Refurbished laptop computers
guide and store locator
Refurbished laptop computers are not necessarily spruced up used equipment, they are more often returned products that have some minor blemish or packaging problems.
When a notebook or laptop computer is returned to the manufacturer it is inspected and evaluated, given minor repairs if necessary and repackaged. The good news is the price tag is much lower than for a new, unblemished model.
It is not uncommon to save half the recommended retail price. These refurbished laptop computers are excellent quality and value and have a very low return rate to the manufacturer, which indicates customer satisfaction. Like new, full priced products, refurbished laptop computers come with guarantees and a warranty.
All the main manufacturers of laptops offer refurbished equipment and you can often find these offerings by doing an Internet search.
Refurbished notebooks come with an operating system, however they may or may not come with an additional software bundle such as Microsoft Office so it is important to be very clear on what the price covers.
Refurbished laptop computers can do everything a new, full priced computer can do. The key is to be clear on the size of the hard drive, the amount of RAM the computer comes with and the speed and type of processor.
If you know these things you can compare the price of the refurbished product with a new one available at a retail outlet.
However, there can be a very real difference between the quality of a refurbished computer from the manufacturer and a private dealer who is refurbishing laptops and notebooks.
Manufacturer refurbished equipment based on minor defects in appearance and packaging offer little or no risk to the purchaser and are recommended for their value, however there are low priced refurbished laptops which are clearly second hand and given a new lease on life.
These computers can often be purchased at very reasonable prices but you would have to be very careful that the company that refurbished the equipment created a high quality product at a very reasonable price, backed up by guarantees and warranties.
The price of these computers will depend on the brand, the quality of the casing, the type of processor, operating system, network card and modem, as well as the size of both the Random Access Memory (RAM) and hard drive. It will also be affected by whether the computer has a CD ROM and DVD drive, zip drive, video and sound card.
Be sure that you ask whether the AC adaptor comes with the computer and even whether it has a new battery in it. These items can significantly add to the cost of a refurbished computer.
Once you know exactly what you get for your money and how this compares to purchasing the product new, you need to be sure that you can access after sales support.
Some suppliers will include this in the price and under the warranty, others will require you to pay for the privilege of accessing additional support including telephone and on site repairs.
If you take the time to obtain all this information and compare offers with new product inclusions and prices you will be able to choose wisely and benefit from the lower cost of refurbished laptop computers.
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