Any Compaq laptop owners out there?

[Jason Dunn]

I'm buying this laptop for a friend of mine:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2724160015

Problem is, I'm getting a weird vibe about the seller - no photos of the item at all. I asked for the serial number off the laptop, and the person said it was 970527-00. That doesn't seem long enough to me, yet they don't seem to be able to find it when I asked them to look.

Can someone here who owns an older Compaq laptop tell me how many numbers the serial number should have, and where it's located on the laptop?

Thanks!

[spursdude]

(So Jason, would you happen to be "terrorballz," winner of the auction? 8O)

[mscdex]

I'm buying this laptop for a friend of mine:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2724160015

Problem is, I'm getting a weird vibe about the seller - no photos of the item at all. I asked for the serial number off the laptop, and the person said it was 970527-00. That doesn't seem long enough to me, yet they don't seem to be able to find it when I asked them to look.

Can someone here who owns an older Compaq laptop tell me how many numbers the serial number should have, and where it's located on the laptop?

Thanks!

I dunno about you, but I see a picture of the laptop on that page you linked to....

[Steven Cedrone]

Wow, I hope you don't have another "Patrick" (http://www.jasonsego.com/fraud/) to deal with...

Good luck!

Steve

[lurch]

I've got a Compaq Armada, but since the auction's ended I won't spend the time to look at the serial number... unless you still need it for some reason... :)

[Ashley Dunn]

(So Jason, would you happen to be "terrorballz," winner of the auction? 8O)

No, the winner of the auction bailed for some reason, and now the laptop is being offered to me.

[Ashley Dunn]

I dunno about you, but I see a picture of the laptop on that page you linked to....

Look closer - that's a stock photo of a laptop, not a digital photo of the actual laptop I'm buying. :wink:

[Ashley Dunn]

I've got a Compaq Armada, but since the auction's ended I won't spend the time to look at the serial number... unless you still need it for some reason... :)

Yes, I need it - that's why I made this post. :lol:

[Ashley Dunn]

Wow, I hope you don't have another "Patrick" (http://www.jasonsego.com/fraud/) to deal with...

Yeah, that's kind of what I'm afraid of. This person just isn't very forthcoming on this transaction...I smell something fishy.

[Ashley Dunn]

Uh, all the posts in this thread were made by me, Jason Dunn, while I was evidently logged in as my wife. :oops: Doh! That's why you have your own profile on this computer Jason....duh.... :roll:

[jeremyweisser]

Jason, forget abt this laptop. I had that model abt 3 years ago and though most Armadas were great this machine was horrible. The price is horrible also so if I were you I would pass and look for something else.

[xendula]

Hi Jason,
not sure whether you still need this info but I happen to own a 2 year old Compaq laptop, BUT it is a Presario, so I am not sure whether this is any help.
The serial number on mine is 12 digits (numbers and letters).

Good luck ... if I was you, I would not buy it. I bought a brandnew Presario 1200 for my Mom for around $600 on Ebay last summer. (Too bad she refuses to learn how to use it!!), so I think if you keep watching, you migfht find something better, like e.g. this one (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2724552629&category=3712) (if the price won't go up too much).

[Jason Dunn]

Thanks for the input guys, but keep in mind that price is Canadian, not US dollars. It's about $290 US, which is the cheapest I found on ebay - $600 US it about $1000 CAN, and the friend I'm buying this for has a strict budget of $500 CAN. This was, unfortunately, the best I could find.

Unless one of you has a laptop you want to sell for really, really cheap. :wink:

[davidspalding]

I don't know if iEscrow is still in biz, but using an escrow or "satisfactory transaction broker" service comes in handy. Not sure, but I thought that PayPal offered this.

I used to sell things on eBay via COD (money order or bank cheque only), only got ripped once (UPS accepted a personal check which bounced; it was so small, I blew it off). I'm personally amazed at people who send money orders or checks and hope for the shipment. All I can say is ... know your postal fraud regulations, and be prepared. In this case, if the winning bidder backed out,... maybe it's for the same reasons, Jason? Seller is not being forthright with details? I don't have my old Compaq Aero 433, but that serial number you quoted seems short. Maybe you could try running it by Compaq to confirm the specs. (You can do this with a Dell.)

[xendula]

Unless one of you has a laptop you want to sell for really, really cheap. :wink:

naaaah :D

[Evee Ev]

i'm actually gonna be purchasing 2 laptops for a friend. she needs to do graphics and the like and needs a robust laptop and some a little less robust for a college student. any suggestions, brands, deals? thanks.

[xendula]

I would say Compaq Presario, but Compaq is no more ... My little Presario 1800 never failed me in 2 years of constant use (mostly graphics). It survived planes and rough security people at airports, and trunks and trains... I can't even IMAGINE having to replace it some day! I tried cheaper brands (IPC, Gerricom, Fujitsu-Siemens, HP), and they never lasted too long, neither were they too great to begin with, of course, since I got what I paid for.
I wonder how much Compaq quality there is in the new HP laptops...

[lurch]

Wow, really sorry for not posting sooner, hope it's not way too late :oops:

I forgot to check back at this thread!

The S/N on my Compaq Armada 1750 is in the following format (# = number, A = letter)

#A#AAAA#A#AA

And I don't see anything in the format you were given... (there's lots of numbers on the thing)

But mine's from Canada, so that might make a SMALL difference (probably not)

Again, sorry!!

[Jason Dunn]

But mine's from Canada, so that might make a SMALL difference (probably not) Again, sorry!!

The laptop I was buying was from someone in Canada too actually. I ended up saying no to the offer because I was getting a bad vibe...what kind of ebay seller doesn't have a digital camera? Seems fishy to me. :mrgreen:

[Mitch D]

Jason,

The number he/she gave you looks simular (but not totally the same) as a compaq part number. You might be dealing with some one who knows next to nothing about computers, lord knows I deal with enough of them at work, but then again is it worth bring stung.

As I keep telling my staff... Run... Run away fast... :D

[lurch]

I ended up saying no to the offer because I was getting a bad vibe...what kind of ebay seller doesn't have a digital camera? Seems fishy to me. :mrgreen:
I bid on a compact flash GPS from someone in the UK, and they never responded to any emails, or anything, and when I got an email from someone else saying "this person screwed me over" I figured, yeah, I'd retract my bid. :) Needless to say that auction suddenly "didn't exist" and neither did that user name. Big eBay Brother in action! :)

[bdeli]

Jason,

Why don't you try FactoryDirect for some good deals on refurbished laptops? Maybe you might get a good soul to ship it over to Calgary from Toronto. Here is the link:

http://www.factorydirect.ca/cgi-bin/category_list.pl/NOTEBOOK~COMPUTERS