What makes Panasonic AC adapters so rare with used TBs?

I'm new to TB and noticed most used ones on the bay don't come with the original Panasonic AC adapters. They usually come with IBM ones. What's the story here?

 

IBM / Lenovo made a lot more notebooks, so they made a lot more AC adapters.
Also IBM has a much higher failure rate in it's notebooks. So when the notebooks fail, people are left with the AC adapter.

 

But then what happened to the original Panasonic AC adapters that came with the TBs?

 

Look at it like this, if you were the IT guy for your company. All of these laptops use the same charger, even on the newer pc's would you get rid of them? Free spares so to speak. When they de-comission from a large goverment/company stand point lots of stuff get separated also.

 

And when it is connected to a dock, the adapter stays on the dock and the new laptop just clicks in the old dock. With a new charger for home, gets to stay in the bag etc.

 

Also the customers are very different.
Toughbooks are purchased for vehicles a lot. Lenovo / IBM's are indoor units.
Indoor units have the AC adapter available when the laptop is sold. A vehicle does not have an AC adapter and the charger is permanently mounted. The charger goes when the vehicle goes.

IT techs for companies / Gov't agencies using fully rugged equipment have a different perspective than companies using desktop queen laptops. I'm sure the fully rugged guys destroy a lot more AC adapters. Oil rig guys can break an anvil..:hi2: IT in the rugged sector keeps all the extras they can.

Lenovo / IBM sells near 10% of the total laptops sold....Panasonic is grouped with the companies listed as OTHERS. The sales for all the companies in the OTHERS category combined is less than 40% of the total laptops sold. There are 7 times(just a educated guess) the Lenovo AC adapters available in the used market.

 

What happens to all the AC Adapters? They usually get put in a box on a shelf along with the hard drive caddys when they decommission their units. Then after 4-5 years the fat IT guy

is trying to make space for more stuff and stumbles across the box and then either gives it away to someone who sells it on Feebay or sells it there himself. That's when you see 50 adapters available at one time. Same story with caddys.

I started using the IBM 72W adapter and am very happy with it. The bonus is that you get a cigarette lighter adapter in with it... All for $13.50 or so to your door!

 

I am one of the few people who uses a Toughbook indoors at his work (not to mention outdoors). But those who know me on this forum know why. Spastic me is well known for the odd laptop or 12 claimed in the lines of broadcast engineering battle. The Toughbook is much cheaper than replacing 12 or 13 desktop queen Lenovo ThinkPads.

 

Holy cow,Toughbook got into my photo album........but I'm lookin' good.

 

It is simple!

The Toughbook itself is made of tough magnesium!

The adapters are make of plastic, like most other notebook computers....

 

lol!!!!!!!!! You were on a roll on the 30th!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

So as management of one of the largest Toughbook seller companies in the world (bragging rights... Right? ), I can tell you a few things:

99.9% of the used units (we're talking FULLY RUGGED only... (Which is what everyone wants)) that come back out of production and into the "used market" were in vehicles. Honest to God, it's sad to say that they all get tossed out because ALL the vehicles they go in have permanent hard wired power in the vehicles they are in. They never leave the vehicle and never really need power outside of the vehicle. These organizations (Which I can't divulge exact examples, but, for simple sake: a state-wide police) are MASSIVE and buy hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of these units at a time.

Hard-ballers like me that buy hundreds at a time in the used market and make sure that we get the AC adapters with them to make the deal happen and use the "I'm buying 40 THOUSAND dollars worth of Toughbooks from you, what do you mean they don't have power adapters?"... That's when most companies say "okay , okay okay! we'll do it!"... Then they give me IBM adapters.... Which I promptly RETURN because I cannot and will not (as an authorized refurb & new vendor) sell it as such!

The smaller companies that only do a few million a year just say "ehh, screw it, I'll just sell it with an IBM adapter, I don't care. It works so it has to be right right?" - and here we are...

Hope this helps!

Thanks!

 

^^ that. I can attest to that. The problem is, most companies and organizations don't have a way to sell used or unwanted goods. They don't have the resources, time and or manpower - the time spent to catalogue, photograph, list, ship, etc. far exceeds the money received from the goods. So garbage it goes.

Easy real-world example... think of how many computers and monitors are installed in offices. Dell ships many monitors with both DVI and VGA cables. When you have to install 100's+, you just leave the extra cables in the boxes. I do try to pick 'em out and drop them off at Goodwill so hopefully they'll have a second life and be a bit more environmentally responsible, but.