Laptop for Sale - How to Avoid Some Second Hand Misery

Cheap laptops are always on demand, and they are likely to keep on having some attention for a while. One can find a really killer deal out of pure luck but there are a few things I'd like to point out before anyone rushes to buy the cheapest laptop they can find without even taking a look at where it comes from and how it looks like.

Buying a second hand laptop is in some way similar to purchasing a used car and as such if I was about to buy one I'd check every single little detail I can think of. Don't think it is rude to spend a few minutes checking the unit up before purchase. The seller wants to sell it and unless someone buys it right away without taking a second look, they have to let possible customers examine it. Should they act anxious or rush you, chances are that they have something to hide.

Obviously this is not always the case, some really good condition second hand notebooks are sold every minute somewhere around the country. Something I personally would look at first is if the notebook in question is stolen. It's not hard to check as you only need the serial number of the unit and the help line phone number of the manufacturer. Call them and ask if they have a database of stolen notebooks, because you're about to buy one of their models and suspect that it may have been repossessed.

If the device turns out to be from a trustworthy source, check the general condition. Look for cracks on the casing and screen, scratches, dents, missing pins in connectors. Check USB ports too, because one broken port is not the world unless it is the USB. If it's damaged you can't even fix an issue with an external accessory. If the notebook is dirty you are not obliged to buy it. You aren't obliged to buy it if it's clean either but I particularly despise messy keyboards full of human hair, nail pieces and breadcrumbs. I've even seen a ladybug in one once. Always remember that notebooks are personal items. They carry around bacteria, viruses and can cause disease if they're not in a proper hygienic status.

Should you have a few extra minutes, check the hard drive. Used and second hand laptops especially slightly older units may have a damaged hard drive and you will have gone through some misery by the time you realize it is the HDD that crashes the operating system and not the other 3 components you've already replaced. Viruses are easy to get rid of as you are going to make a full reinstall anyway with complete formatting of the hard drive, but bad sectors are something of a concern.

Bad sectors may be caused by physical damage to the disk surface and those are likely to corrupt files or even crash the whole operating system. Depending on the cause this bad sector may even spread to other parts of the disk too.

If everything seems to be in order you may agree on the price and go on enjoying your new old laptop. If you find something that is not crucial but you think it is not as described you can bargain a few dollars of the price, most sellers will take it. Personal checkup is not always possible unfortunately, especially when buying products over ebay or other auction sites. In that case I suggest you check out ratings of the seller.

A high positive rating doesn't mean you won't buy rubbish, but seriously lowers the risk of getting something not in a condition as advertised. Read everything carefully and take your pick accordingly.