Too much, Too little, Free, Paid to shill??? Buyer's remorse and over paying!!! Tired of those "did I do good? whats the value of x? Which laptop is gud?" This will explain everything! Here's the main part of the guide everyone. This is how everyone should determine the current value of a used ThinkPad or used laptop for any matter. Though local seller may sell it cheaper as well. But!! eBay sellers with 99%+ feedback score are very hard to say no to, as they are a very reputable source to buy from. I have my own sellers I follow because of this, find yours! Most of those sellers are recyclers or refurbishers, They get paid to destroy late model laptop harddrives! They resell the units as well, which is why business class laptops are sold at low prices, there's a lot of supply! Sorry for the low video quality on the desktop recorder :/ Researching your ThinkPad: Thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_History Great for Pre-2009 ThinkPads specs Also check out my ThinkPad timeline draft: http://imgur.com/Wt53dMf Spec lookup sites: http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/products/search http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04?c=us&l=en&s=bsd http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/findModel?cc=US&lc=en http://www.powerbookmedic.com/identify-mac-serial.php eBay has the lowest prices for the most part, some people don't know what they are selling locally however. Heck, they'll sell a broken laptop and all it needs is a screen or battery. Easy fix!! Resell for 3x the price! Some laptops are sold for more then others, even with the same specs. Don't expect batteries to be working on super low priced models. Buy it nows can be cheaper than auctions. Take a chance with best offers as well! i say this Because people look auctions ending soon rather then Buy It Nows because they are generally more pricier. Yet there are a few buy it nows that are cheaper because they just need an OS installed, can't sell a parts laptop at a used laptop price range. Thats easy to install with most ThinkPads, you just need a bottable USB! I use Rufus ISO to USB, M$ and Linux have their own but I find this the easiest to use. Also you can download Winodws 7 legally from microsoft themselves, just need the COA to activate it. Pirated versions can be hidding with something underneath! Rufus link: https://rufus.akeo.ie/ M$ Windows 7 service pack 1: http://www.techverse.net/download-windows-7-iso-x86-x64-microsofts-official-servers/ Took me about 3 hours, yeah. If it has a valid COA on bottom, you can legally use it. Might need a phonecall to Microsoft if there's problems... It has 32 (aka x86) and 64 bit versions as well as different language packs! Local sites so you can meet up in person: Always meet in a public location you are comfortable in Don't take their candy either! Or their free software, ew... Unlike eBay you have no money back garentee When buying please check to see if it works Don't buy a used laptop thats just "missing the cord/dead battery" Its probably broken, do not trust them, even if they swore it on god or whatever the hell they say. Only take it if they have some sort of reputation. If you cant test it, its broke, so offer the broken price. Outlet/surprlus sites: Lenovo's: http://shop.lenovo.com/outlet_us/laptops/#facet-1=1,2,3,4&facet-2=1 Dell's: http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?c=us&cs=28&l=en&s=dfb&brandid=2801 HP's: http://www.hp.com/sbso/buspurchase_refurbished_specials.html *links might not work... aye, enough spoonfeeding then :P