Thinkpads Forum

I want to buy a T61 series Lenovo IBM laptop that MUST be 4:3 type screen resolution. So all you out there with 15.4" screens need not apply.

The other issue is that I am in Canada so the seller must be willing to ship there if they are in the US. Also shipping by US Postal Service because UPS & Fedex charge unreasonable broker handling fees to Canada ; (unless the seller is willing to write down a value of $20 "for parts repair laptop" in the CN-22 slip - the broker fee is waived).

I assume Paypal is the safest for payment and my shipping address is verified through them.

The screen resolution should be 1400 x 1050 (SXGA+). I know they have the lower res XGA (1024 x 768)but laptops 10 years ago had that spec - so I need something better.

Brendon

Oh I forgot to mention that i've been actively searching on eBay and almost all are stupid widescreen or asking for gold pricing, or just just simply won't ship outside the US.

You didn't mention how much you were willing to pay, but in general, consider this offer:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=78798

Might be able to convince the seller to ship to Canada, since it is almost as the US as far as shipping goes, with fast processing, low fees and reduced custom hassle.

Darn it, HarryC was 5 seconds faster!

Yep the owner has contacted me but pending on another buyer's decision - thanks for the heads-up.

Price wise is hard because it all depends on the condition of the laptop. What is in "Mint Condition" is different to what another person things (as new .. no scratches?)

BQ

Not to go too far off topic but I would like to see a grading system for laptops similar to what is used for collectible cameras:

Mint - Like new, no signs of use or wear
Near Mint - Only one or two insignificant signs of use
Ex++ - Excellent, only very slight marks from use
Ex+ - Better than average, used but not abused
Ex - Average condition, signs of normal use
Very Good - Well-used but working fine

The is no such thing as "mint except for..." or "mint for it's age", it's either like new (perfect) or it's not.

The rest is obviously going to be subjective but anyone other than a casual, once-in-a-while seller will quickly get a reputation if they abuse the system by misrepresenting the condition of their merchandise.

I agree, but then anything less than MINT should include details in the description, the more precise, the better. Pictures help quite a bit, too.

(Some of the 9 out of 10 rated items I've purchased, might be a 5-6 on my scale.)

I like the grade A, B or C ranking employed by many used laptop resellers. For example -

Grade A - No cosmetic issues, no noticeable wear, no other issues
Grade B - Minor cosmetic issues such as small scuffs, small scratches, minor wear, and no more than one dead pixel.
Grade C - Large cosmetic issues, major scuffs and scratches, large areas of wear, cracks, and other issues both functional and cosmetic.

You just have to be patient. These things (T61 model 8889) do show up on ebay with reasonable regularity. I got a brand new one for $700 US back in May. Since the loonie has been going up you should be able to get a better deal than I did just three months ago.

My 14.1" T61 is 4:3 XGA but was bought new in August 2007 (soon to be 2 years old) (not sure why you say all XGA was 10 years ago?). It is absolutely MINT, I only hope I can show the real thing here It posted here:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=78092

Just in case you might be interested... (however I don't have Paypal account) .

Yeh I was quite impressed with that previous seller that had the 'Quadra' graphics chip on his T61. I knew he would have no troubles selling it.

Regarding the 1024 x 768 res. I have a Compaq Presario 1700 laptop that I bought back in 2000 that has that resolution. You know, that's a long time ago and the laptop still gives me good service. Then there's the UXGA 15" 1600 x 1200 found in the T60P or the Panasonic Toughbook. But I find it's far too big. So i'm thinking the same footprint as a 14" but with the 1 added notch res higher.

Actually, I wouldn't of thought of going with a newer laptop if SATA hard drive didn't take over. The SSD IDE in the Compaq is quite impressive.

Brendon

SBQ wrote: UPS & Fedex charge unreasonable broker handling fees to Canada ; (unless the seller is willing to write down a value of $20 "for parts repair laptop" in the CN-22 slip - the broker fee is waived).

You cannot insure a package for more than its declared value, so I'd recommend against declaring a laptop for $20.
And as a seller, I'd insist on declaring & insuring it for its full value in case it got lost or you did a paypal chargeback against me.

As for widescreens, personally I also prefer more height and less space on the side, but I'm starting to be won over to widescreen - but only because of the increasing number of applications and sites that are being built to the widescreen aspect ratio... Before long, all apps and sites will be built for widescreen and look worse on 4:3

(indeed, my workplace has standardized on widescreen and some new mission-critical enterprise apps require WSXGA+ or higher).