How do you guys feel about purchasing a laptop off of craigslist?

[katzdvd]

What do you guys think? How do you feel about purchasing a laptop off of craigslist, or ebay, or I guess any private seller for that matter?

I see some good deals on craigslist but I am hesitant to buy because it might be stolen - who knows? ...and then if it is tracked when I go online with it...well, you get the picture.

I don't want to get involved in purchasing a stolen item & get busted for it...



Has anyone here ever purchased one? Any way to ensure that it is legit?

[admin]

I guess you'll have to look at the seller's reputation, certainly on eBay. But I think the risk is the same as buying second hand anywhere, but at least online, there's searchable reputation/seller history.

[PurpleDemon]

I have been leery about purchasing from Craigslist.
Questions to ask your self.
Is the COA good if I have to re install operating system?
Has it been dropped or misused?
Is this really their computer, or their roommates that has left town for a week?

Just things like that I have run into. When it comes to PC's I have either saved for new, built my own, or go to a reputable recyclers. Even pawn shops I am leery of.
Just my opinion. Hope it helps.

Admins tip is a good one. The seller rating is something they don't want to lose and keep as high as possible. Also buying with paypal gives you that added satisfaction for 30 days

[dr_ml422]

Hi Katz. As crazy as I may sound at times i don't mess w/stolen goods. However you are getting what you get if you're going to somewhere like Craigs. It is what it is. It won't/can't hurt if you just come straight out and ask the seller if it's stolen, even if they lie. I've seen some excellent deals on new ones, especially refurbished which don't be afraid to pull the trigger. Most of the time it was just someone who didn't like the color and sent it back etc... Matter of fact my Asus Netbook is a refurb and working just fine w/windows 7 Starter.

So my suggestion is if you can swing a moderately priced new one whether refurb or not go that route. The'll even give you a extended warranty for beans. Well worth it in my experience.

[katzdvd]

Thank for the replies guys,

It won't/can't hurt if you just come straight out and ask the seller if it's stolen, even if they lie.

Yeah, ask & watch 'em squirm, lol. I'm still up in the air about it. There are frequently good deals that show up on C-list, very tempting. Also a good bit of broken laptops which I am wanting to buy & salvage/repair.

I have started a tech/repair business & I know quite a few techs buy busted up laptops & rework them for resale.

[dr_ml422]

Let them squirm all they want. They posted the darn thing so now it's open field day. Make sure you get orders for LTs b4 going and buying them and repairing/stocking them up. Though there will/might be those out there wanting them, there's also those that rather just buy one at today's bottom prices. I got build happy and had more than my share of custom PCs. Luckily my friend's grandkid and my sister needed one so took care of a junior entry 1 for the kid and gave my sis my 1st Build ala DVF/chewy etc... Everyone's happy!

Those Sandy Bridge Intels look soooooooooooooo tempting I might just go Intel to taste that flavor, though I'm sure AMD is prolly by now or soon w/their own GPU integrated version.