What is the safest source for buying USED Laptops?

I may wish to purchase a laptop for some friends and I am not against purchasing a used one; while I am not against it - I do realize that there can be significant risk in doing that.



How aboput re-furbished ones? Or How to go about buying a used Laptop. I know some folks up grade, change their minds, etc.... There are many possible valid reasons to sell a used one, but the condition and price are certainly big concerns. Web sites? Tips?

THX.What is the safest source for buying USED Laptops?
Refurbished are repaired by the factory, and they meet certain quality standards. They are a bit better than straight up used ones since they've been reconditioned and have something like a 30-90 day warranty.



Tips:

Look for visible damage, scuffs, weak keys, etc, that could be a sign of excessive wear. Remember it is a laptop, and so you will get a few light scratches/scuffs carrying it around, but the cleaner the better (even refurbished could have cosmetic flaws). If you see large scratch patterns it could be a sign of more serious damage, like the dog started playing with it or something.What is the safest source for buying USED Laptops?
well geeks.com sells a lot of refurbished laptops for very good prices, and i have bought many things from them and have never had any problems, although laptops are very affordable now, for around $500 you can get a new one with vista from places like bestbuy.com. and of course there is always a risk buying a used one, so i guess you kind of have to weigh your options.
EBay.com is probably the best. Most of the regular sellers don't sell crap as they prefer to sell stuff that will leave good feedback for their next sale.
If you go the refurb route, make sure to buy it from the manufacturer. Getting refurb anywhere else can mean that your buying machine that was used after being refurbed. Otherwise, with buyer protection, refurbished is probably a good idea.



I would not go eBay - there are probably a great many respectable vendors on eBay, but enough bad ones to put you in reasonable danger of spending a decent amount of cash on a paperweight.



Whatever route you go, just remember that on some systems, you'll need to get new parts, and by ';new'; I mean parts that you didn't buy with the computer, but which aren't interchangeable with parts being sold today, aren't in production and are extremely difficult to find (and when you do find them, you'll find them being sold at a premium). You'll end up spending not that much less than you would have had you gone on NewEgg, and not getting the buyer protection.



You can obviate that risk by getting newer hardware, but 1) prices remain competitive with machines that are both brand new and available in brick%26amp; mortar stores and 2) you'll have to wonder why such a comparitively new machine is on the market. Sure you've got sellers who purchased a MacBookPro and are now going for that 6 month upgrade, or are getting rid of a machine made superfluous by the one they got at work. You've also got sellers who killed their macbooks with a double frappacino or who fried their Alienware by overclocking...everything.



Used is seldom a good idea.