When it comes to gifts or just everyday practicality buying a refurbished or used computer should be a real consideration; and as you will see there are plenty of reasons above and beyond price alone. What's the difference between "refurbished" and "used"?

Used typically will mean you are buying from an individual or a source from which very little or nothing is known about the condition of the inner-workings of the unit. What you do know is that it was not professionally repaired or rebuilt; meaning of course it is not refurbished.

By comparison, a refurbished unit has been professionally rebuilt or repaired and frequently will be sold with a warranty with a duration of three months to as long as a year. Obviously if you buy a used product with no warranty, "you're on your own" with that puppy, or dog as the case may be. You have no way of knowing if the previous user(s) dropped the "used" product, or what other defects it may have.

Reasons for Buying Refurbished

For most people low price with a warranty probably triumphs. For others it is a stop-gap bridge to the not quite ready next generation of models or features they want. An example of that is the new generation of "ultrabooks" now coming to market in the $900 to $1,300-plus price range. By the end of 2012 industry watchers expect several ultra light and thin Windows laptops in the $300-$400 price range, with an appearance very similar to Apple's 11-inch MacBook Air. That makes a very strong case for getting a low-cost refurbished machine right now.

Others want to take the environmental high ground, and understandably so. It's been estimated there are currently 1.5 billion people with PCs, but another 5 billion that want them. Some of the materials in electronic components are toxic, and also very rare, giving abundant motivation for recycling. Estimates indicate only a 30-year supply of indium, for example; and indium is a must-have for touch screens which are becoming common place even in aviation, medical, engineering, dental and professional uses. When you are finished with your refurbished PC there are many buyers available on the web, and countless non-profit organizations that put them to good use; either by additional refurbishment, or by breaking down the units to extract valuable and toxic substances.

Laptops initially designed as "enterprise" or "business" models tend to be more sturdy and robust to withstand the rigorous heavy-duty needs in those environments. Many of those business-class "workhorse" models are not directly available to the public when new, and are sold in large quantities to demanding corporations. Those models, such as the Dell Latitude, are available, however, in the refurbished marketplace, at greatly reduced prices.

Recommendations

Where can you buy refurbished laptops? We at Parts-People.com shamelessly encourage you to put our own good people at the top of your list. If not, you certainly have many other choices available on the web, including but not limited to: Dell, TigerDirect, Best Buy, Overstock.com, and of course, Amazon. Now go do the right thing, and help the environment and your wallet while you're at it.