How to Save Money on Laptops

Pictured above is a Dell Latitude Ultrabook Laptop (13” model).  Click on it to see all laptops in store.

Saving Money on Laptops

Everyone uses laptops, tablets, or smartphones to access the internet nowadays.    If you want a powerful laptop, you can easily spend over $1,000 to get a new high-powered model.    Working in the computer consulting business, I found that most companies use computers for about 2 years and replace them with a newer model.    Those older machines have years of life in them, and in the past due to faster speed in technology, it made some sense to change every year or so.   Not so much anymore.

I decided in 1997 that there was probably a good market for used laptops, so I started an eBay store where we sold both used desktops and laptops.  Desktops are pretty much dinosaurs in the computing world, so we have changed over to selling only used laptops.   I have used dozens of different models over the years, but have zeroed in on one model.  The Dell business model which is the Dell Latitude Ultrabook.    These are slim and lightweight, weighing about 3 lbs or less.   And you can get them in sizes from 10” all the way through 15.6” (10, 11.5, 12.5, 13.3, 14.2, 15.6).   I personally use the 13” and 14” models myself after using 12.5” models for 7 or 8 years.

The current Intel i7 processors are the 11th gen models.  The ones we sell are typically 9th or 10th generation (and a few 8th gens).  What is amazing about these is that even the 8th gen I7’s with DDR4 Memory run almost at the 11th gen I7 speed, but instead of spending $1400 on a new one, we sell them for $400 to $600 depending on the model, ram size, and SSD size.  All of these Ultrabooks in the past five years have the SSD hard drives.  (Solid state drives).   Solid state drives are so much faster than the old 7200rpm hard drives and rarely break.  They do start slowing down after about 5 years of use, but most people buy another laptop before they ever get 5 years old.

The reason I chose the Dell Latitude models is they are made out of super high quality components.   The bases are made of metal  (not plastic like the rest of the industry), and the hinges are made of titanium.   We are talking super tough.    The Dell operating systems (either Windows 10 or Windows 11) are capable of moving between models when you insert the SSD into the other laptop.

We keep both 256GB M2 SSD drives along with 512GB SSD drives, and offer various sizes of memory from 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB.   The more memory the faster they run of course, but it costs a bit more.

A 16Gb 8th or 9th gen Intel processor with the SSD drive will really haul.  It boots using the newer UEFI file system (newer setting in the bios) in 17 seconds or less on Windows 10.   Compare that with other models.   These laptops are very fast and efficient    The ones we sell are FHD high definition screens with 1920x1080 dpi.   Super sharp resolution, (not like the cheaper 1366x768 screens.)

We have sold over 4,000 laptops since we started our eBay store in 1997.   We specialize to a specific market and have dozens of repeat customers.

You don’t have to buy a laptop from us, but I urge you to look at using one or two-year-old Dell laptops.   If you don’t need a high-quality type business model, the Dell Inspiron laptops are geared for the home.   Before buying on eBay, review your seller’s feedback and determine if he or she is reliable.  We have 100% feedback and stand behind every laptop we sell.

I sell even the laptop I use in my consulting business.   I can switch to a similar model by simply taking my SSD drive over to another model and rebooting.   Super efficient are the Dell Laptops and very flexible in being able to move between models. 

We carry only 6 to 10 laptops in stock and list each with 8 or so different settings of ram and hard drive (SSD) sizes.  It allows the consumer to find exactly what they want and only pay for what they need.

If you don’t understand all the technical talk, get a model with the size of screen you want, 8GB, and 256GB SSD and you will be set to rock.   14” models are good on screen size.  

Check out our store at InternetDirectLaptops
 
Two other thoughts for this week.

There are many ways to save money besides buying laptops.   I read this past week in “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy that many blow so much money on simple things.   How much does that $4 daily latte really cost?  Add it up.  $60 in 3 weeks.   Over $1,000 in a year.   So after 20 years if you compound it with the interest you could make, your one bad habit costs over $51,000.    Think about it when you start any habit.    A whole gallon can of coffee is less than $10, and it can make a LOT of cups of coffee.
 
Check out another good minimalism site by Bolu Sokunbi at:
www.clevergirlfinance.com

Check out her 50/30/20 Budget article.   A great and simple method to save.

 
 
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