"Paul Hopwood" wrote in message
...

Quite likely he just doesn't want the hassle. Unlike desktop PCs most
faults on a laptop are hugely expensive and are going to be outside
the capabilities of your average shop. If he need to deal with a
return it would almost certainly absorb any margin he's made on it
several times over.

Certainly seems that way.
I checked with HP, and the laptop is in warranty until next July*, and is
not registered as stolen.
So, looks like i'm saving £250 off RRP just because the box is missing.

Cheers for everyone's help.

* I may have missed a few months, but doesn't bother me since I hope to be
abroad by July, and if anything major was to go wrong, I would expect it to
be within the first few weeks of use.