Ever bought a "new" laptop off ebay?

WiltOnTilt · #1 12-27-2006, 05:24 PM

I'm looking to buy a new poker laptop and also do some gaming on it. The laptop in question is Dell XPS M1710 Ebay Auction.

I've read that dell doesn't have official resellers, so any Dells sold on ebay won't technically be new. Here are my questions:

1) Have you or do you know anyone that has bought a "new" dell on Ebay? Any problems? What level of risk am I looking at?

2) Since Dell has no resellers, how are these people able to sell these laptop so much cheaper than dell.com?

3) If I did purchase this system, how does the warranty info work? It comes with 3 year warranty and accident protection. Somehow I need to get this into my name and not the original "buyer" -- how?

Thanks,

KoW

boedeker · #2 12-27-2006, 05:42 PM

I am fixing to do the same with the M1210, I'm not really worried about the quality. I'm thinking that these were either bought when there was a "slickdeal" that they run sometimes (750 off all 1500 dollar laptops) then resold or at worst they were be purchased from delloutlet as a refurbished.

I just think the difference in costs is the risk that I'm willing to take on. If you are risk adverse buy it from Dell.

WiltOnTilt · #3 12-27-2006, 05:48 PM

boedeker,

Any idea on the warranty stuff?

KoW

boedeker · #4 12-27-2006, 05:58 PM

I do know that you can transfer warranties. So I guess it just depends on when these computers were bought. It also looks like this person only deals in Dell's so my guess is that this is a mall kiosk (dell outlet) trying to make a side hussle; they could even been selling it really close to cost to improve volume and possibly get greater discounts from dell providing them with profit in the future. I haven't done any research, but I have the feeling that these things are franchises. However, don't hold me to that.

frostbrn · #5 12-27-2006, 07:01 PM

I bought my laptop "new" off of ebay (Dell e1705), and it actually WAS new (it had the new startup screen image that only comes up the first time you turn a dell on). However, I did make 1 critical warranty error. In his auction page, he said that the laptop came with a 5 year extended warranty (better than the standard 1 year plan that comes with the computer), but that you would have to email him immediately after the auction was over to transfer ownership of the laptop. Well, I was too excited about my new computer and didn't take the time to email him (foolish mistake), and now 9 months later my AC adapter has died, so I call Dell for a replacement. What do they tell me? Yes, there was a 5 year warranty on the machine, but the owner called about a month after I won the auction to cancel the warranty. I email the guy and he says that had I emailed him after the auction was over, he would have xferred ownership of the laptop and the warranty would be good. He cancelled it because I guess he got a refund on it after he assumed that I didn't need it.

GG me, moral of the story: get that ownership transferred as soon as you buy it. But other than that, I've had no problems whatsoever with the computer and it runs everything perfectly.

jfk · #6 12-27-2006, 10:03 PM

I did once and it was a catastrophe. I'll spare you the details, but in hindsight too much can go wrong to make Ebay a good route for laptops.

Secondly, I've had the one Dell notebook (an Inspirion?) I had fried. The local guy who works on them recommended that I place it in the garbage can. He apparently ran into a lot of issues with the series I owned due to issue of heat frying the motherboard and related circuits.

WiltOnTilt · #7 12-28-2006, 12:20 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I did once and it was a catastrophe. I'll spare you the details, but in hindsight too much can go wrong to make Ebay a good route for laptops.

Secondly, I've had the one Dell notebook (an Inspirion?) I had fried. The local guy who works on them recommended that I place it in the garbage can. He apparently ran into a lot of issues with the series I owned due to issue of heat frying the motherboard and related circuits.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi jfk, thanks for the post.

Was the laptop you got new? Did it still have the warranty, etc? As far as I can tell the one I'm getting should be under warranty so if something goes wrong I can replace it.

I'm certainly not trying to argue with your warnings, I appreciate it a lot, I'm just trying to figure out if we're comparing apples to apples.

Thanks,
KoW

teddyFBI · #8 12-28-2006, 12:25 AM

my .02: I can't understand why anyone, let alone poker players (who can assess the value of their time quantitatively), would risk an eBay nightmare just to save $50 - $100.

Get it straight from the manufacturer and enjoy a little peace of mind.

WiltOnTilt · #9 12-28-2006, 12:46 AM

[ QUOTE ]
my .02: I can't understand why anyone, let alone poker players (who can assess the value of their time quantitatively), would risk an eBay nightmare just to save $50 - $100.

Get it straight from the manufacturer and enjoy a little peace of mind.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, the savings is closer to about $800...almost a buyin for the stakes I play.

That's why I asked what level of risk I'm looking at in the OP, so I could assess whether or not the risk of a headache is worth the savings.

Thanks,
KoW

teddyFBI · #10 12-28-2006, 01:04 AM

yikes, a $3,200 Dell laptop??
hope it buys u dinner first.
well, think of it this way: u play 5/10NL? what's your hourly winrate? $100? $200? Just 4 or 5 hours of your time, and you won't have to deal with an EBay seller or potential complications.
I'm not suggesting $800 is trivial, but man, so many EBay horror stories out there...(and yes, they often involved sellers with 99%+ positive feedback)