Are you in the market for a laptop right now? You aren’t alone!
There are millions of laptops sold all across the country—and the world—every single year. Laptops have become a lot more affordable over the course of the last decade or so, and as a result, people are buying them up in droves.
Before you buy a laptop, though, you should have the refurbished vs. new laptop debate with yourself. It would be worth thinking about whether a refurbished computer or a new computer would be a better option for you.
In an effort to help you make a decision so that you can buy a computer, we’re going to run through the benefits of both refurbished and new laptops. It should help you find the best computer for your specific purposes.
Continue reading to discover more about the advantages of refurbished and new laptops.
The Benefits of Buying a Refurbished Laptop
When you go to buy a computer, you might assume that purchasing a new one is your only option. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
You’re also more than welcome to buy a computer that has been refurbished. A refurbished laptop is a laptop that has usually been used by someone else and then returned to a retailer for one reason or another.
But it’s worth noting that a refurbished laptop is not the same as a used laptop. It goes through some testing once it’s returned to make sure it’s in good working order before it’s put back up on the market.
Here are five benefits of buying a refurbished laptop.
1. It’ll Almost Always Be Cheaper Than a New Laptop
The biggest benefit of buying a refurbished vs. new laptop is that a refurbished laptop is pretty much always going to be your cheaper option. You should be able to save at least $100, if not more, when you go with a refurbished laptop as opposed to a new one.
With most laptops going for between $500 and $1,000 these days, you should do everything in your power to try and save money on one when you buy it. Choosing a refurbished computer could be the best possible way to cut your costs down to size.
2. It’ll Include Many of the Same Features as a New Laptop
As we alluded to earlier, most of the refurbished laptops on the market today are laptops that have been used for short periods of time and then returned for whatever reason. So they might have some wear and tear on them.
But most refurbished laptops won’t be lacking in the features department. In fact, they’ll typically have a lot of the same features that will be found in new laptops as long as they’re not too outdated.
If you don’t mind using a refurbished laptop that has some wear on it, it could be a fantastic value. You’ll get all the features that you want out of a laptop without the high price tags that are sometimes associated with them.
3. It’ll Work Just Like a New Laptop
When you buy a regular old used laptop, there is a decent chance that it’s not going to work like a new laptop. It might be a little bit slower than a new laptop would be.
But when you buy a refurbished laptop, it’s going to have gone through all the necessary testing prior to being sold. So it should work like a new laptop when you take it out of its box.
You might even mistake it for a new laptop because of how well that it works. Outside of a few blemishes on the outside of it, a refurbished laptop will more or less be a new laptop.
4. It’ll Come With a Warranty Like a New Laptop
You’re probably not going to get the same exact warranty on a refurbished laptop that you would on a new laptop. But that doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to be able to get any warranty at all.
Since refurbished laptops go through stringent testing, the retailers that sell them are usually happy to extend warranties on them. They feel confident enough in these refurbished computers to provide warranties on them.
The warranties might only last for six months or maybe a year. But having a warranty on a refurbished laptop will provide you with peace of mind. It’ll also ensure you don’t get stuck paying for repair bills if something goes wrong with a refurbished computer.
5. It’ll Last for as Long as a New Laptop in Many Cases
More often than not, laptops are going to last you for between three and five years before needing to be replaced. And this includes both refurbished laptops and new laptops.
A refurbished laptop might have a few miles on it. But most of the time, it’ll only have been used for a few days or maybe a few weeks prior to being returned. So it should still hold up as long as a new laptop would and help you avoid having to replace it anytime soon.
The Benefits of Buying a New Laptop
As you just learned, there is no shortage of benefits that comes along with buying a refurbished laptop rather than a new one. But that doesn’t mean that you should automatically decide to go with a refurbished computer versus a new one.
There are also a whole host of benefits that you’ll be able to enjoy when you invest in a new laptop. It’ll be important for you to consider them when you’re comparing refurbished vs. new laptops.
There will be many instances in which it’ll make all the sense in the world for you to buy a computer that is brand new. And you might regret not doing it if you didn’t at least give it a second thought.
