Cheap Used Laptops: Where To Find Them

Cheap Used Laptops: Where To Find Them

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Finding cheap used laptops on the Internet can be difficult because most used laptop websites try to sell them for more than they are worth. This can be extremely frustrating since the whole point of buying a used notebook computer is to save you money.

The good news is that there are websites with huge selections of good quality and inexpensive used laptops. However, all of these sites are auction-based sites, such as eBay, because in my experience they will always have the best prices. Nevertheless, while auction websites unquestionably have the best prices and selection there are a few things to consider before you buy a cheap used laptop.

Unlike new or even refurbished notebooks, used ones often don’t come with a warranty or if they do one that only lasts a short period of time. Thus, cheap used laptops can be a little more risky than buying new or refurbished but are and will remain the cheapest option. In addition, if you follow my advice below you can eliminate virtually all the most common mistake people make when buying from online auction websites, further reducing your risk.

The first thing to do when you go to an auction website is to determine what type of cheap used laptop computer you want. Then, assuming you can find one that meets your criteria, you should check the seller’s reputation rating and look at the following three things.

The first is their feedback rating, which is the percentage of people you have bought from the seller in the past and were happy with their purchase. Personally, I look for a seller with a rating of 99% or above, because I have found that I tend to have problems with sellers with anything lower.

Second, I look to see how many items the person has sold before and if the item they are selling is the type that they usually sell. Personally, I look for someone who has sold a least a few hundred things before as a form of reassurance that I am not dealing with a fly-by-night operation.

Also, I make sure that when I am buying a cheap used laptop that the seller has experience selling them, so that if I have a problem they know what to do. Again, I want to buy from someone who has experience with and knows about what they are selling.

Finally, I strongly urge you to read other people’s comments about the process of buying from that seller. I can’t believe that people sometimes give sellers a positive feedback response even after having had problems buying from them. Thus, it pays to read the specifics of a given seller before buying, so that you know what type of person you are dealing with.

Also, before you buy any used laptop make sure that you are getting everything you need for it to run. Many used laptops do not come with all the proper software installed and/or are missing other things needed to make your cheap used laptop work.

If you are not sure ask, if the seller is genuinely interested in selling you a quality product then they shouldn’t have any problem answering. For more information about what to look for in a laptop computer please read our Buyer's Guide.

Overall, I only think that there are three auction websites that are really worth the visit when looking for cheap used laptops. Certainly, I think that eBay should be your first stop since they have by far the biggest selection. Second, I personally like Overstock.com because, even though they have a smaller selection of used laptops, the prices are often lower because there are fewer people bidding on them.

Finally, Ubid is a great little auction site that differs from both eBay and Overstock because it requires all sellers to give warranties on the products they sell. This means that it is the least risky of the big three but also means that their prices tend to be slightly higher due the requirement of providing a warranty. I recommend you visit all three to see which one has the best price on the laptop you want.

Cheap Used Laptops By Brand

HP (Hewlett-Packard)

IBM (ThinkPads)

Sony

Toshiba