After buying and selling a lot of laptops on ebay, here are a few guidelines on how to buy a laptop on ebay

1. SPECIFICATION : match your requirement to the specification / description  of the laptop you find on ebay (for eg: my requirement is EMAIL, LETTER WRITING, MUSIC..  see if the laptop you find is matching up with your requirement) (   match up the technical specification if you know your required technical details)(get it verified by a friend if you are not sure if this laptop is the right one for you). so, the question is  IS THIS LAPTOP , THE RIGHT ONE FOR MY KIND OF REQUIREMENT? YES or NO?

2.WARRANTY : check warranty specified for the laptop by the seller. ( 15 days to one month warranty on used laptop is good) new laptops will come with manufacturers warranty. see if you are able to get extended warranty thru squaretrade.com (there will be a squaretrade seal at the very beginning of auction). extended warranty will cost only pennies a day thru squaretrade.com (for eg., a laptop worth $400 , warranty for two years will be $40/$45) so the question is IS THE SELLER PROVIDING MINIMUM 15 DAYS WARRANTY? IS THERE PROVISION TO SIGN UP FOR MORE WARRANTY? YES or NO? 

3.LOCATION: see where the laptop is located / shipped from.  NEARBY LOCATION PREFERRED. ( a distant location is quite likely to end up in delayed shipping. a laptop located in a different country is gonna take at least 2 weeks to get to you.), so, question is IS THE ITEM LOCATION NEARBY? YES or NO?

4.PAYMENT OPTION: see the payment options specified by the seller of laptop. if the seller accepts PAYPAL  , you can pay instant and you will get the item very quickly. if the seller accepts CREDIT CARDS, once again, advantage is that you can pay quick and get the item quick.( if the seller is NOTACCEPTING paypal or credit card, then , you are not gonna pay instant and consequently, you are not gonna get the item fast.)(if you are looking to get the laptop, after two weeks or so, then, the sellers payment options like money order/ cashiers check/personal check is all okay. make sure you make a postal m.o. so that most sellers can ship out the item, immediately after receiving the m.o.)so, question is IS THE SELLERS PAYMENT OPTION, ENABLING YOU TO GET THE LAPTOP FAST? YES or NO?

5.SHIPPING : click on the feed back score of the seller. if the seller is a fast shipper, in the first 5 feed back itself, you will find at least two buyers saying something like " fast shipment" / "super fast shipper". there you go..you got it : the seller has a very efficient shipping department.so, the question is IS THE SELLER A FAST SHIPPER? YES or NO?

6.SELLER : How is the seller? a feed back score of 98% or higher is great. ebay powersellers are good sellers, who are keeping up with the ebay specifications and that is why they are power sellers.  ask the seller a general question regarding the laptop, to see if he is answering your question quick . (that way, if you have a question after receiving the item, you are almost positive of getting an answer quick). a sample question is IS THIS A COMPLETE LAPTOP KIT WITH EVERY THING INCLUDED AND I CAN USE IT AS SOON AS I RECEIVE IT?so, question in a nutshell (SELLER feed back score OKAY? YES or NO?)

7.PRICE: most important thing: is the price within your budget? if you get the answer as YES. now, add shipping charges by the seller to the price. now add shipping insurance to the price (most of the sellers will have listings with "SHIPPING INSURANCE REQUIRED". now, after adding all the three, (price+ shipping +insurance), is the total price within your budget? (stretch of $10-$25 is okay, if the seller has exclusive reviews/feed back score). now, final question: PRICE OKAY? YES  or NO?

if YES, on all the above questions or if  6 out of seven is YES, pl. go ahead and  bid on it or buy it now

sincerely hope these tips will come handy. have a blessed day. may god bless you and family.