Is it a good idea to buy used electronic items? Used items cost less, however, used items may not last because electronic items have a certain life span, even of they are in good conditions when you buy, it may stop function right away. In my opinion, buying used electronic item is not a good idea.I tell this from my experience.In the past I have bought used electronic items and they did not last long.
You can get good electronic, new, at very good prices. They might not be state of the art but they are still readily available. I prefer new for that reason. Used stuff might run real slow or might not be as energy efficient, or might burn out quickly. I like to set my price range and get the best new equipment I can for the budget. I'm sitting here with my brand new laptop, it's not the fastest on the market, but it is light years faster and better than my old one I just retired. I am very pleased. And it should give me years of good service.
Honestly, buying used electronics is a subjective experience. You might buy something from a person which appears to be good, but might break right away. Then again, it falls into the matter of chance. There's always good electronics out there being sold just because they're not wanted by their owner anymore, not because they're faulty. I guess one good way to do things is to talk with the previous owner and check the item's functionality using known methods, especially for used laptops and phones.
If the used electronic item was only slightly used, then I think that buying it would have been worth it. That was the case with an Xperia unit that I bought. It was still in very good condition, and it was 99% smooth, complete with accessories. But for the rest my of purchases, especially the CPU's and other phones, then I wasn't very lucky. They all have hidden defects and they have stopped working in a matter of weeks or several months. So it is quite risky to buy 2nd hand items and you're better off just buying a brand new one if you can afford it.
Well it depends on the item. For example buying used smartphones has many downsides and I wouldn't recommend it since they burn out quickly, and even if they are pretty smooth when you buy it you'll never know when they will stop working. Other electronic items on the other hand, for example charge cables are usually pretty resistant and even used ones work fine. It mostly depends on how much used they are, but as a rule of thumb avoid buying used stuff that may suddenly stop working.
There are certain electronics that are okay to buy used and others that aren't okay. Games in particular will almost always be fine to buy used. Phones and any other electronic that relies on a battery should be bought with caution.
I don't remember buying a used electronic item particularly a computer or devices. This is my personal take on used electronic items, that they tend to give up after a short time so it is not worth even if they are cheap. Let's say a tablet costing $300 is being sold for $50 but it is already 2 years old, I would probably settle for a brand new which gives me a warranty of 1 year and more likely I can use it for more than 2 years. With the used tablet, you are lucky if it lasts for 6 months.
Used electronics are a double-edged sword, honestly. On one hand, you get them for cheaper; however, on the other hand, you aren't sure about the quality of the item anymore, and oftentimes there are many problems with used electronics. If you're really on a tight budget and can't afford to buy new - maybe look into refurbished electronics instead? I know Apple and Amazon take in old and broken electronics, fix them up, and sell them as refurbished items. They're not as cheap as items fully advertised as used, but they're also not as expensive as new electronics. I've bought a refurbished item from Apple before, and was very pleased with it. They fix up the items really well so that they don't have to take it in for repairs anymore, so typically they're in better condition than new electronics.
I think buying refurbished items is the way to get a deal on electronics personally. I think refurbished is actually better sometimes than getting factory produced goods, because you know someone has taken time to personally look at the item and determine what is wrong or defective and replace them.
Is not a poor choice to buy used items as long as is made with good quality material. For example, used GPU (graphic cards for pc ) hardware if it comes with a sizable piece of heatsink attached to the card, low profile cards are a waste of money even if these are cheap as hell.
I have no trouble turning an old computer into something good, as long you dont use Windows, use a lightweight linux operating system
I've bought used electronics in the past and they didn't disappoint me. I suppose it is because I bought these back in 2008 or thereabouts. A time when they still made quality electronics that lasted. Nowadays, electronics are made to have a short life span so unless you know something you are buying is almost new, it might not be a good idea to buy used.
I don't really like buying second hand electronic appliances. However, I really wouldn't mind buying refurbished ones from a reputable store, especially if they come with a warranty. I remember buying a refurbished Samsung microwave on the high street and worrying it wouldn't last. Long story short, it lasted me well over a decade and still looked and worked as well as new. It never once gave me a problem, and in fact, I left it to a friend when I moved countries.
Honestly I have not yet experience buying second hand electronic items. For reason that I am afraid that in the long run it will cause some problems. And besides when it comes to items that is operated by an electricity I am always aware and I want that I want something that is new.
In my opinion if you can afford to buy electronics new then you should, however if you don't or if you will need them for a limited time, go with used ones but make sure you're buying from the store. I knew beforehand that I was going to live only one year in California, so I went to a thrift store and bought appliances that were not in with the rental place . I bought a microwave and a TV. They did last meet perfectly during all time I was there.
I personally think it mostly depends on the person you're buying the item from, the condition of the item and the use you're going to give that item, for example, I have a teacher that bought an old PC for around $40, we were like, come on, why would you buy an old piece of plastic for $40? Well, his answer was that he wanted to install Linux on that PC so he could let his children use it and learn about free software and stuff of that nature, so yes, it mostly depends on the use you're going to give it, if you're looking for something you're going to use a lot then you should go for something new, if not then you can go ahead and get something used, it is up to you whether you want it to last a long while or not.
I've bought plenty of used electronics in the past, and have never been disappointed. I realize the products may have less of a lifespan than something new, but for the most part, new isn't in my budget right now. I've also sold many used pieces of electronics, and I agree with @Casiox about the person you're buying it from, condition, and purpose. I am always very honest about the condition of the item, although I know not everyone is. Because of that, I'm diligent about looking into the person ahead of time, as well as the product. Some items don't work well whether they're new or used, and so it can be helpful to wait until a brand new model has been on the market a while, so you can see what problems others experience with it. That can save you some money and trouble in the long run. I've never been one to run out and purchase the latest gadgets, even when I had money, for that reason. If you're purchasing on eBay, you have eBay itself, as well as PayPal, if that's how you pay, to back you up, in the event of a bad transaction. I look on the selling apps a lot, but am leery of buying something like a phone, tablet or computer on there for that reason. There's nothing standing behind the product or transaction, unless perhaps you can talk the person into taking PayPal, and they will help you reach a resolution if there's an issue.
You can also buy old models for good prices since their prices go down once a new model comes out to the market, by the way, if you do not feel really confident when buying at online sites, that's not a problem, every seller has a review and a rating that every person that has ever bought from him has left on their pages (some people skip this step) so it might not be a problem at all, you can also use eBay if you're not looking to use your credit card and all you have in availability is a PayPal account.
I don't believe that it would be a wise decision to buy used electronic items.There is no guarantee of how long these devices may last.There have been instances of electronic devices been checked and deemed to be okay and only to malfunction very soon afterwards.There is also the danger of having difficulty in obtaining replacement components for older type electronic gadgets.
You have a point there, but I definitely think it all depends on the seller as well as the purchaser, there must be a certain grade of trust between two parts in order to make of the deal a little bit more trustworthy or whatnot, I know the sellers may exaggerate the item's condition most of the times but there's nothing communication cannot let you get through.
