Buying Used Laptops on Facebook Marketplace

CC123 on 03/07/2019 - 18:28
Last edited 03/07/2019 - 20:02

Thinking about buying a second-hand Laptop off of the Facebook Marketplace, ill provide you with the details below:

  • $50
  • The seller has this as the description: "Battery isn't to crash hot but replacements are cheap. Works great while plugged into the wall."

The battery health isn't that important to me as I don't use laptops as laptops often.

  • Model number not listed - will PM the seller
  • Laptop display, frame and keyboard all appear to be in good shape from what I can see - before purchasing I would ask for pictures of each corner, the frame, the screen, etc.

On a side note, it isn't a convenient place for me to drive to (it's at least a 45min drive) - (If possible) would meet up in a public place with CCTV cameras and a busyish place such as a shopping centre, Post Office, or library.

If I were to do this, what payment method is safest? Beem it? PayPal? Cash?
Is getting the item delivered safe?

Should I ask for the original receipt as some sort of proof of purchase?

Been doing some searching on Ozbargain and was kind of worried to do this… 1 2 3

Any advice would be appreciate

8 PM UPDATE: Seller removed the item from the marketplace and didn't reply to the message I sent a few hours ago.

General Discussion Computer Laptop

Comments

  • mskeggs on 03/07/2019 - 18:37
    +8

    $50?
    I think you’ll be pretty safe.

  • Hardicus on 03/07/2019 - 18:50
    +2

    For $50 by the time you've made this post someone else has probably bought it and picked it up. Due diligence is good, but at that price it's probably better to buy first, ask questions later.

    • CC123 on 03/07/2019 - 18:53

      That happened to me last time, $20 laptop that had a broken LCD but worked perfectly fine went in a few hours.
      Basically just need a laptop for a media server and file share hosting
      I just find it a bit sketchy that it's so cheap for a perfectly fine laptop

  • o53djz7qTPY4der on 03/07/2019 - 19:03
    +1

    You're paying $50 for a laptop… What exactly are you expecting?

    Let me tell you a secret, a $50 laptop is, often, going to be a piece of junk. You might get lucky, but chances are you won't.

    If you're that worried about being scammed or getting a dud, don't but a $50 laptop on Facebook.

  • spackbace on 03/07/2019 - 19:09

    Anyone else think $50 was a typo, based on the surrounding essay?!

    Jees just go there and pay cash. I doubt the seller wants to be fked around meeting halfway over a $50 laptop, and I doubt you'd be the only prospective buyer.

    Surely you're having a laugh expecting you'd get the original invoice?!

    • CC123 on 03/07/2019 - 19:20

      Anyone else think $50 was a typo, based on the surrounding essay?!

      Wasn't a typo

      Jees just go there and pay cash.

      Isn't entirely convenient for a uni student who doesn't have a car…

      I doubt the seller wants to be fked around meeting halfway over a $50 laptop, and I doubt you'd be the only prospective buyer.

      You are probably right hence why I asked "Is getting the item delivered safe?"

      Surely you're having a laugh expecting you'd get the original invoice?!

      It's just having the assurance knowing that transaction happened and that the seller doesn't attempt to scam me in any way.

      • spackbace on 03/07/2019 - 19:22

        Wasn't a typo

        Yes, we've figured that out in subsequent replies

        Isn't entirely convenient for a uni student who doesn't have a car…

        Look for listings closer to you?

        It's just having the assurance knowing that transaction happened and that the seller doesn't attempt to scam me in any way.

        It's $50 cash in hand, direct swap of goods. Only scam is the laptop not working which realistically $50 is a gamble if it's going to last longer than a week.

  • Kranbone on 03/07/2019 - 19:20
    +1

    It's ozbargain, OP is probably expecting a macbook pro (jks)

    There's always a level of risk, you can always try to minimise it (which you've done). If you never buy, you never bargain.

  • Imhereforcomments on 03/07/2019 - 20:30
    +1

    I'm guessing the item has been sold and picked up and the seller doesn't want to waste his time replying to silly questions given the value of the item.

    • CC123 on 03/07/2019 - 20:34

      All I sent was "Hey I was just wondering whether if it's still available. Thanks" and I actually sent the message to him hours before I posted this. If someone sold you an iPhone XR in mint condition for $100, wouldn't you question that?

      • Imhereforcomments on 03/07/2019 - 21:23

        Fair enough.

        If someone sold me an iPhone at that price mint condition, I wouldn't question or be interested at all.

      • Ughhh on 03/07/2019 - 21:42
        +2

        If someone sent "I can pick up today /tomorrow /X day", I would sell it to them and ignore your "is it still available" message.

      • crentist on 03/07/2019 - 22:15

        Was it a current model laptop in mint condition for $50?
        Or was it, as per the description, a heavily used and probably quite old laptop for $50?

        Change your analogy to "iphone 4 with a dead battery" and see if $50 seems so unrealistic

        • CC123 on 03/07/2019 - 22:20

          I don't think it was current, it was probably 2-3 years old with a stuffed up battery.
          From what I could see, it looked like it was in really good condition.
          The screen was 13-14 inches big and had no damage from what I could see.
          It only had a Pentium processor in it. If it was an i3 or above it would have been more.

          My intention was to turn it into a media server or use it as a server machine (Windows server, FTP, etc).

  • crentist on 03/07/2019 - 22:32
    +3

    On fb or gumtree you gotta be ready to jump on deals if the price is low enough. Good deals can go quick.
    I once drove across the city at 11pm to grab a cheap macbook pro within a couple hours of listing. Sold it for profit later on.
    And once called about a car within an hour of listing one night, saw it first thing in the morning and bought it on the spot. Seller wouldn't budge on price either because they had a bunch of calls and people scheduled to see it later in the day.
    Will probably profit on the car too whenever the time comes.

    • CC123 on 03/07/2019 - 22:58

      Yeah I have figured that out… Normally not one to check out listings as such but hey, it would be amazing to get a bargain as such.
      Nice, I've seen quite a few Macbooks for <$500 but I don't think Macs are suitable for what I need + I haven't used a Mac in years.

      Thanks for the tips, noted for next time :)

  • HeWhoKnows on 04/07/2019 - 09:41

    Waste of time
    By the time you get any replies here it may well be gone.
    And if its not then its not worth buying by majority vote on Facebook
    For Gods sake its only $50

    Seriously, dont expect much for $50…it will be a heap of crap running at a snails pace

    PS Battery could cost you another $30 for non-genuine
    If the battery was "cheap" then why didnt the seller replace it????

    Obviously not so cheap and not worth spending the money

    • Bilalwentwild on 04/07/2019 - 16:48

      My ThinkPad T40s battery died in 2016 and I was looking for replacement/repair of machine. I needed to work on assignments during train commutes. Yes, non genuine battery was for 33$ and same leagues laptops were on gumtree for $60. I ended up buying 4year old acer i5 with over 95% genuine battery health (I checked) for $100. Original receipt was provided. It costed 500ish in 2012 to seller.
      These thing depreciate like anything and doesn't mean are crap or slow.

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