Bargains on computers
I’ll start by pointing out that buying something you don’t need or can’t afford is not a bargain, however cheap it may be. However, if you’ve budgeted for a computer, you’ll probably get more for your money at RetroBox.
RetroBox is in the business of corporate upgrades. Essentially, most companies have a policy of upgrading their computers every couple of years. RetroBox buys the “old” computers and resells them.
What does that mean for you? Well, it means that you can get computers that are a couple of years old (but still completely usable for normal applications) for very low prices. How low? When I looked this afternoon, I found laptops comparable to the one I paid $1000 for (two years ago) going for less than $400. You can get a decent desktop (for email, internet, and word processing) for well under $100.
If you’re in the market for a computer, take a look at their inventory.
A couple of caveats:
- This stuff is used. Read the descriptions and make sure that you’re willing to accept any defects (the cheapest computers in each category have defects!).
- These computers come without operating systems (e.g. Windows). That means you can either put a free operating system (like Linux) on it or buy Windows and install it. However, if you’re planning on buying Windows, take that cost into account and then decide if it’s a great deal.
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Carnival of Personal Finance #17
Welcome to the 17th Carnival of Personal Finance! If you haven’t read the Carnival before, it’s a gathering together of personal finance-related posts submitted from across the blogosphere, and hosted on a different blog each week. If this is your…
Hey, GREAT find…thanks for the heads up…
I made this one of my “posts of the day” on my blog…
ncnblog.com
Interesting…thanks for the heads up and link. Much appreciated.
The advice given here is wrong.
I took a a look at the inventory and the prices at RetroBox. They are *too* high. For the same prices you can buy new and more powerful Dell machines using coupon codes which are tracked on bargain hunting sites like hot-deals.com or stealdeals.net.
Happy shopping.
Thanks for the advice, nim. I’m a big fan of coupon codes myself! I guess in this case it depends on what you’re looking for. If you want something new (or newish), I’d definitely recommend Dell (I do on a regular basis, actually). But I have never seen Dell sell anything under $100 (under $500, yes, but not $100), so for the basics (word processing, email, general surfing), I don’t think Dell competes on price. You’ll get more bang for your buck with Dell, but it takes a lot more bucks and many people don’t need the bang.
Beware of placing an order with them. I ordered a computer from them that was supposed to be $22.10. They placed an initial charge on my credit-card for that amount (plus the shipping and handling.) I then checked their website for the order status and they had the price as being $40.30+s/h (almost double the price for the computer.) When I called them about it, their response was “Mistakes happen and we have a disclaimer about that on the website.” (And they do have “Our goal is perfection, however occasionally mistakes do occur. Therefore, errors in configuration or pricing will not be honored. Final pricing will be at the full and total discretion of RetroBox.com.” on the site but in small, faint type.) If “mistakes” happen so much that they need a disclaimer, then they have too many mistakes. Any reputable company would eat the occasional mistake in pricing.