How to get a Free Laptop or Free Notebook. Not a Scam! : eBay Guides

How to get a Free Laptop or Free Notebook. Not a Scam!

Most "Free Laptop" or "Free Notebook" offers that I have seen look like "scams" and do not seem authentic.
Why would anybody give away a modern, up-to-date laptop that is worth hundreds of dollars?
The answer is that they don't. Not without some strings attached or some contract to sign.

So how can you get a free laptop?

The answer is simple. Some companies like ours get older, out of date laptops that we consider
have no commerical value, but are not broken and are still functional. These include older 486's
or Pentium One Laptops or Notebooks that do not have a USB Port.

In most cases, these unit were missing parts, such as the Power Supply or AC Adapter,
the Hard Drive and possibly the Hard Drive Caddy, as well as the CD-ROM drive and/or
Battery Packs were missing as well. Realistically there is also no USB Port either.

All these missing parts are typically available on eBay from $10 or less for each part.

From July, 2006 to September, 2008 we have already given away more than 600 free laptops.
These free laptops were units that dated from between 1994-1996. That means that they are
quite out-of-date and will NOT run Windows XP or Windows Vista, but they will run older
Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and even Win'98SE in some cases.

Other clients are running Linux (DSL as an example). Whatever the case, with small amounts
or RAM and limited hard drive sizes of less than 2GB in most cases, you require an O/S that
takes as little a space as possible.

So contact your local leasing company, recycler or 2nd hand computer store. If they have really
old laptops or notebooks, they probably have to send them to be recycled anyways. So you are
doing them a service to take these old machines off their hands.

You can also place an ad on your local Kijiji Free On-line Classifieds Website and offer to
pick-up an older Laptop, which is both Environmental Friendly as well as helpful to the local
person. Believe it or not, many people have an older laptop or notebook which they do not
want to throw out but do not know otherwise how to dispose of it.

Don't expect too much and be willing to "fix-it-up" yourself if it is missing parts.

Don't be too fussy even if the unit is broken. If you are creative, you can sometimes make
one good laptop out of two broken ones by swapping parts around. There are wonderful
teardown guides which will show you step-by-step how to disassemble and most importantly
put back together different models of laptops and notebooks. Google "laptop teardown guide"
and search for your specific model.

Many clients ask us WHY the hard drive is missing: The answer is simple. Since 9/11 many
companies and nearly all Government, Public Utility and Financial Institutes consider their
security a top priority. In some cases, it is easier and less expensive for them to request
the hard drive to be destroyed than to use a disk-wipe utility. Unfortunately what they do not
realize is that some hard drives are not easily removable and in the process of quickly and
cheaply removing the hard drive, the recycling and leasing companies pry the plastic apart
with a screw driver and rip out the hard drive with little or no consideration for saving the
old laptop for further use. This wanton destruction is both environmentally unsound and
economically foolish, as it renders some laptops unusable for future use.

It is fortunate that some brands like Toshiba Satellite, Dell Latitude, IBM ThinkPad,
Compaq Armada and Panasonic Toughbook in most cases have user removable hard drives.
When the leasing companies remove the hard drives from these models, in most cases
they also remove the hard drive caddy or proprietary bracket that holds the hard drive in place.
So be prepared to also source the caddy when you are fortunate enough to pickup one of
the free laptops or free notebooks.

Also a little advice: Older Toshiba Satellite and Satellite Pro Notebooks, as well as some
older Compaq Armada 1500 series notebooks have a built-in power supply or AC adapter.
That means that you only require a standard power cord instead of the complete power supply.

The power cord on eBay should sell for between $0.99 and $2.00.

Many people ask what you can do with an old notebook?
Can you "chat" with it? Realistically no...
Can you watch DVD's with it? Absolutely No!
Can you surf the Internet Wirelessly with it? Of course not.
Then what is it good for???
NASA went to the moon with less computing power than in these old 486's...
So you can't chat or watch DVD's or Surf Wirelessly with it, but you can go to the moon with it!

I have been selling laptops in the Montreal area for over 22 years now and consider them my life's
work and my passion. The best people I know I have met as a consequence of laptops, including
my wife and my best friend. It would be my pleasure to give out any future advice about fixing-up
an old laptop or even helping you find an older part if necessary. Please contact me thru eBay
if you have any questions or comments.

