Sharing my experience in buying a used laptop

My nephew's desktop computer finally quit on him. So I thought about getting him a refurbished or used laptop. At the college where I work, I found an ad for a used laptop. The picture looked great and the specs were exactly what I was looking for.

 

I called the number posted on the ad and set up a date, time and place where I could meet this guy.

Before I met him, I searched online about what to look for when buying a used or refurbished laptop. Here are the links that I found helpful.

 

10- Step Guide to Buying a Used Laptop That Works

 

What do I consider When Buying a Refurbished laptop

 

Well, I didn't get to use the 10 step guide. Here's why.

A young guy, a student, showed up carrying a laptop. The first thing I noticed about the laptop was the dirty cover. I thought, "no biggie." When he opened the lid, an equally dirty keyboard glared back at me. Again, I thought it wasn't a big deal. But when he showed me the screen, I could hardly see the icons. The screen was dark. He said that he forgot his power cord and he couldn't figure out how to change the setting to make the screen brighter. By the way, he told me that he's been using the laptop for three years. Uh-huh. What was he trying to tell me? That for three years he only used the laptop when it’s plugged in? Sounds goofy huh?

 

Anyway, I pretended to show interest by checking the power setting and clicking the icons. The battery life was at 80%. I wanted to check the ports and the hard drive, but because the screen was dark I told him that I'll call him back. When I got home, I sent this guy an email telling him that I wasn't interested--in a nice way.

With ever changing technology, is it really worth buying a used laptop or computer? Have you bought a used one? Would you rather spend your hard-earned bucks on a new one that would most likely run slower after a year?

 

Tierney

http://tierneyomalley.com