I will name no names but provide some general advice. By far most of my EBay transactions have been satisfactory.

Do not buy a Thinkpad from any seller who does not provide the model number. Before you bid, check the model number at Lenovo's support site and ensure that the specifications match what the seller has described.

I am not kidding you, I encountered a seller who admits to and sees nothing wrong with "rounding up" the specification for the CPU of the notebook. I repeat: ROUNDING UP. I even have the admission and explanation ("we do our own benchmarking") in writing.

Insist on proper packaging and be prepared to pay $30-$50 for guaranteed, professional packaging alone. Anyone who ships a laptop wrapped in one layer of bubble wrap and stuffed into a 12x14x3.5" cardboard box should... receive an award for reaching adulthood with 10 fingers and 10 toes.

I once ordered a wifi antenna adapter, and the guy sent it in a standard business envelope. Well, he said he did. There was just a hole in it when I got it. Never got a refund either.

I still have all my fingers and toes, and I'm well into adulthood. Do I get an award?
See my post http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=61280

Gambling is no way to save money.

I've sent laptops packed like that all over the world, including to the Ukraine. Never a problem.
Of course you can always OVERdo it, but why waste money?

If I had that kind of luck, I might be a rich man. Or maybe just have 10 fingers and 10 toes. (o:

I buy all my used Thinkpads from eBay . Received this a few days ago: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0291449977

Arrived in a USPS Flat Rate Priority Box - the slightly thicker one (11-7/8" x 3-3/8" x 13-5/8"), encased in bubble wrap so that there were no voids and was in great physical condition (it works well too!). Other packages have arrived with some damage in the same Priority boxes. I've even received boxes that are much larger and due to the inadequate packing job inside and/or the treatment it received along the way, the contents were damaged:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 881#215881

I generally use containers that have room for at least an inch or two of space around all sides of the laptop. For the times that I've shipped a system inside one of those Flat Rate boxes, it was because I was returning it to the seller/client and they had used the same type of box. I also try to mark the box "fragile" (and in doing so, probably target it for special abuse ) and insure the contents.

As far as stretching the truth on system specifications, I too would avoid sellers like that. The only times that I don't ask for the type numbers is when it's obvious from the pictures what it is.

With eBay, I assume the worst and I'm generally not dissapointed!

However, I recently had this experience. A seller with a rating of 1 (huge reason to be concerned) was selling a T42. There were some inconsistencies in the ad, like the RAM was listed 512MB once and 1GB another time, plus the picture was of a T43, however, the price was right (or it seemed to be).

I wound up receiving the item, packed in a thin cardboard box with a single thin buble wrap sheet loosely wrapped around it. Surprisingly, it wasn't destroyed! However, it wasn't exactly a T42 in excellent condition - it was a filthy R51. It has a lesser CPU, less RAM, a smaller and slower hard drive, no AC adapter, etc.

After three weeks, the seller credited me back about 25% of the total price I paid.

With this auction I knew I was rolling the dice. I'm OK with it now, but wouldn't bid on that one again.

You have to be VERY CAREFUL on eBay.

OMG, where does one begin...

A gorgeous, supposedly "refurbished" (whatever that was supposed to mean) A31p with a XGA LCD...

A 15" T43p that turned out to be a 14" T43 (but at least it was SXGA+ although missing a few not-noted-in-the-description parts)...

Unless you know the seller, it's ALWAYS a roll of the dice...sometimes a pleasant one, like when I bought a dead A31p still covered under original warranty...

When it comes to shipping, I tend to overpack...and was doing the same thing when I was still active on eBay.

I have now bought about a dozen T61's for my office in the past 3 months from eBay. For me it worked out pretty well when I ordered brand-new sealed in original box. 2 or 3 laptops ago, I ordered one in a hurry and I failed to note that it was tagged new but not ORIGINAL box. USPS or Mauritius Post or whoever in between did a wonderful job of smashing the laptop in the HDD corner (it was a 14.1W model). The magnesium frame took it well but the LCD and its lid are totally gone. The palm rest and bottom half of the casing are fried - from the looks of the damage, it must have been dropped from 20 ft at least!!! And that machine had a special 4 yr warranty! I now always read the description carefully and ask the seller how the laptop is being shipped.

I am still awaiting USPS to refund the cost of the laptop but nothing beats the original Lenovo packaging. Insist on it!

BTW if anyone knows where I can get the parts to fix the laptop, I would be much obliged.

I think I have seen the Lenovo packaging... It is a cardboard frame with a square sheet of strong, flexible plastic in the centre. The notebook sits in the square of plastic, is sandwiched by another frame of the same type, and then inserted into the box.

The cardboard frame suspends the notebook in the centre of the box. The notebook is prevented from shock and safe from objects that penetrate the box... unless the attacker uses a halberd.

And the pictures are always of the item up for bid!

