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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from CNET Asia. --------------------------------------------------------------
Notebook online auction buying guide 
By Darius Chang
16/07/2007 URL: http://asia.cnet.com/digitalliving/tips/0,3800004921,61975100,00.htm There are few things in life which can be considered head-in-the-clouds experiences. The head-in-the-cloud feeling of the first kiss, the unbridled joy of winning the lottery, and the sheer excitement of unboxing your spanking new PC system.
Whether you go online or to a brick-and-mortar store, the very first step should be knowing what system is right for you based on your needs (note needs, not wants). Use our notebook buying guide as reference if you want. Questionable sales tactics work just as well online as in person, so do not be fooled by bait-and-switch maneuvers or tempted by the poetic descriptions of an entry-level machine seemingly fulfilling high-end expectations. Sure, a Celeron-based system with a low-end graphics card may be able to run Battlefield 2, but at such low frame rates that you feel as if your character is constantly smoking weed. Not counting online stores--where you purchase first-hand goods--there are two main ways you can get second-hand gear from the Internet. The first is at forum classifieds, where sellers post up their products and prices which may or may not be negotiable. The second is at online auctions where the description and start price are put up, and where interested buyers start bidding up till the item is sold. Two of the largest online auction sites, eBay and Yahoo! Auctions, have international as well as region-specific Web pages which cater to your location. If you would rather deal face-to-face at the end of the auction, choose sellers who lives in your city. The international market, however, has better deals and some of the more obscure items. A brand new LearJet anybody?
The following is a glossary of common terms used in most auction sites. Start price: The starting point of the auction. Bids start from this amount. Minimum increment: This is the minimum amount to bid up for the item. This prevents situations where one wins a car auction by bidding just a cent above the next highest bidder. Reserve Price: Did the last bidder offer an amount under the reserve price? Then the seller also reserves the right not to sell the item to said cheapskate. Buy price: Impatient, aren’t we? If you really must have the item, this is the amount at which the seller will tell the other buyers to fly a kite and sell immediately to you. The Buy price will never be under the reserve price. Shipping rates: International buyers beware. There is no point in getting a notebook at a low, low price of Maximum bid: Used by amateurs and lazy people, you put in the maximum price you are willing to pay for the item and the auction site will automatically keep bidding the minimum increment till your limit. As we shall see later, you will unlikely win the auction using this function, unless you are the only interested buyer for the item. User rating: This is the first thing you should look at. Short of hiring a private investigator to check the history of each and every seller, the user rating is a quick way to determine the trustworthiness of a seller. Take stock of the bad experiences, as there have been cases of some sellers registering multiple user names just to boost the ratings of their primary account. Previous lady owner: Some people ride on the misconception that the fairer sex would take better care of their possessions. This may be true of Ferragamo shoes and Louis Vuitton bags, but those who are in the know make no such assumptions when it comes to electronic goods. Some of the worst cases of mobile phone abuse come from the handbags of females, while we actually cringe at the conditions some put their notebooks through (you mean you typed your project at the beach, on the sand? The horror!). Mint condition: PCs are not coins. Though the pervious owner may have keep his items in pristine cosmetic condition, that does not gurantee that the hardware is working in tip-top condition. Some less honest sellers will even pay a little more to get a scratched-up exterior changed for a new one, thereby voiding any warranty which may be on it. May sure the warranty seals are intact and, barring user-serviceable areas like memory and harddisk slots, the screws do not show signs of having been removed. Ironically, some light scratches can sometimes be preferable to a perfect exterior, as the latter is physically impossible unless the item has never been removed from its original packaging. Remember, winning an auction is not just an online equivalent of a handshake deal, but a contract to purchase the item at the stated price and condition. Make sure you ask the seller all the important questions before you show them the money.
