Dell Outlet -good place to buy a laptop?

Yes just take the prices with a grain of salt, also check out Lenovo outlet
https://www.lenovo.com/us/outletu...e.com%252F

Check prices to verify it is a good deal, don't worry about a scratch and dent at Dell after more than a dozen computers one actually had a small scratch in the Dell logo.
Remember most RAM is soldered on so that is not upgradable but the SSD usually is replaceable.

I have a picked up a nice latitude 2 in 1 for my brother in law they come with a 3 yr warranty and are usually more durable than consumer PCs if you are going to be using it a lot.

Dell outlet can be a good place to buy a laptop.
However, you do need to do your research regarding what a good price is for a particular model.

One of the bigger things to watch is the model of the CPU and select newer models.

In general, many of the dell business laptops are relatively sturdy. Many of the models have relatively crappy screens.

Can you elaborate on what you want to use the laptop for and your budget.
16 GB is really the spot you want to shoot for.
You can use the crucial.com web site to see if the RAM or Hard drive are upgradable.

This is a good price on a touch screen

Latitude 14" 3000 (3440)
$1,618.00$628.00
1 in stock
Scratch & Dent
Intel Core 13th Generation i5-1335U Processor (10 Core, Up to 4.60GHz, 12MB Cache, 15W)
Windows 11 Pro
256GB PCIe M.2 NVMe Class 35 Solid State Drive
16GB (1X16GB) Up to 3200MHz DDR4 SoDIMM Non-ECC
14 inch HD (1366 x 768) Anti-Glare TN 60Hz 220-nits 45% NTSC Non-Touch Display
Intel Graphics
Soft Charcoal
Dell Outlet Latitude 14 - 3440 Laptop

589.00 with coupon and 3 yr of pro support.

I'm just going to use if for web browsing, and also an Office alternative like Libre Office. But I do need a laptop that I can travel with since I only have a very old iPad that I don't like to bring on trips. I would like something that boots fast, has a decent screen, backlit keyboard.

Don't they all travel well? I mean if you put it in a case, I would think this is not a deciding point.

My personal opinion is if the only thing you're going to do is browse the web and work with office applications, you can easily find something new for under $500, so buying from an outlet you should expect to be lower than that. Do they not have anything under $500?

I think your decision points should be screen size and whether or not you want touch screen, then keyboard (backlit) and whether or not you want the number pad built in (you can always add one via USB and they're a godsend for spreadsheets). These choices will dictate the laptop size for you. The smaller ones are sometimes not full HD and don't have number pads for obvious reasons.

16GB is definitely the memory sweet spot; hard drives are usually able to be upgraded and if you need more than 256GB, USB drives are also an option; nothing else really matters if you're just web browsing and using documents and spreadsheets.

Here [bestbuy.com] is a current deal at BestBuy for a new HP. Not promoting either company, just pointing out that I think you can get something well under $500 that will meet your stated needs, especially if you're shopping at outlet sites.

Edit to add - note that this particular laptop doesn't have the backlit keyboard you want. I wasn't really trying to promote this specific laptop just trying to give you an expectation of what to spend for a laptop that is only needed to browse the web and office applications.

Thanks for the detailed post! I don't want a touch screen but do favor a number pad on the keyboard, as well as lighted keyboard. I know that will require me to look at a larger laptop but that is Ok. Just don't one bigger than 16" (preferably smaller). Wife used to have both an HP and a Lenovo. The HP had all kinds of issues including software and hardware. The Lenovo's hinges just broke after the warranty period ended. So I'd rather steer clear of those to brands. A decent screen is helpful too

I'd always had good luck with Dell's but I know the Inspiron's build quality is sometimes not the best.