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Of if anyone has any other suggestions, I'm open to it.
Link to the Thinkpad I want to buy
Edit: It is done!
I have found eBay to be a fairly reliable vendor. I have never personally been scammed, despite years of using it to buy and sell records and old video game cartridges. That said, I have not used it a lot since the AI boom (as I have grown too busy to buy and sell records as a hobby) so idk if review farming is a thing, but it used to get you IP banned from eBay in the past. Like, the owner is a Nazi-adjacent oligarch, but it used to run an extremely tight ship around verification of purchase and reviews.
You can get newer machines for about the same or less money. People like the T480 because it has 2 upgradable ram slots. The T480s had half soldered ram so you’d might as well get something newer.
I got a T14 Gen. 1 (same thing, but 2 gens newer and slightly thicker) for $200 3 years ago, and a T14 Gen. 3 for $250 over a year ago. Machines 3-5 years old are the sweet spot for value. $200 is about the floor for any machine capable of running windows 11. Anything older is worthless. $300-350 can get you a machine that’s so new it’s still under the factory warranty.
I’d generally avoid any “refurbished” machines unless they’re actually from Lenovo. You’re paying $100 extra to have someone physically and virtually wipe the machine.
If you already have a high power USB c charger for your phone you can get a machine without a PSU for like $100 off. And if you don’t any >45 watt adapter will be enough and those can be had for like $50 new. Used OEM power supplies typically go for nothing.
For $40 and a power supply this machine is way better than that T480s. Or $250 with a PSU for a Gen. 1. But to find a truly good deal you need to buy local (the only thing I use Facebook for is marketplace and it’s excellent for finding good deals), or set up saved searches on eBay. If you make a saved search just make sure it’s specific enough that you’re not getting 50 listings for parts for the machine.
Is that T480s a ripoff? No. But it’s also basically the floor for a typical deal.
Also if it is a scam just report it to eBay. They’ll gladly fuck over the seller any day. Just be sure you look at the photos and descriptions first.
Thanks so much. I actually ended up finding a P15s i7 1.80GHz 40GB RAM 1TB NVMe SSD for $250
Noice. That ram and ssd is worth that $50 alone in the current market.
This one has marks on the screen. The seller is highly verified so I wouldn't worry about it being a scam, I would just look around to see if there is a similar option for a similar price with the same specs that doesn't have screen marks. Also has 30 day returns but you got to pay for shipping back if so
Thanks for the advice!
I just bought a t480s off amazon last month myself, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FH25JBKP
Hexbear told me I overpaid for it, but I can vouch for these laptops, rock solid build quality, runs super fast off the ssd (probably even faster with linux but I still have windows on it). This seller said it's used but when it came it was literally like new, dunno if that's luck or they take good care of them.
Funny you mentioned that because I went back to that thread which got me searching on Ebay. I might just go this route based on your recommendation.
Cool! I've had no problems with this laptop a month later, hope it works well for you too.