Buying a laptop on Ebay??
Discussion
I'm looking for something for the MIL, as cheap as possible so long as it's capable of internet/e-mail. I don't know much about computers so I'm a bit wary of getting a POS that dies as soon as I fire it up. There are loads of people selling "refurbished" laptops on ebay, but I'm not really sure what to avoid or look for.
Some examples here, here and here
Cheers for any help
Some examples here, here and here
Cheers for any help
The only refurbished laptops I would buy off eBay are the ones from authorised manufacturers. IIRC HP sell refurbished laptops, at a very good price. A friend bought one and it arrived with a full HP Box, garauntee, invoice the lot. Some of the other 
There a lot of stories of people paying and being sent bricks.
There a lot of stories of people paying and being sent bricks. A few colleagues have brought from these guys: www.buzzinbuys.com/
They buy our (+others) end of lease computers and refurb them. If I was after a cheapy laptop I would probably go for one of their IBM T22/T23's. Not affiliated in any way, just going on what I have been told.
They buy our (+others) end of lease computers and refurb them. If I was after a cheapy laptop I would probably go for one of their IBM T22/T23's. Not affiliated in any way, just going on what I have been told.
The Dell outlet is worth a look:
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=uk&l=en&s=dfh
Mostly cancelled orders / returns in as-new condition.
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=uk&l=en&s=dfh
Mostly cancelled orders / returns in as-new condition.
If you're buying off ebay, couple of suggestions:
1) pick the laptop up personally and pay them there and then when you've checked your items.
if you pay by paypal and the goods are faulty you have zero come back in paypals t&cs. something i got stung by.
2) buy s/h from the major manus, eg toshiba, ibm, hp and dell. you buy other companies stuff at your own peril.
the major companies have a better build quality - something very important when they've been dropped, and their spares, although expensive are at least available if you need to get it repaired.
the majors have also usually dealt with heat dispersal better. this may not seem important but when you have a mobile oven on your lap cooking your nuts you discover the importance of buying that slightly more expensive model that has a decent fan.
3) its worth factoring in a new battery from the start. many laptops have totally shagged batteries, which make them little better than mobile desktops.
4) i'm not including Sony as a major as I know far too many people having problems with Viaos.
>> Edited by tinman0 on Friday 25th February 09:42
1) pick the laptop up personally and pay them there and then when you've checked your items.
if you pay by paypal and the goods are faulty you have zero come back in paypals t&cs. something i got stung by.
2) buy s/h from the major manus, eg toshiba, ibm, hp and dell. you buy other companies stuff at your own peril.
the major companies have a better build quality - something very important when they've been dropped, and their spares, although expensive are at least available if you need to get it repaired.
the majors have also usually dealt with heat dispersal better. this may not seem important but when you have a mobile oven on your lap cooking your nuts you discover the importance of buying that slightly more expensive model that has a decent fan.
3) its worth factoring in a new battery from the start. many laptops have totally shagged batteries, which make them little better than mobile desktops.
4) i'm not including Sony as a major as I know far too many people having problems with Viaos.
>> Edited by tinman0 on Friday 25th February 09:42
I brought a refurbished Thinkpad of eBay a few months ago. It came with a 6 month warrenty which I had to use three weeks after I brought it (kept crashing, screen went dead). Sent it back and received a new one a few days later 
I'll try and dig the seller's details up when I get home.
I'll try and dig the seller's details up when I get home.mechsympathy said:
Aha! Do you know where from? Google doesn't throw anything up (Well not when I look)
>>>That was aimed at WildfireS3
>> Edited by mechsympathy on Thursday 24th February 19:46
It`s a bit tedious, but search for "Hewlett Packard" and then go through the sellers until you find the right one. Seller ID is something like "HP Direct". Then search sellers other items.
Steve
Sold an old laptop on eBay before and was perfectly fine. Bought a new battery before I sold it, and made sure I put as much information about it as possible.
Sold for a decent amount and shipped to a bloke in Ireland. When it arrived there was some problems with the screen, but his friend just reset it properly (as I would have recommended) and it was fine ever since. It must have got cold while in shipping.
Still, I was cautious and so was the buyer - but worked out fine.
Sold for a decent amount and shipped to a bloke in Ireland. When it arrived there was some problems with the screen, but his friend just reset it properly (as I would have recommended) and it was fine ever since. It must have got cold while in shipping.
Still, I was cautious and so was the buyer - but worked out fine.
Try these guys. Bought off them before and seem okay. (although the laptop required a new battery)
www.sterlingxs.co.uk/
They do have Toughbooks for sale which I beleive are quite highly rated. Someone told me last week (logistics chappie in the US Navy) that during GW2 tried out several different notebooks.
Non of the Viaos made it back to the US. The IBMs, Dells, and Toshiba were fairly reliable but still had failures, but the 40 Toughbooks all made it Stateside without any problems.
