I've been following this thread a bit, and I have a suggestion for
anyone who is financially strapped and wants a newer computer/powerbook
etc. Being the local bargain expert here are my suggestions :
1. Craigslist. Check it out. There is one list in virtually every city
in NA and major cities all across the world. Personally, I just picked
up a nice Toshiba laptop with a DVD drive that fills my wireless laptop
needs perfectly for 100 bucks CDN. If you are in the states, check out
other cities besides your own and ask the seller if shipping could be
arranged. If you are in the San Fran (where Craig started) or New York
areas, you should have tons of offerings to sort through. Check the
electronic section as well as the computer section for leads, some
people don't know what they have (although this almost never applies to
Mac stuff, unfortunately.)
2. Toronto has a Buy and Sell rag which put me onto a 3400c for 50 bucks
CDN. Most cities and areas have something similar but with a different
name. Ads are free, sometimes there is a purchase price for the
newspaper, sometimes not. I've sold cars and bought many Macs and had
loads of fun reading through the buy and sell. It's amazing what people
have for sale.
3. There are alternatives to e bay, although without the safety. Some
universities have clearance sites where computers, electronic equipment
and anything else you can think of are offered for auction. There is no
online buying but you can certainly check out the items online and head
off to the university/college later to do the deal. Some of the items
offered boggle the mind.
4. Most universities have book shops which sell either computers or
parts for pretty good deals. Students, always strapped for cash, often
sell their equipment on BBs at the university or through the local
newspapers.
5. http: //www. fatfingers.co.uk/ You never know what you'll find.
(delete the spaces when you copy and paste the link.)
6. If you aren't stuck on Mac, and I think most of us are, try the
online liquidators or the major online manufacturers for their clearance
sites. Sometimes, not too often though, these sites offer tremendous
deals on new or almost new laptops. Some are off lease, some are
'refurbished' but there are warranties on all of them. Dell just offered
a complete new laptop for 599 CDN with free shipping in their ten days
of savings special, for example.
7. Don't explode or yell at me for this one but, from everything I have
heard it is a real deal. The online offerings of 'free' electronic
products if you fulfill a certain number of obligations and refer a
certain number of friends/relatives/etc. to subscriptions or movie
deals. Kevin Rose on screensavers talks about it and the folks at
hackaday.com say it works. Hackaday is anti-establishment to the extreme
so if it works for them, it must be real. Not too much offered up here
but in the States you can go wild! Worth a shot, anyway.
8. Living in a major city has its advantages and one of them is thrift
stores. There are dozens in Toronto, from Sally Ann to Value Village.
I'm a regular at many sometimes you luck out. Garage sales too but the
hit and miss ratio there is much greater.
I've been unemployed for a year and a half and the only way I get to
spend money on anything is by squeezing the nickel. Works for me. Hope
this helps someone.
BM
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