Second hand laptop

arciere

Ok, let me put it differently and let me try to explain why I said what I said. You might still not agree, which is fine, but that wasn't the 'worst advice ever' (sorry AndyPix, I'm borrowing this one once again).
I have been working in sales and repairs for almost 10 years, before I moved to a corporate environment with different duties in IT. (it's probably obvious, but resellers have more interest in selling refurbished units than brand-new)
I know that refurbished units can be as good as they can be bad. Yes, you do get the one-off computer which is basically brand-new, one scratch on the external box, 50% of the price. That's a good deal. That's a magnificent deal.
But you also get other units which have more subtle issues, returned by the first buyer because of system crashes or similar things. You buy it, you switch it on, you enjoy it, then you see the problems. Then what happens? Yes, it might be in warranty, but a refurbished warranty is not the same as brand new.
Refurbished units are often one piece, if one stops working you don't get a replacement unit. Maybe you get your money back, or another device that the seller thinks is the same specs as the one you bought.
I'm not saying this is the rule, I'm only saying that this is far more frequent with refurbished or used devices than brand-new.
I said, and still do, that unless you can get a computer which is significantly faster (and none of the links given here were), I would opt for a new model. I like to have a brand new computer with no scratches (also Grade A computer can have minor scratches), and I don't want to find any hidden fault weeks later. If I do get a problem, warranty will repair it or will give me another (or better) model.

I'm not saying that this is what should be done all the time. If I had a customer asking me that question, I would reply the way I did. That's also because I don't know if the customer has the required knowledge and expertise to distinguish between a great deal and a bad deal.
Within that range, I would play safe (apologies if I exceeded the OP's budget by £30).

Best advice ever? No, I can't say I know better than everybody else. Worst advice ever? No, not for me and not for the thousands of customers I have been serving in my career.

AndyPix

^^ Yawn ..


No matter how you dress it up - advising anybody to buy a sub £300 brand new laptop is terrible advice.


They all have rubbish screens and feel like thin empty plastic shells . Yes they might look and smell new , and be a jazzy colour - but its all fur coat and no knickers as one might say .. They are cheap for a reason.


A refurb however , while sub £300 now , was most likely over a grand when new and being an ex business machine, will be well built and resiliant and built to last.




So you have worked in sales for 10 years and now have a bit of enterprise experience ..
But it sounds like you are still new to all of this - you may have served thousands of customers , but a sales droids advice is often very different from a seasoned IT professionals

arciere

AndyPix wrote: »

So you have worked in sales for 10 years and now have a bit of enterprise experience ..
But it sounds like you are still new to all of this - you may have served thousands of customers , but a sales droids advice is often very different from a seasoned IT professionals

If someone wants a laptop for web browsing, he doesn't care if the cover is made of plastic or aluminium. That's what you prefer, that's not the rule. I bet there are hundreds of people in this forum using "plasticy" computers. They've all had the worst advice ever?

Sorry, but how can you say this is not personal? You don't know me yet you are suggesting that 'you have a bit of enterprise experience'. I can guarantee that I have more than 'a bit'. But I'm done arguing with you. Feel free to ignore all my posts.

EveryWhere

arciere wrote: »

Ok, let me put it differently and let me try to explain why I said what I said. You might still not agree, which is fine, but that wasn't the 'worst advice ever' (sorry AndyPix, I'm borrowing this one once again).
I have been working in sales and repairs for almost 10 years, before I moved to a corporate environment with different duties in IT. (it's probably obvious, but resellers have more interest in selling refurbished units than brand-new)
I know that refurbished units can be as good as they can be bad. Yes, you do get the one-off computer which is basically brand-new, one scratch on the external box, 50% of the price. That's a good deal. That's a magnificent deal.
But you also get other units which have more subtle issues, returned by the first buyer because of system crashes or similar things. You buy it, you switch it on, you enjoy it, then you see the problems. Then what happens? Yes, it might be in warranty, but a refurbished warranty is not the same as brand new.
Refurbished units are often one piece, if one stops working you don't get a replacement unit. Maybe you get your money back, or another device that the seller thinks is the same specs as the one you bought.
I'm not saying this is the rule, I'm only saying that this is far more frequent with refurbished or used devices than brand-new.
I said, and still do, that unless you can get a computer which is significantly faster (and none of the links given here were), I would opt for a new model. I like to have a brand new computer with no scratches (also Grade A computer can have minor scratches), and I don't want to find any hidden fault weeks later. If I do get a problem, warranty will repair it or will give me another (or better) model.

I'm not saying that this is what should be done all the time. If I had a customer asking me that question, I would reply the way I did. That's also because I don't know if the customer has the required knowledge and expertise to distinguish between a great deal and a bad deal.
Within that range, I would play safe (apologies if I exceeded the OP's budget by £30).

Best advice ever? No, I can't say I know better than everybody else. Worst advice ever? No, not for me and not for the thousands of customers I have been serving in my career.

I disagree with what you are writing from the very beginning.
Your assumptions about 'refurbs' are quite wrong. .
It can vary wildly between retailers. Argos for instance, will have laptops that are simply customer returns. Perhaps nothing wrong with them at all or just old stock with a damaged original box. It's checked and then sold as a 'refurb' as it cannot be sold as new. It might be a recalled power supply. Power supply replaced and then sold as a 'refurb'.

