![]() The Office installs (assuming MS Office) are not going to be legit. ![]() Depending on exactly how the license was obtained it’s possible Windows Activation will flag the install as not genuine at some future (or not so future) time. If the installed OS matches the version printed on the license sticker they probably used the bundled OEM Windows license.īut if you are getting, say, Windows 7, on a computer that predates it you won’t be getting a legit install. It’s not difficult to legally find cheap computer hardware but software is more tricky. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are sketchy elements- particularly with, say, Windows or Office licenses that aren’t exactly legit – but things are probably mostly legit. The price difference is small, which leads me to believe that the people who buy them are just putting pirated copies of Windows on them anyway. They sell for a little bit less than if I were to sell them with Windows, but not enough less to pay for the Windows license or the risk of getting caught up in some craigslist BSA sting if I were to pirate it. When the hardware is free, it’s not hard to make $50+ an hour doing this (although it’s very unsteady work). My wife’s employers now give me their old computers, too, since I’ll securely wipe the drives for them and then sell the systems. I’ve also had friends give me their old computers, again, usually because something was wrong with it and it wasn’t worth their time to fix it. Sometimes there’s something wrong, but it’s a simple enough fix (just not worth it for the IT guy to spend his time on, especially when the computer is not far from being discarded for age anyway). Sometimes the computers are just out of date, but work fine. My company discards computer equipment semi-regularly and, before the electronics recycling people come, employees are free to take whatever they want. They are worth looking into to be assured of a safe machine. Granted they need to make a profit so their prices will be higher. TigerDirect and NewEgg both sell new and refurbished laptops. I suspect they are fences for others acquiring (ahem!) laptops and dumping them for a few bucks to those to refurbish them. Did you buy right there? Of did they say it would be ready tomorrow, come back then (bait and switch)? ![]() Maybe a possibility if the person doing it writes off their time. I would be highly suspect one can buy a used machine, refurbish it (with intact licensing) and sell it at a profit for $35-$100. However, refurbishing a computer takes time and effort. This assumes they acquired the computer with intact licenses for Windows and Office. Are guys like this legit or am I walking into something? So what’s going on here? Are these units really just old refurbished or are they possible stolen? The one guy had a Dell for $50 that worked fantastic and had every bell & whistle you could think of. The houses aren’t rentals and were in decent parts of town. When asked where they got the computers it was always a quick answer of “when people are done with them I buy them cheap and refurbish them”Īll the computers ranged in price from $35-$100, the average being $75. All the computers worked great, and had Windows 7, Office 2010, ect. ![]() Every guy claimed to be a computer programer and was doing this on the side. So I answered a few ads (3) on Craigslist for used/refurbished computers.Įvery one was a middle-aged guy in his basement with 2 dozen computers set up. I’m far from broke but I need to be a bit frugal in '15. Time to get a new one but in the last year I spent 20 grand cash remodeling my house, bought a new corvette, and am in litigation with a crooked real estate attorney I hired to sell a property my wife inherited. As many of you are aware, I’ve had a zillion problems with my computer. ![]()
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