Sometimes you may run into a laptop where the serial number doesn’t actually give you a clue as to if it’s been refurbished or not. This is often the case if a third-party company actually did the reconditioning, though most of them are supposed to comply with the tracking requirements of the original manufacturer. If this is the case, there are a few other things you can check:
1. The first thing you can do is check to see if there are any wear marks or scratches where people would have been touching the laptop the most. Check the keyboard keys, LCD screen, etc. for any signs of prior use.
2. This was an interesting idea I just read about online: Check the small screws holding on the access panels on the bottom for any abnormal wear as well. When companies do their refurbishment they’ll take those panels off and do whatever they need to do to bring that laptop back up to solid working order. If you see wear on those screws, there’s a good chance the laptop has been opened before.
3. Use your nose and smell for an industrial-style cleaner odor. This is tough to describe but the best I can say is that you’ll know it when you smell it. It certainly does make the laptop smell differently than new laptops that haven’t had that treatment done.
Those are the three that seem to work the best. Of course, if you can get the company to run the serial number, that’ll be your best bet. Good luck.
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]]>So, if you were to look for a refurb white mini laptop today, where would you look? Refurb laptops aren’t exactly everywhere you look; most of the stores you go to will only have new laptops, and since you want to save some money, you don’t want to buy just anything right off the shelf. To do that would be to throw money down the drain, wouldn’t it? No, you want something refurbished, that is, it’s been inspected and brought back to a “like new” state. See the related posts at the bottom of this post for more information on what makes a laptop refurbished (vs. brand new).
The first place you really want to try is to look online. Avoid the auction sites. eBay is right out. While you might be able to find some great deals there, what you’re going to find is a whole mess of used laptops that are going to have some issues with them.
Not all of them will be like that, but if the seller is trying to get rid of a laptop for a really super cheap price and it hasn’t been straight up refurbished, you can bet that there’s something wrong with it. Read the fine print; perhaps there’s no operating system, or the computer crashes constantly and he/she can’t afford to have it fixed. That kind of thing. You obviously want something that will work right off the bat.
So, my recommendation is to check out Amazon for your refurb white mini laptops. They usually have a wonderful assortment of refurbs in their inventory, so there’s no doubt you’ll find what you want. Amazon is solid, and also Tiger Direct. Can’t go wrong with either.
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]]>Why are these used notebooks so environmentally friendly? It’s simple, really. The creation of plastics cause pollution, and the manufacture of the electronics (hard drives, motherboards, etc.) is just as bad. While you may not want to support this industry as-is, everyone at some point will need a computer in order to do work, go to school, or just keep up to date on current events. If you’re a person who’s on the go, you’ll need to go portable. There’s no way around it. Buying refurbished laptops keeps the companies from needing to produce more and more of those environment-harming products. By changing hands instead of manufacturing a new product, you at least do a small part to cut down on harmful ozone-depleting emissions. Now just if everyone could get in that habit!
Now, before you run out and buy your new computer, you should do a bit of research. Your goal at this point should be to find exactly which brands offer “green” alternatives. After all, you don’t want to buy a laptop, even a refurbished one, if its manufacture has done severe damage to the environment. You should look at EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) ratings for the type of laptop that you desire. EPEAT is a way to measure the effect on the environment each piece of electronics has. It takes into account the types of materials, design life, disposal concerns, and about five other factors. Based on these criteria, a laptop can be awarded Gold, Silver, or Bronze EPEAT ratings. The way these ratings are determined can be found at the EPEAT criteria website.
It should be obvious, but your goal in purchasing a refurbished laptop is to ensure that it conforms to the Gold rating!
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