Brian

Touché .

I ordered my T61 from eBay. Laptop came in a box very similar to the ones that Lenovo uses, it had only the Intel sticker but no Lenovo printings on it. The laptop came with the cardboard too in the original plastic bag. However the AC adapter and battery were not so securely traveling, they were 'loose'.

Laptop is working great, got one of the last 4:3 T61 remaining. However the build quality on some parts of the case is not what I would expect.

The keyboard is 'noisy' when I type fast. I wish I could get a Thai keyboard for a T61 like the one my T42p had.

Ha ha ha.

I bought a Wifi card from eBay. And the guy did the same, except it did not fall out through the hole. However, the card was badly mangled to where it had a "bow" in it, probably trying to get around the curves in the USPS mail processing system. I had paid $3 shipping which is more than enought to cover a small padded envelope and First Class Mail postage.

As for the shipping in bubble wrap in the USPS Flat Rate boxes. I've used them and people have sent laptops to me in them. So far so good. [knock on wood]

I had a recent eBay experience with a T21. The seller's ad mentioned that the LCD was good the last time the laptop was powered up. I wonder when that was, because the unit was DEAD when I plugged in the AC adapter, something easily acertained since the seller had the AC adapter for the unit. There were two cracks in the base unit, and the plastic connecting LCD to the base had two broken pieces front and back. All of this wasn't mentioned.

At least you had a product you photograph. The seller refused to "believe" that I was telling the truth. That was his response, anyhow.

It was a valuable eBay lesson that led me to be much more cautious from that time forward.

My seller would only refund 1/2 of the amount. But since I paid with credit card tied to my Paypal account, I was able to get the full amount credited.

Paypal requires that you mail back the item with Delivery Confirmation to get the full refund. Okay if the item was costly; not okay otherwise.

I would have accepted the partial refund had the seller packed the Wifi card in a padded envelope. But, when he did the bonehead move of mailing in a business envelope and putting 2 first class stamps on it to mail it, then I got mad.

If buying on eBay using Paypal, always pay with a credit card.

To me the last seller with the T21 clearly lied. If she had stated that the unit won't power up was she was able to do since she had the AC adapter then I wouldn't even had bid on it. As it is, it "only" cost me $10.45 lesson.

Up to now I've bought two Thinkpads on eBay. The first was an X30 from a British seller. The specs were correct, it came with the factory restore partition and Win XP installed (including servicepacks up to SP2) and some free utilities and Office software. The main gripe was that is took several weeks to arrive, most likely due to either Royal Mail or the French La Poste (given their respecive reputations I am inclined to blame Royal Mail). The seller was all pent up to file a claim with Royal Mail when the machine finally arrived. The box it had been packed in was pretty mangled, but the laptop was delivered in a Tarhus/IBM laptop bag with a lot of internal protection, so it survived. It did have a small chip off the case in the lower righthand corner, one stuck pixel in the loer left quadrant of the screen, and shortly after I started using it, tha case cracked just over the PCMCIA slot (a known weak point in these models). I can't determine whether that crack was already present or not. Given the price it was a decent buy at the time, especially since it came in full working order with a Win XP licence (COA sticker plus the OS installed and the restore partition, and a rescue CD).
It had obviously been a corporate machine; the business cards of the original owner, an IT manager with a pharma company, were still in the Targus bag.

More recently I ordered a refurbished X31 from another British seller. It came fairly quickly (about a week), in a decent box, well wrapped, with a rescue DVD. It was obviously refurbished, as the mobo produced a different type/spec number when checked in Access IBM and against the Lenovo site than the type number mentioned by the seller (and which was still on the bottom sticker of the case and shown in the seller's pictures). In fact it now had a faster motherboard! Apparently the reason for this is that most X31 mobo repairs use the same board, the only type still available in reasonable numbers. The machine had been upgraded to a 60 GB/5400 rpm harddisk, 768 MB of PC 2700 RAM and had a perfectly clean, brand new keyboard (Thai, the best). It also had a good wifi card (IBM/Atheros b/g with good range). Spec wise it was closer to an X32 than a typical X31. No blemishes whatsoever.
The battery was practically brand new with only 6 or 7 cycles. There was the COA Windows sticker, the OS was installed and updated, but there was no factory restore partition. It came loaded with a lot of software though: Open Office, full Acrobat with Distiller, Nero, a lot of ripping software, antivirus... And it was all on the restore CD, obviously this seller used Nero disk imaging to install her machines. I was quite happy, especially as the X31 was actually cheaper than the X30 had been (but that is what 18 months in computer history does to the value of machines). I found a brand new set of IBM X31/X32 restore disks on the Bay from an Australian seller to complement the X31, and I now have a very capable traveling laptop for very little. But I have to say that it takes while to select a seller who seems reliable (I tend to check them by sending them a simple question on the specs; if no answer comes back I'm gone; and I only go for people with close to 100% positive and a fair number of sales, and prefer those who have a Direct Buy option where the price is right).

