So you’ve bought and sold laptops online in the past. You have it down pat and you know what you want and need. However, even if you’ve done this a thousand times, you are not exempt from the power of advertising and whimsical purchasing. You may be attracted to some high-end features that you really don’t need, or stuck to a great display that your eyes will never even be able to see properly. My goal in this short series of things to do when buying or selling your laptop online is intended to help you out a bit, and I hope it will. With that being said, I am going to wrap up this series of advice today with the following words of wisdom.
Display
#7 – While on the topic of being stuck to a display you don’t need, allow me to expound a bit on that.
When laptops offer a great screen that has a 4k display, or more, you’re sure to think, “Oh yeah, man, this is the jam! I need a super-res display ASAFP!” However, the truth of the matter is you probably don’t.
Unless you are buying a mega gaming laptop with a huge screen, you are never going to get the full benefits of having a 4k+ display on a 13-inch laptop. You see, the smaller screen sizes don’t allow you to enjoy the full benefit of higher resolutions.
Not only can you not take part in the pure visual gain of a smaller display with a super-resolution factor, but you’ll also be taking a major hit on your battery’s life cycle. it takes a lot to power those types of displays and on a little panel that you’ll never reap the benefits, why would you want to compromise your battery as well? Well, the short answer is: You don’t. So, stick with the 1920x1080p configurations for the smaller laptops.
Test
# 8 – Have you ever purchased a car or truck without test driving one? Of course, you haven’t, and you don’t want to buy a laptop without testing one either.
In many big box store chains, they have an ample amount of laptops, phones, and computers, in general, to play and associate with before you buy them. This is a big up because you don’t want to buy a device that you have absolutely zero idea how it works. Granted, you can read from a spec sheet how the device functions, but that will never trump the experience of actually having a hands-on experience with it.
It’s advisable that before you make any type of laptop purchase that you find a store where you can have access to tinkering around on it first. Maybe it has a glossy screen and you find out in the store that the fluorescent lights are too much and cast a huge reflection off of your display. That’ll make you think about your office or school lighting and if it’s annoying in a store, chances are it’ll be just as annoying after you buy it.
Or maybe you’re playing around on the trackpad and you decide that you actually aren’t super keen on the roughness of it or maybe it jumps around a bit and isn’t buttery -smooth. These are things that you are able to discover with just a few minutes of playing with a display model.
Of course, there are many of you that also prefer to buy online, and if that’s your case and you can’t fiddle with the device before buying it, at least buy from an online store that has a rad return policy in the event it doesn’t fit your needs quite like you thought it would. Nothing beats a true “hands-on” experience.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, buying a laptop can be very confusing even if you go into the deal with your eyes open and your brain full of information. There are a ton of good deals out there and once you begin seeing them the information overload at times can be quite daunting.
If you do your homework ahead of time by following some, or all of the above information, it may alleviate some of the stress you have about buying a laptop. Also, the salespeople in the stores are there to sell to you; however, they aren’t usually on a commission so you shouldn’t feel bad about extracting as much information from them as possible, even if you don’t buy at that moment.
In the end, it’s about what’s right for you and only you, especially, if you’re the one making the purchase. No one knows what you need better than you do, and if you don’t know what you need, question the salesperson in the box store until you are clear on what you need. Just heed the advise and try not to get up-sold for hardware and things you don’t need. Arm yourself with knowledge and in the end, you’ll be happier with your decision of laptop.
