Now I need LAPTOP buying help!

[Robinrs]

My sister and my aunt want to buy a laptop. Neither need anything special but would like the following:

Fast internet access, both have small businesses on the web

Some documents

Lightweight, small

The basics. They're thinking of bidding on Ebay. They came to ME of all people and I have no earthly clue.

Can you guys give me Laptop 101???? And is Ebay safe??

Any websites you can recommend to link them to?

Thanks!

Robinrs

 

[Dan Murphy]

A good place to start, Robin.

http://www.dell.com/us/en/dhs/products/series_inspn_notebooks.htm

 

[safetymom]

I would suggest Costco. I just bought a great lap top there. I had previously bought off EBay but was not impressed with the prices for laptops. I had a laptop for work that I priced on EBay. By the time I bought off EBay I would have had to buy the operating system and software it was better to buy new.

It depends on what they will use the laptop for. I used mine for Photoshop at conventions. So I needed more memory and faster processor.

For fast internet access they would need a laptop with a network card.

 

[Kissimmee JP]

I have an IBM Thinkpad with a pentium 4, writeable CD/DVD Rom drive, and all the bells and whistles. I absolutely love it. I'll never go back to a desktop.

 

[whtyger97]

Ebay is safe, but you are buying from an individual (most likely). Its about as safe as seeing an ad in the paper or on a bulletion board and buying it. Most of the time it comes with no guarentees.

My advice on laptops though is to buy it from somewhere like a best buy or dell and to buy an extendand warenty. Laptops can be fairly delicate. We have one and we REALLY wish we had bought the extended warenty. 3 weeks after getting the laptop beer got spilled on the keyboard. To have it fixed was going to be $200 and several weeks without a keyboard. We finially found a place to buy the keyboard from but it alone was $100. Several months later while picking the laptop up off the floor with the wireless card in, it slipped like 3 inches off the ground and broke the pcmia slot (my dh wants to get a new slot to sodder onto the motherboard, but thats a repair most computer geeks won't attempt).

It'll cost alittle more but buying it from a store and getting an extended warenty is worth it. For a laptop and only a laptop. I would buy parts or other electronic parts off ebay, just not a laptop.

 

[ltldeb]

My first laptop I got from Ebay. It was a Dell and I paid $300 for it. I still have it and it still works. I bought it about 2 years ago. I just recently upgraded to another Dell, but I bought that one direct from Dell. Check out the Dell site. They have a lot to choose from with many different options.

 

[Tantorini]

you can always buy from Dell's Factory Outlet .. the systems carry the same warranty as new.. and there are currently some great deals going!

Dell also offers a "complete care" warranty on their portables, this allows for accidental damage to not void the warranty - which can be a great thing for a new portable user!

My advice is to not bid on a portable on Ebay until you are an experienced user - too many variables to play with.


beth
p.s. the fast internet connection has more to do with their service provider than the computer - getting a new computer won't speed things up if they still have dial-up!

 

[katerkat]

Ditto on the Dell Factory Outlet. That's where we bought ours from. Bryan wanted it for the gaming capabilities, so we have a Pentium 4, 384 mHz processor. That sucker runs FAST! We also have it set up for wireless Internet. And a nice big screen for watching DVDs. All in all, we saved about $800 buying from the outlet rather than a new Dell, AND you can buy a warranty from Dell, too, which isn't something you can get with eBay. I *think* Gateway also has an outlet?

 

[Fire14]

I personally love my HP Laptop I bought from Staples. It's just like the whole FORD/Chevy Debate I hate Gateway and Love HP.

 

[Cricket2]

1 word:

Refurb!

I spend more money in 1 month buying PC's and related junk than most people do in their whole lifetime. I haven't bought a new unit since I can remember. I have yet to have any serious headaches/problems from any of them. If you are really worried, get the "smash it and get a new one" extended warranty. You will still end up way ahead

Don't waste your/their money on a new PC, ever

 

[Robinrs]

Thanks, everyone! I emailed the refurb links for Dell and HP to my aunt and she said it's like being a kid in a candy store! I'm sure she'll find something.