Should all practice safety for buying equipment on online market places. Many of us have purchased a laptop/desktop from Craigslist, Offer up, or Facebook market place. When doing so, we often do not think about safety when meeting someone to buy used equipment.
For the most part, people are usually honest when it comes to used equipment, however, there are those few. So I felt the need to help people protect themselves from scammers and being safe when buying.
Here are some tips about safety for buying equipment.
- Before you do anything take a look at the photos. Are they in a clean area, is the surrounding nice? If you see pictures taken in a dirty location with lots of trash around, chances are it’s not very well maintained.
- Research the price of the item you are looking at buying. Often times people try to overprice items because they know most people won’t check.
- Ask the seller why he is selling the product. This will give you a good idea of working conditions. If they bought new laptop chances are they just don’t want to deal with the old one, but if they found it, the laptop may have unknown problems.
- Ask the seller details. For example, how much memory, operating system type, hard drive size, and any important information.
- Negotiate! The price is always set high, so get the price down a little bit.
- When it comes time to meet there are some very strict guidelines you should always follow!
- Meet in a public location! Safety for buying equipment in public is the most important step.
- Meet during the day!
- Inspect the laptop/desktop for damage, scratches, screen damage, and missing screws!
- Make sure the laptop/desktop turns on! Do not buy it until you test it!
- Make sure you got the right cables that go with the laptop/desktop.
- If possible go with someone. Do not go alone if you can avoid it.
- Pay with Cash or accept Cash only! Too many scams nowadays, so do not risk electronic payments because they can be easily reversed.
Always think about your Safety
Please be sure to meet in a public location, it’s so important when it comes to safety for buying equipment! People want to know where you live, what you have, and are you easily persuaded. Also, do yourself a favor and always meet during the day for your additional safety.
If you feel don’t feel safe for buying equipment, do not sell or buy items from random people, or ask someone with experience buying. At CDS we can help you determine what a good price and buy are. We have dealt with both used and new systems, so we are always happy to point you in the right direction. We can always get good deals on used equipment as well, so you can buy direct from a trusted source.
Corporate Design Solutions hopes you stay safe and follow these tips. Trust me they can save you headaches and even from getting robbed. We hoped you enjoyed this article on safety for buying equipment.
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