I purchased a new laptop in June of 2007 (Gateway) from Best Buy. It wasn't anything super-fancy. I had paid about $865 for it. These are the ballpark specs:
Processor Speed
2.0GHz
Display Type
WXGA widescreen TFT-LCD with Ultrabright technology (1280 x 800)
Screen Size
15.4"
System Bus
667MHz
Cache Memory
2MB on die Level 2
System Memory (RAM)
3GB
Type of Memory (RAM)
PC2-5300 DDR2
Hard Drive Type
SATA (5400 rpm)
Hard Drive Size
160GB
Optical Drive
Double-layer DVD±RW/CD
As luck would have it, the motherboard fried 13 months after purchase. The warranty ran out after a year (of course!). So I looked into purchasing a new laptop.
I checked out the Costco website and found a Trade-in & Recycle program for used electronics. You don't need to purchase anything from Costco, but if you turn in your electronics that you no longer need, you get a Costco cash card in return.
They have a form that you fill out (easy), based on the specs of the laptop, desktop, monitor, etc., that you want to trade in. I filled out the info and was thrilled to learn that I was getting back a Costco card for $240. Super! I sent in my damaged laptop and three weeks later, I got an email from the trade-in company. I wasn't getting back $240.....I was getting back $440!!! That's more than half of what I paid for it. We got the cash card in the mail yesterday.
All this for something that I probably would have thrown away!
Check out this link for more info:
http://costcotrades.greensight.com/Common/equiptypes.aspx?SiteXfrMsg=1
It's not just for laptops! I was lucky because the computer was perfect except for the motherboard. I suppose if the case was damaged or I was missing the power pack, I would have gotten back less.
Just wanted to share this info w/you. I'm not sure if you have to be a Costco member or not, but if you're talking about a several hundred dollar return, it might pay for you to become a member for $50.
Melanie
Processor Speed
2.0GHz
Display Type
WXGA widescreen TFT-LCD with Ultrabright technology (1280 x 800)
Screen Size
15.4"
System Bus
667MHz
Cache Memory
2MB on die Level 2
System Memory (RAM)
3GB
Type of Memory (RAM)
PC2-5300 DDR2
Hard Drive Type
SATA (5400 rpm)
Hard Drive Size
160GB
Optical Drive
Double-layer DVD±RW/CD
As luck would have it, the motherboard fried 13 months after purchase. The warranty ran out after a year (of course!). So I looked into purchasing a new laptop.
I checked out the Costco website and found a Trade-in & Recycle program for used electronics. You don't need to purchase anything from Costco, but if you turn in your electronics that you no longer need, you get a Costco cash card in return.
They have a form that you fill out (easy), based on the specs of the laptop, desktop, monitor, etc., that you want to trade in. I filled out the info and was thrilled to learn that I was getting back a Costco card for $240. Super! I sent in my damaged laptop and three weeks later, I got an email from the trade-in company. I wasn't getting back $240.....I was getting back $440!!! That's more than half of what I paid for it. We got the cash card in the mail yesterday.
All this for something that I probably would have thrown away!
Check out this link for more info:
http://costcotrades.greensight.com/Common/equiptypes.aspx?SiteXfrMsg=1
It's not just for laptops! I was lucky because the computer was perfect except for the motherboard. I suppose if the case was damaged or I was missing the power pack, I would have gotten back less.
Just wanted to share this info w/you. I'm not sure if you have to be a Costco member or not, but if you're talking about a several hundred dollar return, it might pay for you to become a member for $50.
Melanie
