Computer Helper In Michigan

An old friend of mine forwarded a price list from a vendor that resells used and off-lease laptops for about $350 - $550 each. I just shook my head and thought, “Why do people still try to pawn off old laptops?” Honestly, I believe these used laptop deals to be a bad business deal for a variety of reasons.

First, unless they put a new battery in that laptop, you’re probably going to have to keep it plugged into the wall constantly. Eventually, the batteries get so bad, that electrical current won’t even flow through them, and you have to buy a new one anyway. So the laptop you paid $350 - $550 for, you could end up spending another $100-$200 for a new battery (depending on how well you shop around, plenty of vendors sell batteries for twice what you can find elsewhere on the Internet… we’ll talk about this in another article).

Secondly, the keyboard is probably going to be worn out. Unless you just happened to get a laptop that sat in someone’s closet and didn’t get used (good luck finding that one - grandma giving you one out of her closet?), then the keyboard is going to have alot of miles on it, and you’ll spend about $100 for a replacement keyboard, and if you can’t install it yourself, another $50-$100 for a technician to install it (I would charge about $75 to do it on most models, and it would take an hour).

Thirdly, the screen is going to be smaller than the newer models and if there is any sound, its probably not going to be too great, if it exists at all (i.e. speakers).

Fourth, the antivirus software is going to have to be updated and possible cost money for the update. You could just use AVG free edition if your laptop is for personal use - its free of course.

Fifth, depending on the model, you probably won’t have the cool wireless capabilities without adding additional PCMCIA cards and so forth.

Sixth, and final reason, the operating system is going to be out of date, or not legit. You probably won’t even get a CD with it to reinstall if you have to. And the drivers may all be obsolete or hard to find.

The cheap laptop that you *think* you’re going to save money on, is going to cost you just as much money to update, repair, and maintain, than if you just spent another $200 to get a brand new, nearly top of the line model with a widescreen and great sound. The time is worth money, and everything you’d have to buy is worth money.

I bought an HP dv9000 at Best Buy for around $750, and I get ALOT done with this laptop. In fact, I dont even use my desk top computer anymore - I run my whole business from here. They were so cheap, I bought the next model down for my business partner at $550. Why the heck would I go for something used and out of date, buying from some off-lease, used laptop sale guy???!!! In fact, manufacturing processes have improved so much on the screens, and components are coming down so far in price, that we may see $200-$300 brand new laptops by this time next year in 2007. That guy selling that used stuff might as well just get rid of it on eBay for $200 and cut his losses.

So next time you hear that someone has a used laptop they want to sell you, don’t pay more than $50 for it, and just give it to your kid, after you take out the battery. let them just pound the keyboard or something, and bust the thing in half. Or give them some screwdrivers and let the kids tear it apart and learn about what makes these things tick - its a good experience, believe me. I used to tear everything apart, and made sure I had every size screwdriver to do the job. They can then take it to their next show-and-tell and impress everyone.