[GLLUG] Recycling computers with Linux

[Peter Cannon]

On 10/11/16 02:10, DL Neil via GLLUG wrote:
> Is there a way to offer recycled computers for sale to 'Joe Public',
> which takes care of relative ignorance (of Linux) and embodies both
> realism/common sense and ethically-sound principles?

Lets forget the Computers or Laptops for the minute and concentrate on the OS. This is going to be your biggest stumbling block as ASUS found out to its cost with the hundreds of eeepc's that were return by people who found they couldn't install iTunes and the copy of MS Office they'd nicked from work on them. Selling the units is easy, you can do that via a website, ebay, gumtree even Facebook as a shop page, but be advised, the market is flooded with refurb suppliers such as myself. Just type "Refurbished PC" in Google and pages and pages will come back, hell even Amazon sells refurbs now as does Misco etc. Selling them with Linux on is going to be the issue, even if you put a full page explanation of how Mrs Miggins can have an extremely cheap PC for little Timmy at Christmas the first thing that will be said is "Can he play Call of Duty on that?" You can try the old sales method of offering a price break if Joe Public buys it with Fedora installed otherwise it's 20% more expensive with Windows but again I doubt you'll get many takers for the Linux install.

Ideally the best place to offload these units is events, somewhere where you can not only demonstrate them and their capabilities but where you can talk and advise your potential customers as to what is and is not possible with Slackware.

The saddest thing is people are more willing and comfortable to have a refurb machine than they are Linux. Someone said to me the other day "Oh that's that freeware stuff isn't it?" :-(

P.S. Nice thread hijacking by someone earlier, my mail client filters thank you. #Sigh

-- 
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Peter Cannon

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