Refurbished Laptop from Pcworld. Should I risk it?

EvilHamster

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Jun 9, 2012
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Hi all. I was asked by someone to buy them a laptop. Easy enough it sounded, but the first problem was that I was asked to buy from an online retailer, like amazon or laptopsdirect so that in case of problems, a return would be easier.

Be it as it may. I was looking at a budget laptop, that is light and mobile, and come across one that was not that bad. But it is refurbished, which is something I am not too comfortable with. Add to it the fact that its from PC world and I started to have doubts.

But it is only £350 and so I thought it might be worth the risk. And it also has a 12 month warranty so...

What do you guys think. Should I go for it?

Also, since ironically i would have to order it anyways, would I still be able to bring it back in a local store in case of a defect? Or would I have to SEND it back? Anyone knows?


Cheers
 
Solution
Let me ping some of our UK colleagues for their input regarding PCWorld...

Have you contacted PCWorld to inquire about your specific concerns?

EvilHamster

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Well the problem is that it does not say why it was brought back. On better websites it says things like 'grade A' etc. which means only cosmetic defects etc. to 'grade D' meaning actually repaired internal hardware which might be problematic.
Sadly no such information from PC world. Thats the biggest question I have. Is that retailer trustworthy with used stuff?
 

EvilHamster

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I have sort of... I mean I was at a shop today and asked casually how I could know what the reason for the return was. The answer was the expected. We repair everything perfectly and give you full 12 month warranty etc and that it is as good as new etc etc. Sadly I forgot to ask wheter I could return to that local shop in case I needed to. Anyways, I will probably buy it, but I just wanted to know if people have a generally bad experience with them.

 

COLGeek

Cybernaut
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From a fellow moderator (UK based and a seriously well qualified source): "I find PCworld are OK for things like mice, keyboards and monitors as you can play with the display models but other than a network card and a graphic card that was bought in an emergency I don't shop there because Scan has a better selection with better prices."
 

g-unit1111

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I bought a factory refurbished iPad 2 from Apple and when I first got it it was almost like it was brand new. As long as you know that it was factory refurbished I can't see where you would go wrong.
 

EvilHamster

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Thanks COLGeek. I will have a look at scan then. Sadly it seams that I was right and PC world is to be treaded with care. I might still do it, since it is a sweet deal, but I will have to think about it a bit more.


I am not sure if it is factory refurbished or refurbished by them. Indeed I am leaning more towards the second.

EDIT: I just checked that Scan is an online retailer and I was looking for a local store.
 

EvilHamster

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@ Mousemonkey.

Even if PC world and Currys are the same, I found that products from currys to be much worse in quality. I know its probably just my imagination, but I am avoiding that shop.

Staples is not that bad, but usually not so many deals. But again, my question was if PC world is trustworthy with refurbished stuff.
 

Mousemonkey

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I only mention Currys because when I bought my 19 x 10 monitor both PC world and Currys had them but it was about £20 cheaper in Currys for some reason so I thought it might be worth your while to see if they have the same laptop and if a new one costs the same as the refurb.