Anyone bought a laptop off ebay?

extra-ordinary_

I'm currently looking to buy a Dell Latitude D420. On dell.ie I've got the system I want for €1800. I can go with an almost identical system through dell EPP for €1330 - the main difference being Vista Business rather than Home Premium. My other alternative is ebay where I've seen them for (€735) incl postage - http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250113384110&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=015

Obviously ebay is the cheapest and I can't see anything in this seller that's putting me off (other than the really cheap price!). I realise the above link has ended but the guy has told me he'll have more.
My question is does anyone have any experience buying laptops off ebay?

Tom Dunne

As that laptop is in the US, you will get hammered for customs when it arrives in this country. Also, what warranty will the seller provide this side of the pond?

Personally, if I was buying from the US (which I have done), I would use something with more comeback than e-bay.

extra-ordinary_

He states that there's a 3 year NBD International Warranty. He gave me a service tag that seemed to check out, but yeh I'd need to check into what duty I'd be liable to pay - although it's sold as used so does duty still apply?

Spipov

ull get creamed with customs. i recently got something for 200 dollars and was charged 34 euros duty

extra-ordinary_

Spipov wrote:

ull get creamed with customs. i recently got something for 200 dollars and was charged 34 euros duty

17% doesn't seem that bad - it would still be a lot cheaper. What I really want to know though is if anyone knows the story with almost new laptops being sold on ebay far cheaper than their value - even off U.S Dell outlet. Are these guys buying refurbished systems in bulk or what?

Tom Dunne

extra-ordinary_ wrote:

What I really want to know though is if anyone knows the story with almost new laptops being sold on ebay far cheaper than their value - even off U.S Dell outlet. Are these guys buying refurbished systems in bulk or what?

For this reason alone, I would not be willing to take the risk - there are too many uncertainties. Yes, you can be lucky and not have a problem. It's when you have a problem that you wonder if it was really worth it.

majiktripp

I bought a laptop off ebay....best deal I ever got, roughly give or take €600 for a new Dell D410 (which im using now) with leather cased,optical mouse etc, make sure your seller is in the UK or europe,that way there is no customs duty to worry about....also I transferred the 3 year warranty to my name so its all kosher and sweet as a bloody nut!

Spipov

ive bought a few on ebay uk. most of them turned out grand. actually, all of them turned out fantastic. im on a t41 at the moment, its like new...

just make sure the seller has good feedback and check what he usually sells - read feedback on previous laptops sold if any

rabbitinlights

I bought a Sony TR1 laptop about a year ago for about €450 off ebay, the mobo died last month and Ive sold all parts for ore than I paid for it.....

S.

extra-ordinary_

Thanks for the replies. As regards customs - a UK/European seller makes absolute sense. I'll have another look, although there aint too many D420s lately.

Tayto2000

I've been on ebay since 2002, but I'd always have been wary of spending that much online... Took the plunge today and bought an Ispiron 9400 with the GS 7900 card (can't seem to get them on Dell other than in XPS systems now for some reason...). Came to 1415 (Including shipping) with Paypal's crappy exchange rate, but still 250-300 euros cheaper than Dell's Irish site.

I've had some bad experiences with ebay in the past (Never ship to Brazil!) so I was looking for certain criteria:

1. Local as possible. That means UK or Ireland.
2. Close to 100% feedback if possible.
3. Large number of transactions.
4. Clear shipping charges.

Other stuff like presentation, contact detail availability, clarity all add to the overall impression but are easy enough to fake with a bit of effort.

The guy I bought from in the end has 99.9 positive feedback from 13593 people and 1 neg in the past year, all for sales of similar systems. Site seems kosher, in business since '03 and seemingly with a physical premises to back it up. Only ships to UK and Ireland too.

I'll post feedback on my ebay experience when it's all shaken out...

extra-ordinary_

@ Tayto2000:

What's the spec of the 9400 you got?

I'm going to be selling my own 9400 in the next week and was wondering how much it was worth.

Tayto2000

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7200 @ 2.00Ghz, 2G RAM (533), 200Gig HD, nVidia 7900GS Video Card, 17" Truelife screen and some nice bits like WiFi, DVDRW, 1 year warranty etc. Assuming the nVidia card was still available and taking into account the extra hard drive space and upgraded screen, I reckon it would have come in at around 1700-1750 direct from Dell. Only downers are 533 memory and XP Media. Might be time to have a look at Vista...

If you have the fat nVidia card I reckon you're laughing, I would have bought this direct off Dell if it had the same card but you can only get the x1400 without going to XPS. Have to say, these 9400 laptops are very nice. I had discounted Dells and was looking at Acers and Rocks before a mate emailed me the one he'd specced up. It's kind of a stealth gaming rig I can use for work

tech

DEll Laptop

be carefull when buying laptops with 3 Years warranty, try to get the TAG no and call Dell you need the orignal name of who bought the laptop to get your warranty as if you cant provide this, they will not ship out any parts

Tayto2000

Hmm, it's a commercial reseller so its not a refurb or secondhand job, but I have the seller's name etc. Only got a 1 year warranty anyway... Thanks for the tip.

Tayto2000

Well, arrived today and looks good so far. Brand new afaict (complete with all the Dell bloatware!). No dead pixels etc. Think I'll be doing a clean reinstall of XP then I'll see how it goes from there... So far the ebay experience seems to have paid off.

karltimber

Tayto

can you give the name of the ebay shop that you bought this from

thx

Tayto2000

Called Ecomputers, based in UK. Here's the link:

http://stores.ebay.com/EComputers-LTD_W0QQssPageNameZstrkQ3amefsQ3amesstQQtZkm

Been running like greased lightning after a manual debloat and optimisation with System Mechanic, I'm very happy with it.