What is a REFURB? Pros and Cons?

[jason2811]

What exactly is a refurb? I know it's when someone buys a product and their is a problem and so the company fixes it and resells it. But what are the benefits of buying a refurb? Are they trustworthy? Does the company let you know what the original problem was? Can you get a refund on refurbs? Will the company fix your refurb if there is a problem with it when it arrives? Pros/Cons? THANKS!

[66217]

Pros:
-Cheaper
-Have the 1-year warranty
-They should fix your refurb if it comes with problems
-Yes, they are trustworthy

Cons:
-Not much, just that it is not new new, as in totally new.:)

[AutumnSkyline]

Pros:
-Cheaper
-Have the 1-year warranty
-They should fix your refurb if it comes with problems
-Yes, they are trustworthy

Cons:
-Not much, just that it is not new new, as in totally new.:)

It also doesn't come with the original packaging that the new ones are sold in. This can make/break a deal on ebay, surprisingly.

[JurgenWigg]

Then again, in order to cash in on any rebates or deals you need to cut up the original packaging.

In any case, Refurb is just as good as new. The way that I view it is that if the computer was returned for a problem, the problem has already been caught and taken care of. There's still the warranty on it, all that jazz, it's just as good except comes in a brown box. Also, sometimes people get unexpected upgrads

The only real problem is that the refurb store doesn't always have everything in stock.

[Brandon Sharitt]

My iMac was a refurbs and I have had no problems with it. The only thing I missed was no BTO VRAM upgrades, but I would other wise buy refurba again.

[Maclarny]

In many cases, a refurb is a display model at an Apple Store that has been cleaned up to be resold or is simply an open box item that Apple has received. I have purchased two Apple refurbished products, a PowerMac G5 and a 3G iPod both of which have performed flawlessly for me. Rarely, people have reported receiving hidden upgrades with their refurbs as well (e.g. free 512 MB RAM or something).

All in all, I'd say refurbs from Apple are still top tier products and actually have far lower DOA rates than new products as they are fairly stringently tested during the refurbishment process.

In my experience, you can't go wrong with an Apple Refurb.

[WizardHunt]

Usually regarding Refurbs I don't like them but I did get a laptop that was refurbished and had it for over 2 years now with no problems at all. So I guess I should start liking them huh? :D

[yetanotherdave]

One other tiny difference, my refurb macbook, on the serial number sticker (which is located under the battery so not visible) says "Apple certified reconditioned" on it.

basically it's a brand new computer for less. Mine arrived in pristine condition, not a blemish on it. I often forget it's reconditioned because it's perfect, not a problem at all with it.

[andiwm2003]

yep, the first 2.16GHz white MacBook is in the refurb store for $1099. if you have edu discount you get it for $1199 + a ipod nano for free. so edu discount is better.

[snowfall]

I got my Powerbook almost 3 years ago as a refurb, it's worked pretty well, though my hard drive did die about 6 months ago. Even so, I think the refurb units are good deals and would highly recommend them.

By the way, hard drive deaths don't seem to be as uncommon as their stats would lead us to believe...

[Mac In School]

I've never bought a refurbished computer, but I've bought several refurb printers.

I honestly believe they're usually better. They've been used, tested, rebuilt tested... more than the new ones.

Dealing with returns, exchanges and repairs is very expensive for companies. They seem to put a lot of extra effort into testing refurbs, so they don't have to.

[seany916]

I have a 3 year+ old Dual Powermac refurb that has been awesome. I would do it without hesitation provided...

the XX% off is not worth it for really old macs. make sure you're getting a pretty recent one (look up the specs), no point in getting an older computer

[The Red Wolf]

My current C2D MacBook Pro is a refurb. The first one sent was damaged in shipping but the normal 30 day return policy applied and a replacement was sent out. It's flawless. No heat issues, under stress it hovers around 59C. And rather than the standard 120 GB drive, I got a 160 GB drive. So all kinds of happy. The only drawback was the brown box over the sexy normal box they ship in.

~The Red Wolf~

[Corrosive vinyl]

I bought a refurb from the apple store... it was ONE WEEK OLD! worked like a charm, even had the OS setup when first turned it on.

EDIT: victory not vengeance

[NickD]

Refurb is definitely the way to go unless:


You're very paranoid about quality and "need" to buy completely new.
You care about the authentic original packaging too much to sacrifice it for a $100-200 savings.


I personally am (or was) the proud owner of the following refurbished products:

Intel Core Duo 20" iMac
512 MB iPod Shuffle
30GB iPod Video
17" iMac G4

All have worked flawlessly, and I am more than happy with the purchases.

NickD

[yetanotherdave]

I bought a refurb from the apple store... it was ONE WEEK OLD! worked like a charm, even had the OS setup when first turned it on.

EDIT: victory not vengeance

All macs come with the OS installed and ready to go. They ae all meant to work "straight out the box" after all