Sellers may upgrade processors from Celeron to Pentium M Centrino, then replace labels and sell at a high price; choose unusual models, paint them in flashy colors to have “unique” machines sold at exorbitant prices…
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To avoid purchasing upgraded laptops, customers should choose to buy from reputable stores that offer warranties. (Photo: NLĐ) |
In contrast to “cooking” the hardware, another quite common trick among laptop sellers today is upgrading, creating “unique” items to sell at high prices. The main target is a significant number of customers who buy laptops but do not have much knowledge about them.
Upgrading for… 50 USD
To help me understand more about the mysteries of the laptop market, my neighbor introduced me to a technician from a computer sales company on Nguyen Cu Trinh Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. This technician revealed: The easiest way to increase prices is by replacing the processor (CPU) from the Celeron series to the Pentium M Centrino series.
Celeron CPUs are cheaper compared to Pentium M Centrino. Although they have the same speed, Pentium M offers better performance, is faster, and has a larger L2 cache compared to Celeron CPUs.
In some later laptop models, there are options to install either a Celeron or Pentium M Centrino CPU. Taking advantage of this, some buyers purchase Celeron laptops and replace them with Pentium M Centrino CPUs, then change the label on the laptop body. The profit lies in the fact that the price difference between these two CPU types is only about 50-70 USD, but upgraded laptops can be sold at a price difference that can reach 100-200 USD if they encounter an inexperienced customer.
Selling high with the trick of… unique items
Since laptops are not only working tools but also fashion items for a significant number of affluent individuals, many people desire unique products, something that is not commonly found… This type of customer mainly buys laptops to use in coffee shops with wireless Internet access for chatting, listening to music, watching movies, and most importantly, to show off their machines, a practice often referred to by sellers as “performing.”
Recognizing this demand, many shops in Ho Chi Minh City travel all the way to Singapore to hunt for laptops with unusual designs. After that, they return to the city and “hip-hop” them again by spending 25,000 – 30,000 VND to repaint the laptop covers in striking colors, including red and pink. Red paint is used for selling to the “performers.” Once the laptop becomes a “unique item” for the “playful crowd,” its selling price is usually pushed up to… astronomical levels. A laptop bought in Singapore for around 600 – 700 USD can be sold after repainting for up to 1,000 USD or more.
Unique items often include used machines. For example, with IBM laptops, the casing is usually covered with a soft, velvet-like layer. Therefore, if an IBM laptop no longer has this characteristic layer and has been repainted, it may have been refurbished.
Dung Tuan
