Schools, businesses or individuals looking to purchase new computers can save quite a bit of money by buying pre-owned, recently off-lease machines from a reputable dealer.

Businesses lease their PCs for a period of time - typically 2 or 3 years. At the end of the lease, the equipment comes back to close out the lease. Similar to an automobile lease (where you'd return the vehicle to your local dealer), the computer equipment has to come back to the processing facility with normal wear and tear. On a vehicle, that could mean quite a bit. But on a computer, the only significant "wear and tear" is on the keyboard and the mouse. Sure, the moving components inside (i.e the hard drive, cd-rom, and the floppy drive, and fans) are used, but about 95% of these components are still functioning properly.

Off-lease refurbs are NOT to be confused with factory refurbished equipment. Equipment that comes back to the original equipment manufacturers (i.e Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway, etc.) gets into the refurb channel for a number of different reasons, but most noteable customer returns. In other words, the goods came back because the customer had a problem or didn't like what they got.

But how do you know which companies offer good off-lease refurbs, and which ones are "lemons"?

FIRST - REFURBS CAN ONLY BE AS GOOD AS THE BRAND NEW EQUIPMENT.

To that end, my advice is to stick with "corporate grade" equipment ~ the Dell Optiplex, the Compaq EVO, to name just a few. Stay clear of anything "retail grade" like the Dell Dimension, HP Pavilion, Compaq Presario. These PCs were designed for end-users, NOT businesses. If they aren't good enough to run a business, why would you want them?

SECOND - STICK WITH REPUTABLE BUSINESSES.

Ask for references or referrals. Find out if how long they've been in business and ask if they are a member of the Better Business Bureau. Check for complaints. With the proliferation of eBay, buying someone's old computer IS NOT anything like buying a professionally refurbished, off-lease computer from a company that does nothing but refurb computers for a living. Stick with reputable businesses that have a purpose.

THIRD - GET A FULL WARRANTY.

Settle for nothing less than a 1-year warranty, but ask for 3-year coverage. But looking deeper than the length of the warranty. If the company is offering a 3-year warranty, but hasn't been in business that long, skip it. Move on.

FOURTH - ASK FOR A TRIAL.

A few companies will actually allow you to "test drive" their equipment prior to committing to a larger purchase. End-users looking for a personal computer for themselves won't get in on the trial offer, but a business or school that is looking to outfit their entire organization with "like" machines is a good candidate for a trial. Worst case - buy one. See how it looks. See how the company handles tech support (even if there is no problem with the equipment).

FINALLY - YOU ARE BUYING THE COMPANY, NOT JUST THE PC.

The initial quality of the PC is telling, but if you are relying on the warranty, you are actually buying the company, not just the PC.

BOTTOM LINE -

You can get one heck of a deal buying refurbished, off-lease computer equipment from the right dealer. You should expect to save at least 50% off of corporate grade, brand new, Pentium 4-grade PCs OR 75% or more on lessor machines (ie. if you are placing the equipment into an elementary school, you don't need Pentium 4-class PCs - you need reliable PCs that will run the software you run regularly).