Buying a laptop online can be a tough task. The high price of new technology and the huge selection of diverse models can lead to critical mistakes if chosen incorrectly, resulting in a complete waste of money. When choosing a laptop, you will have to focus on many factors other than price, because every price range has its diamonds and frankly unsuccessful models. It is worth considering how up-to-date the software is, what are the terms of after-sales service, how the cost and speed of delivery. And, of course, it is worth paying attention to the manufacturer's and seller's warranty, as well as the terms of return. Buying a laptop in an online store you want to avoid damage during delivery or factory defect, but these issues can occur.
When searching for a laptop online, it's important to find a retailer with a good selection of models that meet your needs. The obvious advantage of buying a laptop online rather than in an offline store is precisely the huge selection and often better prices, even on newer and top models. We've prepared a list of the best places to buy a laptop so that you can find the perfect device for your needs, whether you're a gamer in need of powerful performance or a student looking for a budget-friendly option.
Amazon
Being the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon is the best choice to buy everything online, and the laptops as well. Especially if you are looking for cheap models. On Amazon, you can find good options from previous generations of laptops, and it offers a wide range of brands, including Apple, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and ASUS. You’ll also find frequent promotions and discounts, and you can benefit from free shipping.
Amazon is famous for its great deals on major holidays and exclusive Prime Day (Prime Day 2024 event will fall July 11 through 13), low prices and the fastest shipping among others.
Amazon offers a generous return period of 30 days.
However, it is worth considering that the huge selection on Amazon’s laptops is because such abundance is represented by resellers. As a result, the price for certain laptops may be higher. Make sure you do your research before buying from a reseller, unless the speed of delivery is your main requirement.
Still, you'll agree that getting the coveted laptop on the same day you order it ( if you're lucky enough to live near an Amazon warehouse) is worth some overpayment.
Worth paying attention to:
- The Acer Aspire 3 is a low budget laptop, but still a reliable option with AMD’s Ryzen 5 7520U CPU and long battery life.
Best Buy
If you're looking for high-quality new laptops and need a wide variety of models from different manufacturers, Best Buy is the best place to buy a laptop online. They have the latest models of gaming laptops, budget options, popular laptops, Chromebooks, MacBooks, UltraBooks, 2-in-1s, and just about anything else one might want.
Best Buy is less cluttered with third-party sellers compared to Amazon or Newegg, making it a safer option for purchasing more expensive laptops. The laptops are curated, with a focus on recent generation models. Older laptop models are also listed, but they are often priced more realistically and clearly marked as renewed or refurbished. You can find detailed specifications and features provided on product pages, and you can often customize configurations such as storage and processors.
They provide a 15-day return period, but you can extend it to 60 days with Best Buy's paid membership subscription, which also provides access to exclusive deals on laptops.
Worth paying attention to:
- The Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch laptop with the M3 chip and 512GB of storage is a great option for those looking for strong hardware and compatibility with the iPhone.
- The Asus ZenBook S13 OLED is also a top choice for a Windows laptop.
Newegg
Newegg is the best online tech store to visit if you don't really care which brand to choose, but you know exactly what features your new laptop should have. What sets Newegg apart is that it was once the only possible and obvious choice for buying computer hardware online. And even though a lot has changed since then, Newegg is still the best choice for buying individual PC components, powerful gaming laptops or devices with high level graphics or storage capabilities.
Here, you will be able to find a laptop for any request thanks to the advanced search by specific parts of the device, such as the processing power and manufacturer, the amount of memory or a specific graphics card. You can also find very old models, which is not always a good thing.
Newegg usually provides free shipping, however, there is no chance that you will be able to see the laptop live because they don't have offline stores. The good news is that they give 30 days for returns.
Worth paying attention to:
- The Asus TUF Gaming A17 laptop is a classy choice for those who want the most powerful RTX 4070 graphics card and a massive 1TB of SSD storage and to enhance your gaming experience.
Walmart
Walmart, like Amazon, boasts a huge selection of business and pro laptops. And is well known for its saving deals. Walmart offers many budget-friendly and low-cost laptop options to choose from. You can find both new models at a good promotional price and older generations of laptops at a discount. But here lies a little catch — tempted by a nice price, make sure that you do not buy a completely outdated or refurbished model.
However, there's an obvious plus, which is that Walmart has many physical stores where you can try the laptop for work you like before you buy it. Or just read customer reviews on the website to make your informed decision.
Walmart offers 3-day, 2-day, and 1-day shipping options, and you can also order your laptop online and pick it up at the store of your choice on the same day of your order.
Worth paying attention to:
- The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 is arguably the best laptop for business you can find today. Its lightweight design makes it a great choice not only for those who work from home.
eBay
eBay is not the best choice for buying a laptop online at first glance. As with Amazon, it is an online retailer with many individual resellers, so there is no centralized price control. However, this is what makes eBay the best place to find a cheap laptop online if you are lucky and quick enough.
If you do choose eBay and want to test your luck, it's worth keeping in mind that each seller has different terms and conditions for shipping as well as return policies. And despite the rather good search functions, the customer service still remains poor.
Use Qwintry for purchasing and delivery.