Would you recommend purchasing 2nd hand hardware on line?

thestaggy

thestaggy

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I'm in the market for a new laptop. I need a modestly powerful one (i5 region, dedicated graphics would be sweet) but my budget does not allow me to purchase said modestly powerful device brand new.

My concern is buying something that I don't get to see and will likely not come with any of it's discs (Wndows being the prime one). Will any of you be able to recommend reliable sites that deal in 2nd hand hardware?
 
thestaggy said:
I'm in the market for a new laptop. I need a modestly powerful one (i5 region, dedicated graphics would be sweet) but my budget does not allow me to purchase said modestly powerful device brand new.

My concern is buying something that I don't get to see and will likely not come with any of it's discs (Wndows being the prime one). Will any of you be able to recommend reliable sites that deal in 2nd hand hardware?
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Its very much like buying anything else (2nd hand) online; if its too good to be true, it is. There are local reputable sellers on www.carbonite.co.za.
 
I would not buy a second hand laptop, not saying they are no good but more than likely warranty could be an issue, let's say it has 6 months left and something breaks in 8, money down the tube. it's fine if you are buying a cpu, gpu and so on for 1k or something but to drop 3-4k+ on a second hand laptop seems risky to me.

what is your budget?
 
Both me and my brother bought our laptops second hand and we really got good deals.

Like I still have my Dell Inspiron 9400 laptop after like 3-4 years and my brother got a Lenovo for R6k that went for R19k brand new.

When buying 2nd-hand you should look for reviews on that brand & model to see how many people have had issues with it. Secondly, make sure that the person is only selling the laptop because he needs to upgrade or if he's in a financial crisis where he has to sell the laptop...
 
killadoob said:
I would not buy a second hand laptop, not saying they are no good but more than likely warranty could be an issue, let's say it has 6 months left and something breaks in 8, money down the tube. it's fine if you are buying a cpu, gpu and so on for 1k or something but to drop 3-4k+ on a second hand laptop seems risky to me.

what is your budget?
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Yeah, that is what concerns me. Maybe the thing has already packed up once and you don't know what you're getting. But then again, same risks as a car but at least I get to drive it and tell them off if I pick something up.

I'm looking at the R5,500 - R6,000 range. I've seen decent i3s in stores but I'd like a little more oomph. My current one was used by Moses, so it has become painfully slow. Mostly study-related usage but it will need to run the games of the only game developer I care about and they are not graphics intense, more processing power, hence the i5. Bid or buy has a handful of laptops that meet what I am looking at and at good prices but I'm not so sure I'm comfrotable buying them.
 
I would only but something of high value if the person im getting it from has a spotless iTrader Record from say Carbonite
 
thestaggy said:
Yeah, that is what concerns me. Maybe the thing has already packed up once and you don't know what you're getting. But then again, same risks as a car but at least I get to drive it and tell them off if I pick something up.

I'm looking at the R5,500 - R6,000 range. I've seen decent i3s in stores but I'd like a little more oomph. My current one was used by Moses, so it has become painfully slow. Mostly study-related usage but it will need to run the games of the only game developer I care about and they are not graphics intense, more processing power, hence the i5. Bid or buy has a handful of laptops that meet what I am looking at and at good prices but I'm not so sure I'm comfrotable buying them.
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R6k-ish should get you an i5 with GT520 graphics, although I'd rather wait for the latest Ivy CPUs with HD4000 graphics, as it beats GT520.
 
Hi There,
Not much that I can add to this except.
You know how much you want to spend. Why not approach people like Rectron or Esquire and ask for their advice. I have found them to be incredibly helpful. If the end product exceeds the budget then the used market is the only option other than save some more.
Go through reputable dealers only like Carbonite. I would tend to avoid the classified ads and the auction sites unless you can meet with the person who is selling it.
Seeing it very often gives you an indication of how it has been looked after. Generally if it is clean on the outside it will be clean on the inside.

Regards

Tim
 
thestaggy said:
I'm looking at the R5,500 - R6,000 range. I've seen decent i3s in stores but I'd like a little more oomph. My current one was used by Moses, so it has become painfully slow. Mostly study-related usage but it will need to run the games of the only game developer I care about and they are not graphics intense, more processing power, hence the i5. Bid or buy has a handful of laptops that meet what I am looking at and at good prices but I'm not so sure I'm comfrotable buying them.
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Why don't you just simply do your homework better and buy something new?

Toshiba C850 15.6" @ R5527
 
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thestaggy said:
My concern is buying something that I don't get to see and will likely not come with any of it's discs (Wndows being the prime one).
Click to expand...

The majority of new laptops don't come with discs, you have to create your own discs from the recovery partition.
 
I've sold a few perfectly good laptops as I've upgraded on carbonite with no comebacks.
 
NO unless you know the person and you also know he takes good care of his stuff otherwise never. I will never buy second hand hardware from someone I don't know.
 
If the person has a good reputation on myBB or Carbonite, and the hardware is still in mint condition, then buying 2nd-hand isn't such a bad choice!
 
ponder said:
The majority of new laptops don't come with discs, you have to create your own discs from the recovery partition.
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That's a bit cheeky. If I'm paying for the software I want my discs.
 
NAG - Wesley said:
Why don't you just simply do your homework better and buy something new?

Toshiba C850 15.6" @ R5527
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I actually found this site in another thread started about laptops. Most definitely will have a serious look at them as they have some solid gear at more than decent prices.

EDIT: Hah, it was you that recommended the site to someone else on the other thread. But thanks again. Never heard of them before.
 
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Bought quite a few second hand with no issues. I use BidOrBuy. Actually, I buy a lot of 2nd hand stuff and sell 2nd hand too.
 
Pe-Killer said:
NO unless you know the person and you also know he takes good care of his stuff otherwise never. I will never buy second hand hardware from someone I don't know.
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A bit melodramatic methinks. It's not that bad. There's obviously a ton of legit people who sell stuff second hand with no dodgy business going on.
Like people have said. Juts make sure of the brand and research for specific issues with the model. Reputable people who've had good ratings with selling stuff on bidorbuy etc. won't screw themselves over.
 
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