HP reseller laptop

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So I have found this HP laptop PN#=2UE55UA for a good price both on Amazon and EBAY. I did a CHAT with HP Sales and they do not sell the laptop directly and said its one made for resellers.

So I cannot tell the basic quality. A Pavilion is not as good as an EliteBook. And they have several different lines. A lot probably has to do with how much plastic vs metal is in the case.

So I cannot tell what level of quality it is. Given the price its probably closer to a Pavilion than an EliteBook.

Anyone else bought a "reseller" model laptop from HP?
 
If you don't get good answers, I'd recommend joining the official HP forum and asking there---the exact model unit and number, or even the reseller--if anyone else has any experience with them.

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/

They occasionally have HP employees there to answer support questions, but even if not, you can still get some informative replies there.
 
I bought one a few years back, and I've been extremely happy with it overall. It can be a little 'plasticky' but that's okay. I got it quite cheap, and it performs very well. No problems so far. Well worth the money.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
So I have found this HP laptop PN#=2UE55UA for a good price both on Amazon and EBAY. I did a CHAT with HP Sales and they do not sell the laptop directly and said its one made for resellers.

So I cannot tell the basic quality. A Pavilion is not as good as an EliteBook. And they have several different lines. A lot probably has to do with how much plastic vs metal is in the case.

So I cannot tell what level of quality it is. Given the price its probably closer to a Pavilion than an EliteBook.

Anyone else bought a "reseller" model laptop from HP?

I have an older Pavilion (about 8 years), which we bought refurbished from a local place, Microcenter.

Still kicking because:
-i clean it
and
-I clean it

Heat and some bad design usually killed those. Plus the dust bunnies (mine looked like sheeps after 2.5 years). Right out of warranty.

If you want to see what they would look after use, check the non-stock pictures on ebay/craigslist/amazon/ resellers for the re-furbished/cleaned/end-of-business-cycle deals...
or the bad reviews/complaints


Now can we step back and what do you want from a laptop:
-roughness?
-reliability?
-screen size?
-keyboard layout + trackpad?
-good specs?
-future proof/upgradability?
-number of usb ports, display outputs, etc?
 
Donald,

I dig a bit more on the specs:
-resolution for the touch screen is 1366X768
-buried on some officedepot description is " Memory is not expandable"
-keyboard does not light up
-couple of complaints in reviews for cheapness feel....
 
I buy refurbished computers from Fry's. They have come spotless, well packed and work like a charm. Not state of the art since they are several years old, but I throw in some additional memory and am satisfied. Fry's runs daily specials that can blow your socks off.
 
Reseller-specific models typically *resemble* a catalog item but have one or three little-observed compromises. The idea is to get consumers to buy based on their assumption that it's "the same as" a catalog model, but $50 (or whatever) cheaper.

You need to find the catalog machine that it most resembles, and check the specs against the machine you are looking at. Something will be different, find that, and determine if it matters to you or not.

For example, with a bigscreen TV the common areas of compromise is to reduce the number of inputs or outputs (maybe two HDMI inputs instead of four) and elimination of features like the Anti-Glare coating on the screen. Now, a TV is not al laptop, but from that you should get the idea of what is meant by "little-observed compromises". I would suspect the Graphics chipset, for example, or the number of USB buses. The obvious stuff (installed RAM, etc) is often the same, because they want you to think they are the same.
 
Originally Posted By: pandus13
Originally Posted By: Donald
So I have found this HP laptop PN#=2UE55UA for a good price both on Amazon and EBAY. I did a CHAT with HP Sales and they do not sell the laptop directly and said its one made for resellers.

So I cannot tell the basic quality. A Pavilion is not as good as an EliteBook. And they have several different lines. A lot probably has to do with how much plastic vs metal is in the case.

So I cannot tell what level of quality it is. Given the price its probably closer to a Pavilion than an EliteBook.

Anyone else bought a "reseller" model laptop from HP?

I have an older Pavilion (about 8 years), which we bought refurbished from a local place, Microcenter.

Still kicking because:
-i clean it
and
-I clean it

Heat and some bad design usually killed those. Plus the dust bunnies (mine looked like sheeps after 2.5 years). Right out of warranty.

If you want to see what they would look after use, check the non-stock pictures on ebay/craigslist/amazon/ resellers for the re-furbished/cleaned/end-of-business-cycle deals...
or the bad reviews/complaints


Now can we step back and what do you want from a laptop:
-roughness?
-reliability?
-screen size?
-keyboard layout + trackpad?
-good specs?
-future proof/upgradability?
-number of usb ports, display outputs, etc?


I have had 3 HP Pavilion laptops. I would not want any more plastic/cheapness in the case than a Pavilion.

Maybe my imagination, it seemed at points in time when my left hand wrist rested on the lower left corner of the laptop odd things would happen with respect to the keyboard.
 
Originally Posted By: pandus13
Donald,

I dig a bit more on the specs:
-resolution for the touch screen is 1366X768
-buried on some officedepot description is " Memory is not expandable"
-keyboard does not light up
-couple of complaints in reviews for cheapness feel....


Yes - this is what afraid of. Cheapness that is hard to put your finger on. Kingston Memory looked it up and said its max memory is 8GB, which is what it ships with. 8gb might be OK, but would like the ability to upgrade.
 
If new and for your consulting business, I would go to Costco (1 year extra warranty), Fry's, B&H.
I would go for business grade.

If refurbished OK, go for A-grade, 16GB RAM, I5-I7, SSD at least 256, 15.6 business grade:
-dell refurbished, outlet
-arrowdirect
-refurb.io
-hp business outlet
You will also get Win10 Pro (Or if you're lucky win7 Pro)
 
Originally Posted By: pandus13
If new and for your consulting business, I would go to Costco (1 year extra warranty), Fry's, B&H.
I would go for business grade.

If refurbished OK, go for A-grade, 16GB RAM, I5-I7, SSD at least 256, 15.6 business grade:
-dell refurbished, outlet
-arrowdirect
-refurb.io
-hp business outlet
You will also get Win10 Pro (Or if you're lucky win7 Pro)


The insurance company I work for provides me an HP EliteBook.
 
I've not bought the "reseller" models but generally they are just different enough to avoid price matching or even spec matching.

I did look it up and it seems to be a very mediocre laptop with about a $650 price tag.

At that price level I'd be hard pressed not to just order this:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-x36...p?skuId=6124570

It's a very fast machine, as a better screen, upgradeable RAM and supports touch + pen if you're into that. The only downside is the spinning disk but you could easily put an SSD in it or order direct from HP with an SSD.
 
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