Second hand T43p - help on pricing

[andrewb]

Would anyone be able to indicate what might be a sensible asking price for a T43p for which I no longer have any use (because I am obliged to use a company provided T60).

Machine is a 15" T43p (2669 Q1G) with a 1600x1200 Flexview screen. 2GB of Ram, motherboard was replaced under warranty 6 months ago and there is just over 1 year left on the original 3 year warranty.

Two hard drives (one in ultrabay) both 80GB at 5400 rpm (one very nearly brand new), DV-RW player, travel thingy for ultrabay, one battery of each type; 9 cell, 6 cell and ultrabay. The 6 cell is nearly new.

Screen is first rate (no dead pixels which I can identify) and the machine is generally clean and presentable, with no bits missing. Machine has been used as primarily as a desktop for 2 years and keyboard is worn although still in perfect working order.

I am tempted to hang on to it, but it is only collecting dust and that seems a shame. I have never sold a Thinkpad previously and would be grateful for any guidance anyone could offer. Thanks.

[richk]

I spend some time watching those things. I buy and sell a lot of machines and parts on eBay, and the prices for T43p machines are all over the map. I've seen them go as low as $800 and as high as $1300. Unfortunately, it is a small enough market that a couple of extra machines or a couple of extra buyers change the market

[ajkula66]

I wouldn't dare trying to price it for your territory-UK, because I have absolutely no clue what the prices are like over there, and the little research that I have done has confused me more than anything...

If you were selling it on the US market, I imagine that the price range you'd be looking at would be anywhere between $850 and $1,000.

T43 have taken a tremendous slide in prices, because for some reason people tend to compare them more with T60 prices than with T42s...I personally like them a bunch, but I've had difficulty getting rid of just about any T43-in any shape or form-over the past six months...

Good luck with something that sounds like a well-kept high-end machine.

[andrewb]

Thanks for your replies. I may try the UK EBay but, otherwise, it might be better for me just to hang on to it, if only for sentimental value.

Prices for TPs in the UK are astronomical when compared to the USA. Plus, there is no CTO facility and the ready configured options are nowhere near as good as those for USA or Canada (although this is probably the same across the EU). Including the accessories and VAT (sales tax), this machine cost just under the equivalent of $8,000, which I reckon is somewhere around a 75% premium on US prices.

It's no small wonder you see so few TPs in the UK.

[ajkula66]

Your best bet is probably to keep it...I'd set a price and offer it for "Buy It Now Or Best Offer" if you have that option on eBay UK...good luck, regardless. You have one mean machine that I wouldn't mind having at all...

BTW, what DO you see in my old neighbourhood, if not ThinkPads?

Let us know.

All the best.

[andrewb]

BTW, what DO you see in my old neighbourhood, if not ThinkPads?

In my own small circles, the HP business range is becoming very popular. Sony seems to have cornered the market for sub-notebooks; an X6X is about as rare as affordable housing these days.

The T6X range of TPs was slow in coming onto the market in the UK, the specs were poor (especially for the screens) and the machines are expensive. I doubt IBM cared much for the UK (& EU ?) market, but Lenovo do not seem to care at all. I suppose there simply is not enough volume to be had when compared to the US market.

[wearetheborg]

No dell ??

[andrewb]

I expect the statistics show Dell sell more notebooks in the UK than any other company, but my perception would be that their notebooks are downmarket. Well suited for less senior staff but not the sort of thing managers would want for themselves, nor want to rely on. Certainly, I cannot think of a single director or senior manager I know who uses a Dell.

Looking at the current range, the machines have the aesthetic qualities of a machine designed by Stevie Wonder and, based on the expeirence of my last Dell (circa 1997 and never, ever again) I wouldn't be at all surprised if someone says the build quality is crap.