Here are the five benefits of buying a new laptop.
1. It’ll Be Brand New and Never Used by Anyone Else Before
Do you dislike the idea of using anything that has been used by someone else before? This is a common concern that a lot of people have.
Even though you’ll like that a refurbished laptop hasn’t been used much in the past, you might not be able to get over the fact that it has, in fact, been used. It could affect your ability to enjoy a laptop.
You’ll love knowing that you’re the first one removing a new laptop from its box. You’ll cherish it a little bit more than you might otherwise and want to take better care of it.
2. It’ll Be Equipped With All the Latest Laptop Features
Earlier, we touched on how many refurbished laptops have a lot of the same features as new laptops do. But you should know that this isn’t always the case.
If a refurbished laptop was originally purchased right before a laptop brand released a new model, that laptop could be outdated at this point. It might not have all the latest laptop features included in it.
A new laptop, on the other hand, will have all of the latest and greatest features. You won’t have to be worried about missing out on these features by going with a refurbished laptop.
If you’re going to pay a nice chunk of change for a laptop, you don’t want it to be outdated as soon as you start using it. You want it to have the best features right at your fingertips, which is why buying a new laptop might be in your best interest.
3. It’ll Come With a Better Warranty Than Most Refurbished Laptops
While it’s true that many refurbished laptops will come with warranties, those warranties are usually going to be on the shorter side. You might get a warranty on a refurbished laptop that will only last for a few months at most.
The warranty on a refurbished laptop might also only cover certain aspects of a laptop. This could leave you in a world of trouble if something that isn’t covered breaks.
You aren’t going to need to be concerned about this when you buy a new laptop. New laptops will come with lengthy warranties that will cover all the various components inside of them for an extended period of time.
You’ll sleep so much better at night knowing that you have a warranty like this available to you. You might also get the opportunity to purchase an extended warranty on a new laptop. This same opportunity isn’t always given to those who buy refurbished laptops.
4. It’ll Be Available at a More Affordable Price Than You Might Think
Some people instantly side with refurbished laptops in the refurbished vs. new laptop debate because they believe that a refurbished laptop will save them a boatload of money.
This might be true. But these days, there are also lots of new laptops that will prove to be more affordable than you might think.
You should see this for yourself when you shop around for the best laptop deals. There are brand-new laptops that cost way less than you may have anticipated.
If you’re going to save hundreds of dollars when you buy a computer that is refurbished, that’s one thing. But if you’re going to save well under $100, buying a new one might be a much better option.
In this case, you’ll get to enjoy all the benefits of buying a new laptop that we’ve discussed here without breaking the bank. It would be worth at least exploring what a new laptop is going to run you before ruling against it.
5. It’ll Have a Higher Resale Value Than a Refurbished Laptop
Let’s say that you buy a refurbished laptop, use it for a year, and then want to sell it for whatever reason. You might think that you should be able to get a pretty penny for it.
But oftentimes, you’re going to find that it will be difficult to sell a refurbished laptop for top dollar. It’ll be on the older side at that point and won’t be worth as much as you might think.
It’ll be a different story when you try to sell a laptop that you bought new after a year. This laptop won’t be that old, which will make it more appealing to buyers.
You’ll also be able to sell buyers on the fact that you bought the laptop new and took good care of it. These things are going to give your laptop a much higher resale value.
You’re probably not thinking about selling a refurbished laptop or a new laptop right now. You’re only worried about getting your hands on a laptop so that you can use it.
But it would be smart to consider the resale value of a computer. It could very well result in you pulling in more money for your laptop at some point down the line.
Consider the Refurbished vs. New Laptop Debate Before You Purchase a Computer
When you go to purchase a computer, you might not put a ton of thought into which laptop you want. You might be so excited to obtain a laptop that you take the first one you can find.
Try not to take this approach! Do some real research and have the refurbished vs. new laptop debate to see which side of the fence you fall on. It’ll leave you with the best computer in the end.
Are you interested in learning more about buying a laptop? Check out the other informative technology-related articles on our blog.
