Lenovo's Clearance Deals are a total goldmine for cheap business laptops - but I learned the hard way that stock really, really doesn't last long

Two Lenovo ThinkPads on a cyan background next to a TechRadar badge reading 'Don't Miss'
(Image credit: Lenovo // Future)

Here's something I just learned the hard way - Lenovo's Clearance Deals is a surprising treasure trove for cheap business hardware - but that stock really doesn't last long.

While the back-to-school ThinkPad deals are catching the eye, some of the best prices I've seen are nestled away under the 'clearance' banner. However, laptops can go out of stock at a moment's notice.

I was halfway through reviewing a X1 Carbon Gen 11 deal when it disappeared. Then it happened again with a T16. I'm not kidding when I say these machines don't hang around long. Get 'em while the going's good.

I've picked out my top picks for professionals that are - at least for now - available cheap, including an upgradeable mini PC and one of the best ThinkPad laptops we've reviewed.

Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 6
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 6: $1,339 at Lenovo USA

The P1 is part of Lenovo's mobile workstation range - and with the advent of the Gen 7 model, this still impressive Gen 6 unit is on sale. In our review, we said: "Relatively thin and light, especially for a mobile workstation, this laptop is gorgeous and functional" with hardware that's "almost impossible to beat."

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Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2: $760 at Lenovo USA

The ThinkPad Z13 is basically a take on the MacBook Air. One of those sleek, cool, ultra-portable machines for work-from-home and work-from-wherever professionals. It's running Windows 11 Pro, Ryzen 7 Pro chip, 16GB RAM. The keyboard is shallower than your classic ThinkPad (1.35mm vs 1.5mm), so you miss out on one of the key ingredients. And if you don't mind the older Ryzen 7 7730U chip, I'd look at the Dell 15 Laptop deal, which has $250 off down to $479 at Dell.

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Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1
Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1: $540 at Lenovo USA

This 16in 2-in-1 lets you work in laptop and tablet mode, and comes well-specced with AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS chip, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD storage. It also comes with a stylus for making notes (or doodling) by hand. As an IdeaPad, it's more consumer-driven, so a good pick for anyone WFH.

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Lenovo IdeaCentre Mini
Lenovo IdeaCentre Mini: $500 at Lenovo USA

Here's a budget mini PC that's perfect for basic business tasks. To be truly useful under pressure, you'll probably want to expand the base 8GB memory and 512GB storage, which is easily done here. Under the hood is a Core i5-13500H chip, making it well-rounded enough for office duties, but I wouldn't look twice if it wasn't on clearance. There may be better options in our best mini PC round-up.

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Steve Clark
B2B Editor - Creative & Hardware

Steve is B2B Editor for Creative & Hardware at TechRadar Pro. He began in tech journalism reviewing photo editors and video editing software at Web User magazine, and covered technology news, features, and how-to guides. Today, he and his team of expert reviewers test out a range of creative software, hardware, and office furniture. Once upon a time, he wrote TV commercials and movie trailers. Relentless champion of the Oxford comma.

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