Would you ever buy a gaming PC off of Craigslist?

[VirtualLarry]

If so, what would you look for? Price? Quality of components? Warranty / support? OS?

What range of price and component level would you choose? Would a cheap dual-core suffice, along with a mid-range GPU? Or would it have to have a quad-core, and / or a top-end GPU?

(Conducting a little personal market research.)




No price checks.

Anandtech Moderator
KeithTalent

 

[shortylickens]

Only if it were a game that I knew for a fact did not have online activation limits.

And since Steam and GOG are so darn convenient, I cant really see myself needing craigslist.

Not to mention theres a ton of sites which can give me old DOS games for free or cheap.

 

[sze5003]

Only if it were a game that I knew for a fact did not have online activation limits.

And since Steam and GOG are so darn convenient, I cant really see myself needing craigslist.

Not to mention theres a ton of sites which can give me old DOS games for free or cheap.

I think he is talking about a whole computer. You need to ask if he has overclocked it, the components he has in it and compare it to what it would cost you now to build one yourself off newegg with the same parts.

 

[necroskull]

If you ask basic questions and ask to watch it work, you will be fine.

 

[Craig234]

Ya,I would. It'd have to have the 'sweet spot' components I want, quality/value.

The price would have to be good.

Some warranty would be nice, but not much required. Additional service for a reasonable fee would be nice as an option.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Have bought and sold multiple computers on craigslist,when i buy if the seller does not allow me to open it up,check the insides out or play a couple demanding games,the sell will not go down.When i sell i offer 1 week return policy sometimes as bold as that sounds cause i know the rigs i sell are solid and of quality,if they have a issue its 9 out of 10 times a user error and i will offer support via phone.

Many parts i have bought and sold,all have been solid and have never failed me.

 

[Craig234]

Oops, wrong thread.

 

[Bateluer]

Personally, I would not. I've parted out systems on CL though, but I'd prefer to build my own gaming PC myself.

That said, I could see how someone could 'contract' themselves out to build gaming PCs for a reasonable fee.

 

[chalmers]

Only if it were a game that I knew for a fact did not have online activation limits.

And since Steam and GOG are so darn convenient, I cant really see myself needing craigslist.

Not to mention theres a ton of sites which can give me old DOS games for free or cheap.

Fail.

 

[SithSolo1]

These are some of the offerings local to me:
http://athensga.craigslist.org/sys/4037395961.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/sys/4022128662.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/sys/4017861827.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/sys/4011146392.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/sys/4014467551.html

As you can see most are over priced with the last being a decent deal to part out and resell assuming it works. That said I would not buy any of them.

 

[techietechnics]

Whoa! all of them are overpriced. really. But, If it has all the parts that i want then why not, though that probably won't happen even in a long shot. So, yeah, i won't buy one. Are you planning to buy one TS?

 

[Bateluer]

These are some of the offerings local to me:
http://athensga.craigslist.org/sys/4037395961.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/sys/4022128662.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/sys/4017861827.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/sys/4011146392.html
http://athensga.craigslist.org/sys/4014467551.html

As you can see most are over priced with the last being a decent deal to part out and resell assuming it works. That said I would not buy any of them.

Holy shit balls!? 2K and 3K for a FX 8350 based machines with Radeon 6870 and 7950 GPUs!? What the fvck are people smoking in Athens Georgia?

 

[WiseUp216]

Just as bad, if not worse, on Cleveland Craigslist.

I stopped looking at the ads well over a year ago. I used to see a good parts deal maybe 3-4 times a month and the rest were overpriced junk.

On the rare occasions that I would list something, I would put a very good price and receive nothing but low-ball offers and stupid questions.

 

[SithSolo1]

Holy shit balls!? 2K and 3K for a FX 8350 based machines with Radeon 6870 and 7950 GPUs!? What the fvck are people smoking in Athens Georgia?

BUT WAIT! Its only $2800 if you let him keep the HDD and the OS. Smokin'

 

[skipsneeky2]

I could say i am one of the people who offer a incredible deal,mostly to cut down on the haggling people do with the price i ask and also for a quick sale.

Sold a Evga gtx580 way back like 1 year before the 7970 and the 600 series came out for a low $250,sold it cause i was getting out of gaming for a bit and looked out for a quieter pc and ran onboard for a while and at that price i sold it not even a hour after posting it.

 

[chalmers]

Craigslist is full of people who think that what they paid for the item is what it's still worth.

 

[shortylickens]

in my defense, I had 12 shots of Jack last night.

 

[chalmers]

in my defense, I had 12 shots of Jack last night.

Honey flavored?

 

[shortylickens]

Gentleman.

 

[sze5003]

Stay away from those computers. No way they are worth 2k. I bet they financed all the parts now they are behind. You can piece one together for way less.

 

[JamesV]

I'd never buy a used PC anywhere, let alone Craigslist.

My first PC was bought used, a 286SX 25MHz, which was around $2,500 new at the time, and got it for $250 because it wasn't working. Had to put another $250 into it, so I was happy with that deal. But, most used PCs and parts these days are ridiculously priced; knocking off 10% off retail.

 

[shortylickens]

Stay away from those computers. No way they are worth 2k. I bet they financed all the parts now they are behind. You can piece one together for way less.

Yeah these days its better to build your own. Almost all hardware is Win7 plug'n'play compatible. Its never been easier.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Quite frankly, lots of used hardware being sold on Craigs or eBay is just stuff other people have damaged trying to overclock and now they are trying to sell it to recoup their losses. Buy new, save yourself a lot of headaches.

 

[Aikouka]

You guys just don't see the value in a hacking PC!

 

[Rakehellion]

"Gaming" PCs on craigslist are always overpriced garbage from 8 years ago.