More Tips on Buying Refurbished Notebooks
My May feature about refurbished notebooks generated more e-mail than any topic
I've written on so far. Of the messages I received from readers about their
experiences with refurbished portables, almost three quarters were
overwhelmingly positive.
For example, Toby Nemiroff of Brooklyn bought a refurbished Hitachi 7630 for
$1000 two years ago. "The model had sold for about $5000 just about a year
before," he writes, so he realized a savings of about $4000. The notebook has
"held up extremely well, and I still use it today," Toby continues. Buying a
refurbished notebook "was a good move, and I'd do it again," he concludes.
Of the negative responses, some reported mixed results. Others recounted tales
of woe, full of computer glitches and poor tech support. The following are three
representative reader responses.
By the way, in case you missed the original column, here's the gist: Based on my
research, I found that refurbished notebooks (computers returned to the store or
manufacturer, then repaired, retested, and resold) sometimes offer more features
for the money than comparable, brand-new models.
