Comments on: Where can I get a used laptop?

Question: Where can I get a used laptop?

reklaw — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 02:22:28 -0800

Know any reputable UK suppliers of used laptops?

I'll take my chances on eBay with most things, but for a laptop (worse, my girlfriend's laptop), no way. And I can't afford to buy new, either. So are there any companies with a decent stock of used laptops that consistently turn up and work? I suppose I'd also be open to recommendations of eBay users you trust and things like that.

If they were used iBooks/MacBooks, that'd be really great, but PCs are fine too.

By: roofus

roofus — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 02:29:10 -0800

There is a shop on Goodge St in London that always has a good stock of second hand iBooks / MacBooks etc, and offers them with a 6 month guarantee. I can't immediately remember the name, but it's almost opposite Tesco.
CEX, with several branches around the country, also has Apple laptops, but not with the same dependable stock levels.

By: antifuse

antifuse — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 03:28:41 -0800

Apple also sells refurbished goods as well directly from their website (at seemingly good prices? I can't really say as I'm not a Mac guy). Not sure if they sell refurbished in the UK or not though...

By: opsin

opsin — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 03:30:34 -0800

Morgan Computers do refurbished laptops at very reasonable prices. Have known a few people who bought from them and who seem happy.

By: antifuse

antifuse — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 03:33:36 -0800

Upon further inspection, it appears that they do not have a refurb store on their UK website. So... ermm.. nevermind then.

By: humblepigeon

humblepigeon — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:07:32 -0800

There was a company in Preston that I bought from a few years ago. They were selling Compaq notebooks but, weirdly, the branding had been sanded off and they were sold as "OEM notebooks".

I can't find them via a Google search, and can't remember their company name. I found them via Kelkoo, back when Kelkoo allowed you to sort by price.

A word of warning: in my experience, refurbished notebooks tend to have something slightly wrong with them. It's never anything serious. For example, the above-mentioned notebook had intermittent sound glitches. When buying refurbished, I always prepare myself for the worst. Then everything is a bonus!

By: boosh

boosh — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 04:30:27 -0800

What's your budget? It seems to me that refurbed laptops are often a very poor deal - you get a limited warranty (if any) and the battery is often half dead and won't hold a decent charge (not covered by warranty and they're never cheap to replace). If you can stretch to £400 you can get a really decent brand new one.

Compare these two:
£350 for a second-hand Acer laptop
£420 for a brand new HP/Compaq laptop from a major UK retailer with four times as much RAM and a more powerful processor.

By: i_cola

i_cola — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 05:24:06 -0800

Cancom do refurbs but I've got my last 2 refurb'ed Mac laptops direct from the Apple Store. Look for the 'SAVE' tag (bottom right) on the main UK store page and see what they've got.

I got 35% off a 17" MacBookPro recently. You get a 1-year warranty and you can get the 2-year extension Apple Care pack (I'd recommend it.)

By: i_cola

i_cola — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 05:53:45 -0800

I've just had a look and they've got a whole load of laptops there at the moment.

By: blag

blag — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 06:09:13 -0800

Seconding Morgan - I've got a couple of ex-corporate laptops from them in the past and they've been solid.