Rent a Laptop Without Handing Over an Arm and Leg?

March 8, 2006 4:36 PM

In Boston area. Want to rent a laptop for a week or two. Budget maxes at $100. Realistic?

All google results go to either business-to-business type deals that want $100/day or SEO-souped, suspiciously templately sites which mail you the machine. I'd rather just pick it up from somewhere in the next couple of days; I'm in somewhat of a hurry.

I just came back from this place called Rent-a-Center, which was almost-but-not-quite: they want $170 upfront for a month's rental minimum.

(Also, my credit currently sucks. So the less paperwork involved, the better. Maybe I should try Craigslist?)

(My backup plan is to find a net-cafe type affair open throughout spring break that lets you run stuff like portable firefox & portable filezilla, but I don't really expect to run across such a thing.)

posted by Firas to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

Staples has plenty of locations around Boston, carries laptops and has a no-questions-asked 14-day return policy.
posted by killdevil at 4:46 PM on March 8, 2006

Response by poster: Ah, buying a laptop is definitely out of the question currently.
posted by Firas at 4:51 PM on March 8, 2006

Libraries, campuses?
posted by kcm at 4:54 PM on March 8, 2006

I'm sorry I can't help with the renting a laptop part. For your backup plan, I know of a place in Malden Square, The Cyber Cafe that is a free resource to the public which may be useful.
posted by jdl at 5:30 PM on March 8, 2006

Response by poster: kcm: yeah, the campus computer lab has been my lifesaver but I think the lab is closed over spring break. The other campus I haunt has its computers way-too-locked-down (no running exe's off a usb stick) and I expect the Public Libraries do too (plus I need to do 'actual stuff'—like for hours a day—on the machine, and the main BPL building doesn't have all that many computers and rations them out in time increments&hellip or at least, they used to in 2004; I'll check).

It's not a life-or-death issue, more of a 'really wish it were possible' issue. *cue knotted forehead*
posted by Firas at 5:37 PM on March 8, 2006

Response by poster: Oh, wow, I just managed to grab hold of someone and ask about it: I'll *probably* have access to computers on campus over spring break that don't have draconian security measures. Yay!
posted by Firas at 5:45 PM on March 8, 2006

What if you bought a $500 laptop using a credit card, then sold it at a $100 loss?
posted by mecran01 at 6:37 PM on March 8, 2006

You can get a workable laptop for cheeeeap these days. If you could find another $100, for example, you could get one of these. The ones on the 'cheaper' side tend of have mostly cosmetic issues. None of them are screamers, but they'll get you through the week. :)

Sorry I can't be of more help, but I will say that "Rent-a-Center" is just a step above those check-cashing places in terms of ugliness-of-the-soul.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:21 AM on March 9, 2006

Response by poster: Civil_Disobedient, yeah, although I think for $200-250 I could get my 'actual' laptop fixed (I think it's just a RAM issue).

Strangely enough, I actually searched Mefi for "Rent-a-Center" because their website looked a bit fishy (they seem way too eager to get you into a store despite your financial status), but I don't really understand what's ugly about them—basically a debt trap?
posted by Firas at 7:08 AM on March 9, 2006

basically a debt trap?

Yep, that's the reason.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:04 PM on March 10, 2006