Thanks guys! One more question... Do you think ebay is the best place to purchase a gently used or refurbished mini?
I prefer craigslist for a non portable Apple computers. The reason why I wouldn't do a portable is that a lot can happen to it in day to day usage. But a non-portable will just be sitting there so odds are better nothing got banged up.
My most recent craigslist apple purchase was a 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Mac mini (Mid 2007). I bought it Jan 2009. The seller originally put it at $850 but at the time, I remember that a 1.83 C2D Mac Mini was $599 on the Apple store ($579 w/ a student discount) and a refurbished 1.83ghz Mac Mini was $499 when available. I used that to bring the price down.
It was just a few months old too so I had a long warranty remaining. Ultimately, I got it for $375 which was a good deal considering the slightly upgraded ram and the bigger HD, but I did get screwed a little because the seller messed some things up in the inside during the install (you can see the full story here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=9313291#post9313291)
For a portable, I would aim for refurbished if possible otherwise, student discount a new one.