Buying a second hand PC
is nothing short of common sense. The PC that was top of the line 18 months ago
is now the modern equivalent of a pocket calculator. Surely this would mean you
should not buy a second hand PC? This would be correct if it were not for the
fact that modern computers are burningly advanced, to the point where a second
hand computer is still going to fulfill all of your needs.
If that does not convince
you, then consider start-up bugs and compatibility. The PC software and
hardware that came out 18 months ago is now updated, patched and tested,
whereas the new hardware and software that has just come out may be viciously
unstable or soon be redundant. Consider all the businesses that upgraded to
Vista, only to change to Windows XP. If they had waited and purchased second
hand, they would have saved a lot of time and money. Here are some things to
look out for when buying secondhand.
Consider whether to buy
from a store or privately
If you buy privately,
then you are going to get a far better price. This is going to mean that you
lose less if something goes wrong. However, if you buy from a store then you
can go back and complain if something goes wrong. You may also secure a written
guarantee too. So, you really have to weigh up the cost and the benefit. Do not
forget that private sellers do not have to add on their profit margins, whereas
a store does.
The hard drive needs to
have been reset
It may also be advertised
as formatted. This should put the PC back into the state it was when you first
purchased it. The only thing that should remain is any notifications of bad
sectors. However, you need not concern yourself with this if the PC has been
correctly formatted. This will remove any programs that were not there when the
PC was first bought. It should also reset the version of Windows too, so that
any alterations and additions will have been changed. You should update any
software after checking it has been formatted.
Pay attention to their
reason for selling
This may give you an
indication of their true motives for selling. People sometimes sell their
computer because it has slowed down too much, or because they have had
unsuccessful repairs. The most common reason you will hear is that they have
upgraded. But, ask them why they have upgraded. Because if they are telling you
that the device is fantastic and perfect, then they are going to have to come
up with a reason for wanting to sell this “fantastic” device.
If you are buying from a
store, then ask them about the previous owners. They may not know the answer,
which means you must ask a few easily checkable details such as how old the
machine is, and what sort of hardware it comes with. You should also ask what
hardware it is compatible with.
Most of all, you should
probably not purchase on your first visit. Take down a few details about the PC
and go home and check them out. Find out if what you were told is true. You
should then look online for how much the same PC is selling for online (such as
eBay). If the price of the store PC is substantially higher, then you may wish
to reconsider the purchase, unless the store owner gave you a very good reason
as for the sale price.
Feel free to negotiate
The thing you should
really be looking out for is a good price and value for money. Both of these
will occur organically if you haggle a little bit. This can even be done with
stores, as they are often willing to haggle a bit if they are selling second
hand goods.
The same is true for
private sellers. They are often willing to negotiate on price because they want
to get rid of the device. They often have no use for it, and some may even need
the money so that they can buy their new one. Therefore it never hurts to try
and negotiate the price down a little bit.
Bio:
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