Buying a refurbished laptop can save you a lot of bucks. Before going ahead for a refurbished laptop, you need to be very cautious and be sure that it meets a certain level of parameters. Furthermore there is always a confusion between refurbished and used laptops among the users. So, let me throw some light on these two types of old laptops. Used and Refurbished terms are not limited to laptops they are used for almost all the equipment, appliances, and machinery including vehicles.
The refurbished laptops are sold by either the manufacturers or the authorized refurbishing company. These authorized companies receive the laptops from customers either on a buy back scheme or buy the damaged or faulty ones from them.
Upon receiving these old laptops they inspect the laptops for any physical or internal damage. They open the laptop and replace any missing or damaged components, clean the circuitry and cooling fans and re-apply the heat sink compound, if necessary.
After re-assembling the laptop, all the previous data and operating system is wiped clean and a new OS is installed after factory reset. Finally the quality control team tests the laptop working and okays it for sale to customers who want to buy a budget laptop.
Apart from buying a refurbished laptop offline from a local dealer in your area, you can also buy it online either directly from the manufacturers like Apple’s refurbished laptops portal or from the eCommerce portals like eBay, Amazon. There are some other companies like Tech-Soup that sell these refurbished products not only to its members but also supplies refurbished laptops to many non-profit organizations as a noble cause.
Features to Look in Refurbished Laptops
Check Accessories
With a refurbished laptop you won’t be getting free goodies like mouse, keyboard skin or screen cleaner with it but the important accessory to check is the power adapter. So make sure it is mentioned in the accessories list.
Battery Backup
This is another feature you must consider before adding a refurbished laptop to your online shopping cart. Many refurbishers replace the old batteries with new ones but some may sell with the old battery intact. So, you must check the battery backup of old laptop of your choice.
Seller Rating
Always buy a refurbished laptop from an authorized or certified vendor. Moreover, make sure the vendor or the company is a reputed one and has a good experience in selling refurbished products. You can check the user feedback and the ratings provided by customers.
See the examples of Seller Information
Laptop Body
You can check the body for scratches and the vital thing to check is the hinges of the screen. In old laptops the hinges wear out and the screen gets loose that may move freely on the laptop body. The authorized refurbishers usually fix the hinges issue before selling it. You can inquire about hinges nevertheless to make sure that you don’t end up with a laptop whose screen falls back with a slightest touch.
Return and Warranty policy
The warranty is another key feature to look while buying a refurbished laptop. The vendors may offer the warrant as low as 30 days to a maximum of 1 year. So, check the warranty and any return policy before finalizing the deal.
Check the OS
Regarding operating system, I would recommend you to go for a refurbished laptop with pre-installed operating system. A laptop with running OS is a clear indication that there are no technical glitches in the system.
Check your requirements
Do your homework in detail like you should be clear in mind for what purpose you are buying a laptop. It’s better if you put all your target applications and the minimum hardware requirements on a piece of paper. For example for graphics hungry apps, you might need a laptop with dedicated graphics and for travelling, you need a lightweight and compact laptop.
Buy a Refurbished Laptop
An old laptop refurbished by industry experts can be as fruitful as a buying a new one, provided you take care of few of the things before clicking the BUY button. All the necessary features/pre-requisites has been mentioned above. I hope you will follow them and in case you have more to add to these list of tips, do share them in the comments section.
Thanks for share useful tips with us.