The best advice you could get when buying a second hand laptop: Don’t do it!
Okay, second hand laptops aren’t all garbage, but the instances where you can get a really good, reliable laptop second hand are few and far between. Maybe your friend is a geek with a lot of money, and he’s looking to pawn off his old notebook just to make room for a new one.
Second hand laptops aren’t all bad, but they’re usually being sold for a reason. To boil it down to a few basic rules…
Try not to buy without giving it a test drive-
You wouldn’t buy a used car without at least knowing that it can start up and make it a block down the street before the muffler falls out. The same goes with buying any second hand piece of complex machinery. For this reason, we generally recommend against buying online, unless you have some sort of guarantee that the laptop works (“or your money back”, preferably). If it’s an auction site or something along those lines, check the seller’s feedback. If they’ve sold any crummy laptops in the past, you better believe they’ll have an angry comment or two on their profile.
Don’t spend too much-
Well, yeah, that’s why you’re buying second hand, to get a deal, just… know what kind of a deal you’re getting. If the used laptop is only selling for about fifty bucks less than a new one of the same make and model, why bother getting the used one?
Don’t meet the seller in a hotel room!-
Okay, you’ve probably got enough common sense to not go off into a secluded room with some guy you’ve never met in your life, but still it’s worth a mention! Buying through professional channels or from trusted acquaintances are the only methods we can whole heartedly recommend for getting a second hand laptop.
Be willing to settle for less, and then upgrade-
Buying a slightly outdated laptop and then adding some new parts is a great way to build a powerful system at a reduced price. This is where some of your best deals can be found. If someone’s selling a brand new Toshiba for half price, there’s a good chance there’s something wrong with it. An obsolete, but good condition Macbook, on the other hand, is going to go for cheap simply because it’s old, and will still have plenty of life left in it if the right geek gets his mitts on it.
We don’t mean to shine a negative light on getting a second hand laptop. If you know what you’re doing, you can get a great deal on a real gem. It’s just that there are a lot of people out there trying to make suckers out of anyone hunting for a bargain, so stay savvy and know what you’re getting before you fork any money over.
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