Just like buying from a store, don’t be afraid to ask a seller questions regarding his item. Unless your questions or requests are ridiculous (can you throw in a free notebook if I win your auction of the mouse?), you should expect the same level of courtesy as you would from a saleperson. Avoid rude sellers or those who do not bother to answer your questions. After all, if they do not take the time for enquiries, how much time would they take to make sure your item gets to you in good condition? Is the item still under warranty? This is the first question you should ask, unless you are bidding for an antique. If the answer is yes, make sure the seller includes a proof-of-purchase or valid warranty card with a dealer’s chop. Otherwise, the manufacturer may refuse to service your system or charge for any repairs made. If the warranty was registered online, check out the manufacturer’s Web site to see what is required to transfer it under your name. You do not want to send in the item for repair, only to be jumped on by burly police officers who were informed that the system was stolen. If the item does not have any more coverage, request for a personal warranty from the seller. The standard time should be a week from receiving the system to check for possible faults. If the seller refuses, shop elsewhere. What is the cosmetic condition? If the item is a year old and the seller claims it is in mint condition, remember to bring along a rosary or incense to meet him because this chap is a saint. We normal folks expect some light scratches from common daily use, no matter how careful the user has been. The only exception may be our own digicam reviewer, who is anal retentive to the point of obsession. How long is the battery life? Notebook batteries based on Lithium-ion technology may not have memory effect, but over a year or so it will definitely degrade even if the user takes it out and uses AC power exclusively. However, if the laptop is less than a year old but the battery holds only a 20-minute charge, be wary as the system might have been used in a less-than-optimal environment. How many free memory slots? Depending on the laptop, there may be one or two user-acessible slots for upgrading your system. Ask the seller if the notebook's RAM has taken all available spaces. It is cheaper to buy two pieces of 512MB memory than a single 1GB RAM chip. What peripherals does it come with? Everybody loves freebies. Ask nicely and the seller might throw in a notebook bag or a free keyboard if the deal goes through. What are the shipping method and rates? There is no point in buying a
The amateur bidder sees a product and puts in a bid-to price, thereby letting a suave buyer swoop in with a bid of just a dollar over the novice. Don't be the village idiot holding the bag while hot deals get swept up by others. Here is a list of tactics you can use to bag the item you want. Sit and wait Our personal favorite. Never start bidding for an item until the dying moment of the auction. By that time, all the amateurs would have shown their hand and the real professionals start working their magic, with really hot deals getting bids up to the final second. Sniper A more precise version of the former. You open multiple windows, one for bidding and the other for watching. You literally wait for the last second of the deal to close, then click in your bid for the smallest increment over the highest bidder. However, ensure that you have a fast Internet connection; and even then you might still lose the deal. Some questionable third-party applications like Bidnapper and PowerSnipe actually sync with the auction site's time and automatically put in the minimum bid at the final second. Shock and awe Do some research on the second-hand value of the item and click on the Buy Now button if the latter is close to that amount. If the Buy Now price is absurd, put in a bid close to the actual value and so far above the next bidder that the competition is swept away. Be aware that this is not the way to get the best deal, but if you absolutely must have the item, it is the way to go. Negotiating the Buy Now price Only death and taxes are certain in life, everything else is negotiable. Drop a discreet note to the seller and offer an amount close to his Buy Price. Sometimes, he might agree to close the auction if the price is right. However, this should be done only if there are no current bidders. But if the seller refuses to budge, read on for another tip. Offer additional services We aren't suggesting that you break out the furry handcuffs and leather whip and offer payment in kind. Instead, negotiate by offering to travel to the seller’s location and save him the trouble of shipping. Or forego extras which the seller bundles with the main attraction. However, never skimp on personal warranty or accept an item under manufacturer coverage without proof-of-purchase, as the latter may be stolen goods which will give you more trouble than you've bargained for.
Step 5: Closing the deal
Step 6: Common scams
One of the surest ways to find if the seller is genuine is to look at his rating and read up on his past deals. Has he been prompt with sending the item out after receiving the money? Does he provide after-sales support if the item turns up to be faulty? It makes more sense to buy from a someone with high ratings as he will be unlikely to jeopardize his good reputation to scam a few hundred dollars. But be careful of those who seem to have only good ratings. Some create multiple accounts to boost the their own ratings while not actually making any sales. Take a closer look at those who gave the seller good ratings. If most of them are unrated or have low ratings, it is likely that they belong to the same user trying to portray a false image of trustworthiness. Other tell-tale signs include ridiculously low prices and misrepresenting where the item is actually located. Price fixing The bidding system is hardly fool-proof. There are many methods to boost the selling price, one of which is to bid for the item with a second account with hopes that you will try to up the stakes. Countering this is easy. Make sure you do your market research and be firm on the price you are willing to pay. Remember, notebooks are not antiques. If this one is too expensive, wait and another might soon pop up. Because my label says so I cannot emphasize the importance of doing your homework when it comes to buying online. Know the terminology of notebooks, like what constitutes a Centrino system, the difference between integrated and discrete graphics cards, etc. Recently, there was a case of Intel Centrino stickers being sold online which some unscrupulous people used to badge their non-Centrino machines as Centrino systems to fetch a higher price. To avoid this scenario, request that the user email a screen grab of the notebook's system configuration before bidding. True, he may send you one from a different machine, but at least you will have documented proof if he trys the old switcharoo trick. Really hot items No, I am not referring to products that fly off the shelves. Fencing stolen goods online is really easy and, unfortunately, hard to detect until the police comes knocking at your door. Request a copy of the receipt from the seller or, in some cases, check who the warranty for the laptop was issued to via the manufacturer's Web site. While not all sellers are cons, be especially wary if he seems urgent to make the sale or the price is, again, too good to be true. |
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