's too risky to do this eg they could easily break or they could be stolen or don't come with warrenty ect so does anyone know if it is worth it? Or is it better in the long run to save up a bit more and get a brand new one with warrenty?

Answer 1

I would say go for a new one, but be careful what you buy new and make sure that you search to make sure its the right price before you buy. also if you do decided to buy used or "new" via ebay then what you need to do is to make sure that the seller has a good reputation example: over 200 items sold, no or very little negative comments

Answer 2

This is a tricky situation. You don't have the ability to look over the laptop before you purchase it to be sure it works well. My own thoughts are to look at the seller's ratings and reviews, especially ensuring they have sold similar items. Read over any negative items and see if it relates to your concerns. If it doesn't specifically state any problems with the used laptop, ASK! See if the seller will agree to take the laptop back if it is dead on arrival.

You can also check for a used computer store in your area. I have gotten some pretty good deals at such shops, and you get to mess with the laptop before you buy it. The ones I've bought from give a 30-day to a 90-day warranty.

The biggest thing you are going to face when purchasing a used laptop is depleted battery life. Again, I have purchased new or reconditioned batteries at used computer stores for half of what you'd pay buying from the manufacturer.

Like you say, you do run the risk of working with used equipment and you don't know how well the original user treated the machine. If you cannot afford that risk, save up for a new one. Many new low-end laptops run around $500 (I wouldn't purchase one any cheaper than that).

Good luck!

Answer 3

If you have $700 or more to spend then I would buy new, as there will be a one year warranty and a new battery. If you don't care about the battery and always used it plugged in and only want to spend $300 or $400 then consider refurbished.

Next think about the features ... size, weight, battery life, display size, etc. Decide which features are most important.

Also consider what applications are important. If word processing, browsing the web, email then most new laptop would work fine. If more complex applications like gaming or photography or architecture then you need to check the minimum systems requirements of the applications to determine what hardware and software is needed.

IBM, Dell, HP and Toshiba all make excellent laptops. Once you have figured out your budget, the most important features then pick 2-3 models from the above manufactures and compare them and it will be much easier to figure out what would be best for your daughters needs.

Answer 4

First off, decide what you are going to use it for, then build the laptop around that. Lets say you are just going to be typing reports, making graphs and presentations. You could purchase a low end model for around $500.00 from Gateway, HP, Dell or emachine. If you are going to be doing graphics rendering for Photography, or Web Design you would want to consider something mid to upper end. And if you are going to be Gaming, Super Cruising the Web While IM'ing your friends and Using a Cad Program you would need the top of the line.
Buying a used laptop of the Internet is like getting married off the Internet, you only going to be told what you want to hear.
Save you money, go to a reputable Computer store and explain to them what you are wanting to do. But keep in mind there are three place you don't want to skimp on, CPU, VIDEO Card, & Lots of Memory. These three things will make the difference in any machine.
Start saving, you best bet is to purchase a year old model new. Dell Offers a huge list of year end deals on last years computers.
Good Luck I Hope I helped.

Answer 5

It probably depends on how high quality of a laptop you want. If you just want some cheap laptop and don't care much about power or speed, then e-bay probably isn't a bad idea. I bought such a laptop on e-bay, and I'm quite happy with it.

Higher quality laptops (such as high-powered gaming laptops) are less likely to be a good deal. They will tend to sell for a price much closer to their retail value; and if you're going to be paying retail price, you might as well get the warranty and what not too.

Answer 6

I like new ones myself--but you can get a good one for about $500 if you shop around and look for sales, just make sure if you get one with Vista on it that you get 1 GB of ram, 512 isnt really enough to run vista well.

Answer 7

Unless you know the previous owner personally, I'd get a new one.

You don't the condition of the hardware (will the HD crash? Is there a bad stick of memory?), and you don't know what's been on it (malware? Spyware? Rootkit?).

Also, if there's a flaw with your new machine (bad battery or HD) you can usually take it back.

Answer 8

get 1 w/ a warranty! you always end up w/ some sort of problem that will need fixing even if it is minor.