A 'refurbished' warranty can be exactly the same as a new warranty

So a very high proportion of their stock with be 'as new'. The proof is the pudding is simply the amount of each unit for sale. For example, look at the link I posted to the ACER laptop; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acer-15-6-Inch-HD-Intel-i3-2GHz-4GB-1TB-Windows-10-Laptop-Red-/352205717831 254 units. Certainly not a one off.

Even if there was a fault, they have fixed it and are backing up their work with a full warranty. Any problems, refund, repair, replace are all available. So no less reliable than a new machine, as a new machine can equally develop a fault.
The difference with an 'as new' refurb' is that the fault will have been noted and fixed. So in effect an 'as new' refurb can be even more reliable than new.

Nonsense about 'hidden faults' is just that. There is no benefit to them selling you something with a hidden fault. It will hit their reputation and they will have to give you your money back anyway.


Furthermore you assertion about only buying something because it is significantly faster is just ridiculous.
Why would you do that, if you don't want or need something significantly faster? Why not just get what you want and save £100 in the bargain??

It's literally a kind of stupidity to buy a machine only because it is sealed from the factory and to pay £100 more for the privilege.
I would only do this if it was a present for someone and presentation was all important.

But if I know that device I am buying is 'as new', has been checked for faults and has exactly the same warranty as a sealed box machine, but comes with a £100 or more discount, I going to consider the discounted machine.
Not only that, but myself and thousands of other have done just that and have no complaints.

So your experience is no applicable here. It's might be applicable to a different kind of retailer. Perhaps one with 'one off' machines.

We try to recommend reputable retailers who stand by their products.
In fact I am posting from a 'refurb' laptop that I bought from Argos nine years ago. It still had the original plastic stuck to it.
No scratches. Same with all of the other laptops I have purchased from them.

You went £35 over the OP's budget....for a poor laptop.

As illustrated, the OP can get much the same thing 'as new' with a full warranty, for £55 under budget.

AndyPix

arciere wrote: »

You don't know me yet you are suggesting that 'you have a bit of enterprise experience'. I can guarantee that I have more than 'a bit'. .

Correct, I dont know you , so any judement I make has to come soley from what you post.


From advice you have given in other posts i have read, they read like someone new to the game . The sort of advice / answers that someone fresh out of college in his first job in IT would give ..


This of course is just my opinion

EveryWhere

arciere, Argos have a machine of similar spec for £144; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acer-Aspire-ES-15-6-Inch-Intel-Pentium-1-1GHz-4GB-1TB-Windows-Laptop-White-/362165548133 Well within the lower end of the OP's budget.

Yet there you are, suggesting to the OP that he should pay £260 for the same.

The truth is that I would not even pay £144 for the new ASUS. It's just not a device that would be recommended here.
This is a Technical forum. We owe a duty of care to the people who ask for advice.

I would not be surprised if someone returned such a machine because of the performance.
Stick an SSD within and run a clean install and it could be fine for day to day use. Can't comment on the build quality, as I haven't touched one.

EveryWhere

Here's a device sold by Argos with SSD onboard for £209; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acer-Aspire-3-14-Inch-Intel-Pentium-1-1GHz-4GB-128GB-Windows-10-Laptop-Red-/332751444240


It wouldn't be for me. But there it is.

arciere

EveryWhere wrote: »

This is a Technical forum. We owe a duty of care to the people who ask for advice.

Yet someone has clearly suggested buying a 10-year old laptop with much slower performance? How technical of a reply was that?

Anyway, it's the OP choice.
You can get this brand new for that money, or you can get that one refurbished, similar specs, for YYY less.
I wouldn't buy the refurbished one, but I understand that people can give different value to the fact that something is new or refurbished. Works the same with other things I guess.

AndyPix

Where did i say i recommended buying that ? That was an extreme example of a very cheap ex business machine to counter the plastic rubbish you referred to that was over budget.


Those old dells are bullet proof and has a clock speed twice that of the other.
Every single component in that old dell will be hands down better than a brand new laptop within the OP's budget.
That dell will still be going in another 10 years - whereas an off the shelf new laptop within the OP's budget will likely be in pieces within 3.


Iv lost count of the amount of toshiba satellite's etc that iv seen that are almost new, but have a big crack across the touchpad area or the hinges are broken, keys missing etc


You can almost break these things just by picking them up

that

Wilson1973, if you dont mind slower start up times, not a person that drops or knocks over laptops,
then these could be what you are after, but you could upgrade to ssd drive too

£99 and one year warranty https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cheap-Fast-Lenovo-ThinkPad-Office-Laptop-T420-Core-i5-8GB-Ram-1TB-HDD-Windows-10/123238250895?hash=item1cb192798f%3Am%3AmDKMkCqcXSbMYDhPRDvOANA&var=423643698922

£129 with a year warranty https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cheap-Fast-Lenovo-ThinkPad-Office-Laptop-T430-Core-i5-8GB-Ram-1TB-HDD-Windows-10/123326912361?hash=item1cb6db5769%3Am%3AmDKMkCqcXSbMYDhPRDvOANA&var=423725332560

£175 with a year warranty https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-EliteBook-840-G1-Intel-i5-i7-4GB-RAM-500GB-HDD-256-SSD-Windows-7-10-Laptop/153029792252?hash=item23a14951fc%3Am%3AmPOJJlD29tfAiK9B3JYdPGw&var=452847068322