>> Edited by tinman0 on Friday 25th February 09:53
www.sterlingxs.co.uk/
They do have Toughbooks for sale which I beleive are quite highly rated. Someone told me last week (logistics chappie in the US Navy) that during GW2 tried out several different notebooks.
Non of the Viaos made it back to the US. The IBMs, Dells, and Toshiba were fairly reliable but still had failures, but the 40 Toughbooks all made it Stateside without any problems.
>> Edited by tinman0 on Friday 25th February 09:53
The ebay definition or refurbished usually means that it's been sourced from a company disposal (end of life or liquidation), cleaned up and checked. I've bought two laptops in the last few weeks (the first one was shite, but that was my own fault) and they've both been in great condition.
There are plenty of IT salvage companies that make their entire revenue from ebay sales.
There are plenty of IT salvage companies that make their entire revenue from ebay sales.
I looked at the links that Mechsympathy listed and I really wouldn't entertain a 133 or 166Mhz laptop - I've just replaced my daughter 166MHz Dell because it was absurdly slow at drawing Internet pages.
Don't forget that (especially for someone who doesn't know what they're doing and is attached by a simple ADSL modem) you really need to put a firewall and AV on the laptop which will just kill a slow one.
You can get a laptop brand new from Dell for under £500 now (inc VAT & delivery) which (to my mind & pocket) makes paying £2-300 for a decent spec second hand one a not worthwhile risk.
Check out their small business section as well as the home user - they're sometimes cheaper that way even after adding VAT (entry level at the moment is £369 + VAT with free delivery currently on offer).
Note that their offers change every few days (weekly?).
>> Edited by bobbins on Friday 25th February 16:46
Don't forget that (especially for someone who doesn't know what they're doing and is attached by a simple ADSL modem) you really need to put a firewall and AV on the laptop which will just kill a slow one.
You can get a laptop brand new from Dell for under £500 now (inc VAT & delivery) which (to my mind & pocket) makes paying £2-300 for a decent spec second hand one a not worthwhile risk.
Check out their small business section as well as the home user - they're sometimes cheaper that way even after adding VAT (entry level at the moment is £369 + VAT with free delivery currently on offer).
Note that their offers change every few days (weekly?).
>> Edited by bobbins on Friday 25th February 16:46
bobbins said:
I looked at the links that Mechsympathy listed and I really wouldn't entertain a 133 or 166Mhz laptop - I've just replaced my daughter 166MHz Dell because it was absurdly slow at drawing Internet pages.
Don't forget that (especially for someone who doesn't know what they're doing and is attached by a simple ADSL modem) you really need to put a firewall and AV on the laptop which will just kill a slow one.
You can get a laptop brand new from Dell for under £500 now (inc VAT & delivery) which (to my mind & pocket) makes paying £2-300 for a decent spec second hand one a not worthwhile risk.
Check out their small business section as well as the home user - they're sometimes cheaper that way even after adding VAT (entry level at the moment is £369 + VAT with free delivery currently on offer).
Note that their offers change every few days (weekly?).
>> Edited by bobbins on Friday 25th February 16:46
These are exactly my arguments, but the wife is certain that it's worth risking £100-200 rather than spending £440 on something new with a warranty (and usability, USB ports etc...). The various "factory refurb" places that people have kindly pointed out still charge £300-400, which is probably a bargain for the spec but completely unnecessary for the MIL.
mechsympathy said:
These are exactly my arguments, but the wife is certain that it's worth risking £100-200 rather than spending £440 on something new with a warranty (and usability, USB ports etc...). The various "factory refurb" places that people have kindly pointed out still charge £300-400, which is probably a bargain for the spec but completely unnecessary for the MIL.
Just a point (as you mentioned it) - if MIL is going to use an ADSL modem then you'll need USB. The older, cheaper laptops (like my daughter's old 166MHz Dell) don't have it.
The other thing to bear in mind in the cost (and aggravation) of your time in supporting an old laptop (especially if you're trying to that remotely) - when both my kids are home from Uni, being an IT support person sometimes feels like a full time job.
The spec of the £400-£500 Dell machines is probably way OTT (apart from memory, more is usually useful - that *is* worth buying cheaply on eBay) but any lower spec and it wouldn't be worth Dell selling them.
There's a proverb which goes something like 'it's better to spend too much on something than too little, for if you spend too little, you risk losing a lot'.
>> Edited by bobbins on Friday 25th February 18:40
I have a Compaq presario 700e and it has given me so much headache that I regret buying it now. The entire system has fallen down more than a couple of times and the fans aren't able to keep the laptop cool enough, so it tends to shut itself down when ever. Really irritating, but I have heard from the specialists that it's a common problem?! I spent quite a lot of money for that 
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