This is my second eBay Guide. I hope you found it helpful and useful. I would appreciate any
positive feedback so that I could improve this guide or future guides.

Thank-you for reading and allowing me to contribute back to the eBay Community.
(C) 2008 canadanotebook eBay member since 2005.

P.S. This is some of the feedback that I have received from people who received a Free Laptop:

I would like to say a big thank-you for helping me and my kids, I have been looking to get an extra computer as I have two kids of school age who have a great deal of homework and a lot of it relies upon being typed....I found an ad at eclassifieds and to my surprise found the ad. You were were so kind in helping out and now I have two working laptops to help my kids, its the best thing thats happened in a while and I can only thank them sincerely because I don't know anyone else who even considers recycling old computers back to the community! I think its a great service and you really went out of your way which I'm sure you do with all your customers to help me find what I needed. Very helpful and resourceful. Thanks so much.Anisa

Hi there!
I don't know if you remember me... I'm 13, and my dad and I went to your shop a couple of weeks ago and you gave me that really nice old laptop. I just wanted to thank you once again and let you know I use it every day! It was so kind of you to give it to me for free and I'm so happy to finally be able to write my articles & stories on something else than an old typewriter! You've made one of my dreams come true and I'm really grateful to you.
If ever we need some parts, we'll drop by your shop (it's really a laptop heaven!) and check if you might have it. Tell your daughter "Hi!" from me and let her know she's lucky to have such a generous dad! Thanks again! So, have a great day! Cheers, Maia

January 16th, 2008: Hi
I was in your store the other day...I'm the guy who asked about sound capability of your free laptops. It's nice to have merchants especially in the computer industry who are knowledgeable, courteous, and socially and environmentally conscious not to mention DOS savvy. As soon as I get an adapter I'll let you know the prognosis of the freebie...still looking. I would also like to get my girlfriend a notebook and will be by sometime with her in the future to pick one up.
If you can I'd appreciate if you could drop me an email if and when you receive some new free 'tops if that's OK, but I'll leave that to your discretion.
Anyway keep up the good work! Oreste

Feb 10, 2008: Hi, I would like to thank you for those 2 laptops I got from you. One of them is working very well and both the children are playing on it a month after I see you. The other one will require a little repair here and there just as you mentioned. I wanted to especially thank you for your honesty about that. Rarely is a businessman as honest as you are. I would definitely refer you to my friends and family! Thanks again! Silvana

March 1st, 2008:Hi,
I entered your store yesterday, after reading that you're giving away functional laptops for free! (Thank you so much for doing it, by the way!) Entering, I not only discovered a smart and generous way of helping people while giving useful equipment another chance. I also found: a LOT of know-how; a touching amount of dedication to laptops, old and new; a wonderful and rare taste for fair trade. Your store is definitely the first place to enter for the old-laptop maniac that I am.
Thank you for keeping that possible, Alex

March 5, 2008: Hola, This is Lily, the Peruvian lady you just spoke on the phone few minutes ago, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk to me and willing to give me a computer and the kids CDs. I will definitely pass by your store on Saturday after 1:00 pm, I really appreciate your generosity, this will make my kids very very happy! Have a great day! Lily

June 19, 2008: Hi! Thank you for the thinkpad. I am going to start finding the parts and trying to put it back to work. I will keep you updated! BTW it was really enjoyable talking to you. I will come back and visit. Take care! Jimin / Just another guy who wants a PhD.

08/22/2008: Merci beaucoup Monsieur pour les 3 portables que vous m'avez généreusement donnés. Non seulement mes élèves pourront-ils s'en servir pour effectuer leurs recherches documentaires sur Internet, mais en plus ils pourront les utiliser pour rédiger leurs travaux. L'apprentissage d'un traitement de texte, l'utilisation du système d'exploitation Linux ainsi que les connaissances historiques qu'ils glaneront au fil de leurs découvertes feront partie des connaissances que votre action citoyen aura contribué à leur donner. Thank you for the donation of three computers. The students of my history class will greatly benefit by this addition. Your action will enable them to learn skills and aquire knowledge using information technogy. Merci ! Gilles