Are used/refurbished computers a scam?

No. Just make sure to double check the inside to ensure there are no cockroaches or cockroach eggs. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.

laptops? not usually
desktops? not sure

>>59803012
>used
no
>referb
Probably

>>59803012
Yes. The power and quality of electronics goes down longer you use it, even with refurbished electronics.

New or nothing.

>>59803023
This. It's always good to clean a dirty used PC, and reapply thermal paste.

>>59803073
>>referb
>Probably
Nah, they drain the capacitors. An important step in refurbishing a PC.

>>59803085
This.

Old electronics always run poorly

>>59803085
what exactly you have on your mind?

File: 1469677127293.jpg (4KB, 184x274px) Image search: [Google]

4KB, 184x274px

>>59803012
Refurbished? No.

Used? Maybe.

I've had zero luck buying refurbished products. For example, I once ordered an HP Pro book, and both had issues with the screen. In addition, I also noticed that tree two laptops used two different screen resolutions despite being the same product.

As for used, I'd but from a reputable seller online like eBay and check the reviews before purchasing. I don't trust individual sellers because I'd be worried that they would not tell me if there was something wrong with it.

It depends on who you're buying it from. Buying from a reputable manufacturer's refurbished stuff is probably OK. Buying a refurbished computer from some no name store on the internet is probably a bad idea.

>>59803012
I mean, it depends on how much you expect to fix it. Generally, there will be problems. My T400 has a bad inverter and the battery was shit, so I had to fix those. But that's all. But if you go into the purchase expecting like new, you will be disappointed.

>>59803511
>I don't trust individual sellers because I'd be worried that they would not tell me if there was something wrong with it.
What if they posted a video of it working and running programs/games?

I'm planning on selling an old T420 next week that has a dead battery but still works on the charger, and broken hinge held with gorilla tape.

>>59804178
you cannot see everything on a photo. For example, if the screen has a few dead pixels, you're probably not going to notice it until you sit down and actually begin using it for some time.

And that's not even talking about damaged internals or other things that could be wrong with it.

For normal people it's probably.not a problem, but i expect everything i buy to be fully functional

>>59804250
Negro, that's why I said fucking video.

Anyway do you think I can get away with jewing someone $200 for my slightly broken old goat?

>>59803012
I've bought refurb PCs off fleabay. Depends on the seller. Always make sure to try and get details beforehand. A big one to ask is wether it was used in a home, work, or school environment. If it's anything but work, stay away. Home and school hardware gets treated like trash.

>>59803012
Don't bother with refurb laptops, they always have shitty hard-to-fix problems. Desktops tend to have problems that are easy to fix.

>>59804352
I'm 2 years in with my refurbished MacBook Air

>>59804493
>MacBook Air
Sounds like a shitty hard-to-fix problem to me.

No?

New computers are much more of a scam (if not building them yourself). You end up buying for a windows license usually, the bloatware makes them require a reinstall even if you want windows, unless you buy from a good store, you overpay,,,

One just needs to be a bit careful with used tech, there's always a price / reputation / condition -ratio to match to your needs. Dirt cheap beat up laptops can be a great deal, especially if you're willing to do some fixing yourself. Slightly more expensive used laptops (that used to be used by businesses) can be a great deal, probably won't be a bad buy.

Buy from reputable sellers if you want to pay for the peace of mind. Even the most overpriced used Thinkpads I've seen are, in my opinion, a better deal than sub-$500 new laptops. Reputable sellers always give some sort of a warranty so if something is worse than promised, it can be returned.

Buying used laptops from individual people is OK as long as you can make sure (at least through pictures and their promises) that what you're getting is acceptable. Preferable to buy F2F when possible.

The ones to look out for are shitty businesses that want a lot of money without providing anything for it. I once visited one place IRL: they told the specs wrong, the laptops wee missing screws, some had broken RAM put inside them, yet they cost a shitton.

Used desktops: can be a great deal. Especially if you can find rich gamers who are selling their old setups when getting a new PC.

>>59804352
i've bought 3 refurbished laptops, literally zero problems. if one were ever fucked up I would return or just buy another one. spent less than 1,000 total

>>59805074
>You end up buying for a windows license usually,
which costs 120$.
that is pretty much 10%-20%
that is why i have told people its cheaper to buy one instead of DIY
the only thing that suffers is the GPU power

>>59803012
No.
Bought a refurbished x220t three years ago, still using it.
Bought a refurbished Nexus 9 last year for $90, still using it.
Some can be good bargains. Not all of them.

>>59805241
Well yeah, it matters pretty little if you're in the high end. More of a thing of principle.

There's probably not much point in going used if $120 is 10% of what you want to spend, anyway.

Personally I don't want to pay more than $500 or so for a computer unless a special need arises.

>>59803108
lmao that thread

>>59803012
It's a lottery.

My refurbished x220 worked beautifully for 2 months then the display just stopped working.

>>59805283
This is why I always put in some extra money to buy from a decent business. They give a warranty between 6 months and 2 years, usually like 1 year, that is enough to not worry about time bombs.

Do this >>59805554 OP

no
i bought an used optiplex last year and had no problems that weren't related to the fact that its a fucking optiplex