I think I would prefer to go through a forum like this one, but I need either a UK or a Dutch keyboard, which limits my choice essentially to UK sellers (most laptops sold in the Netherlands have US keyboards, don't ask why). And that means eBay.

Until now I have been lucky with thing I got through eBay. They include laptop and airband radio batteries, photo equipment etc.

I think there is something else. Don't expect to buy a fairly recent model laptop in excellent condition for only a few tenners. There are sellers who have made it their business, either fulltime or as a sideline, to get lots of written-off business laptops, clean them up, refurbish or upgrade them, install a clean OS, and then sell them through eBay. Many of those machines are sold close to the original warranty date (i.e. three years old). As they were used in a business environment, they may have been upgraded or been subject to warranty repairs. Technically they may be in very decent shape. But you won't find, say, an X31 or T4x series like that for twenty dollars. They tend to cost a few hundred, even on eBay. 15 percent of the original retail price seems a fair bet, depending on the model. If that machine has the specs you need, that is still dirt cheap. If you are lucky and get a model which is still just within warranty, you can even go for a warranty extension through Lenovo, and have the equivalent of a 'new old stock' laptop.

For a "nearly new" X61, what checks can (or should) you make.

Copy of warrenty.
Purchase receipt.

Of course, for older models you pay your money and take your chance.

Any comments on my last question.

Also...

Ask for close-up pictures.
Ensure that the seller has a good reputation.

Generally, if it feels like a trick it is a trick. I've purchased all of my ThinkPads from eBay (See sig) and I've only ever had problems with a T23. Granted, it can be a gamble to buy off of eBay but you can get much lower prices than MSRP and if the unit is used you can get a fantastic deal. Case in point, I bought my 2 month old T400 with 3 years of warranty for $520USD shipped rather than $9something on Lenovo.com (and even more on Lenovo's Canadian site).

Find a good seller with plenty of pictures and ask for: Machine Type and Serial Number "for warranty status". If they can't provide this information do not buy. This information will allow you to look up the original parts for the system (ie specs) and the approximate age by purchase date.

Cheers

@iamdmc: I agree.

I just bought one off a guy with 100% feedback over 500+ sales.

I'm a little new at this, so I never thought to ask or even look beforehand.
(+And hadn't visited These Forums prior.)

So I'm thinking: Top-Rated-Seller, Fair price for a used T61, No worries, right?


I get the thing and all the Serial#s and UUIDs are either Defaced or Deleted. -Ripped off the bottom of the case, except the Windows COA.
**And also someone used the Hardware Tool Floppy and erased the System Unit Serial Number, The System Board Serial Number and the UUID from the BIOS. (F1 key on startup/POST)

Couldn't believe it! -Even Belarc Advisor, Lenovo's site, and Lenovo's Hardware Toolbox app couldn't figure out what the machine was.


So to share my experience with you guys, paid for by a ~$50 round-trip shipping loss:
-> Definitely 1 thing to look for, and ask for: all those Serial Numbers on both the outside stickers and in the BIOS.

--
I try to give an eBay Top-Rated-Seller the benefit of the doubt, but Only an overly-security-conscious government agency would have even a mildly reasonable cause to delete/deface those #s.

Sorry to hear about your bad luck.
I hope you get it resolved soon. I have had only good fortune with the Thinkpads I have purchased off eBay (see signature)

Sounds more like the thing was stolen!
Check the BIOS if Computrace is activated/installed.

@RealBlackStuff: My thoughts exactly! -I didn't know what Computrace was when I had it. I sent it back and the seller [pm if you want his name, to avoid him] Did refund my whole purchase price.

spaceman7 wrote:



Government agencies do not do things like that, ever. Take it from someone who had purchased ex-government units in bulks. While some government agencies still used ThinkPads as a weapon of choice, that is.

ThinkPads - apart from ones floating in space - are mostly gone from government's inventory.

Government doesn't have the time to erase UUIDs, or scrape serials off.

Government would sooner crush a unit - or a thousand of them - in case of the tiniest doubt and write if off without blinking an eye, since it's paid by you, me and everyone else...

I've watched hundreds of hard drives being physically destroyed by a private corporation before the machines were liquidated, many years ago...what a sound that was...

The hard drive is the important type. "OOH, I got an EX Government Laptop" - it does not matter, and they don't care. They can wipe the drive well eneough that you could never get the data off (or just crush them), but the computers are fine and they are no security risk at all - why not supplement the taxpayers money by taking some more money from them ?

Wasn't the US GOV worried about China sneaking in some keylogging chips or other hacks for spying purposes so they don't use LENOVO computers?

Ebay is the perfect place to sell stolen merchandise, at least for anything current worth some money.