Ebay experiences; specifically iBook, PowerBook

[GrayDiggity]

My girlfriend is in need of a new computer. I would put her computer skills at above average. I have successfully converted her over to Ubuntu from Windows. While I still do most of the maintenance and program installation on her computer, she is computer literate enough to find her way around and figure things out if she has too.

Her computer use is mostly limited to:
80% internet usage (email, research, etc.)
15% digital camera use
5% watching movies or listening to music

Right now, she is looking at a middle of the road Dell laptop in the $600-$700 range. If she gets a Dell and does not get one of the open source computers, she/I will install Ubuntu first thing.

That said, I would prefer her to buy an Apple, but she does not need a new, blazing fast, bleeding edge computer, especially one that costs $1,200.

What are people's experiences buying an iBook or PowerBook off Ebay? Is it better to go through an individual seller or through one of the "power sellers"?

Lastly, I have my sights set on a 1.42 GHz iBook with 512 MB memory for $625. I assume this will be plenty of computer for her, but does that seem like a fair price? Also, coupled with a new 2.0 GHz iMac for any "heavy" computer usage, is this pretty future proof for her needs?

Thanks for any response.

[kretara]

I've bought and sold lots of laptops on ebay.
The best advice that I can give is to buy from someone who has feedback (like > 25) and someone who has almost all positive feedback. Buy from someone in your country area (say for the US, only buy from US and Canada). Look for detailed descriptions of the computer itself. Detailed specs don't count. You want more information on how the computer functions and looks. No pics = no sale. Also, ask questions of the seller. If they don't answer or they sound strange, don't buy from them.

If the computer seems to good to be true, it is. So avoid it.

As far as the type of computer. As a rule, I stay clear of iBooks like the plague.
For $700 you could get a good spec G4 (1.33-1.5 Ghz) 15" or 17" Powerbook.
Or, cough up a little bit more and get a refurb MacBook direct from Apple.
If she decides to get a dell, only look in the Latitude and Precision range. The consumer dell laptops are junk. The Latitudes (business class) are somewhat better, but they have lots of issues. I worked in IT at a University that used dell for 4 years. The issues with dell products were quite depressing.

She might also look at the T -- 14" or 15" screen -- (T40 and above) or X -- 12" screen -- (X40 or above) series Thinkpads from IBM/Levono.
IMHO, Thinkpads are better built and built stronger than powerbooks but you can't use OS X on them.

[GrayDiggity]

It is between a used Apple and new Dell. $700 is a stretch for what she wants to spend. She surely will not throw out the extra change for even a refurb Macbook. She is open to a used Mac.

We know what we need to know about Dells. We both have Inspiron 2650s that are over 5 years old and, for the most part, still running strong. She needs something a little quicker with USB 2.0. While I agree that there are better PCs out there, I have never run into trouble with Dell.

As for the iBooks, why would you avoid them like the plague? Reliability? Speed? Toughness? ??? Details please.

She does not travel with her computer. Her main use is from the living room couch, so reliability and speed are much more important than overall "toughness".

[turtle]

I got two clamshells off of eBay without any problems at all. They are great little machines and do everything we want the to do. kretara's advice is right on.

[kretara]

IWe know what we need to know about Dells. We both have Inspiron 2650s that are over 5 years old and, for the most part, still running strong. She needs something a little quicker with USB 2.0. While I agree that there are better PCs out there, I have never run into trouble with Dell.

If this is the case, you can easily afford the latitude D and C series. I'm not sure which models had USB 2 though.

I think that a 1.33 or 1.25 15" PowerBook would be your best bet. You can get them for around $500-600.

As for the iBooks, why would you avoid them like the plague? Reliability? Speed? Toughness? ??? Details please.

The white iBooks (specifically G3, but also some G4) were very trouble prone and Apple really left their iBook owners out to dry on them. Too many logic board issue along with other nagging issue just make me stay far away from the white iBooks.

[GrayDiggity]

I just saw a couple 15" PowerBooks for around $550. Hopefully, I will still be able to convince her that is what she needs...

[Dorian Gray]

The early iBook G3 models were statistically the most reliable laptop computer sold in 2001 or 2002, and won some kind of award for that. They were ultra-reliable machines. Later iBook G3 models were the polar opposite: pretty much guaranteed to fail (logic board) unless they were literally left on a desk their entire life. My 700 MHz 12-inch iBook G3 suffered this fate. Some of the iBook G4s (not sure exactly which models, but again, my 1.2 GHz 12-inch iBook G4 was included) also suffered catastrophic logic board problems. So both my iBooks died due to logic board issues. I got a couple of years of heavy use out of them both, but they still failed prematurely, and Apple was utterly unsympathetic throughout.

Various iBook models also suffered from unusually frequent problems with the reed switch and fraying display cables (inside the hinge).

I now have a 12-inch PowerBook that's a great computer, but I preferred my 12-inch iBooks. They were seriously stylish little computers. :)

I'd get a 12-inch PowerBook if I were you. They're fairly affordable (usually cheaper than the 15-inch machines) and a better computer for what you describe as her main usage. They're also reliable machines. I wouldn't get one on eBay though, because prices are often ridiculous for popular items like Apple laptops (good place to sell). Look in your local classified ads.

[Swox]

Make sure that the person has checked everything. When I bought my used iBook (now sitting in the closet), it came with a couple of features that he didn't mention: ethernet doesn't work, and the screen was scratched. Fortunately, he actually sent me $50 refund. I wouldn't expect many people to do that, though.