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Refurbished quality

chrisrosemusic1

chrisrosemusic1

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 31, 2012
696
21
Northamptonshire, England
Hi there,

I'm debating on ordering a refurbished 2012 MBA. I'm about to sell my MBP for £900 and would like to acquire another notebook and a new iPad.

Apple currently have the base 13" 2012 model for £849 - £150 less than a new one, which would then mostly cover 50% of the iPad cost.

However, I rarely buy things reconditioned or second hand because I like the 'new' feeling. How is the casing on refurbs from Apple? Are they immaculate or do they have scratches/wear? It sounds fickle but I'd rather buy new if I get a new looking machine than save money and get one with a few nicks in it - I look after my stuff to the point of obsessive so a scratch would be as good as a broken unit to me.
 
G

gobigorange

macrumors member
Sep 8, 2010
36
0
It's just anecdotal evidence, but I had a refurbished MacBook Pro, and the only way you could tell that it was a refurb was that it came in a different box.

This seems to be the common opinion around the forum as well.
 
SandboxGeneral

SandboxGeneral

Moderator emeritus
Sep 8, 2010
26,482
10,051
Detroit
As stated above, the only difference you'll see is that it comes in a brown box instead of a glossy printed white box.
 
chrisrosemusic1

chrisrosemusic1

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 31, 2012
696
21
Northamptonshire, England
gobigorange said:
It's just anecdotal evidence, but I had a refurbished MacBook Pro, and the only way you could tell that it was a refurb was that it came in a different box.

This seems to be the common opinion around the forum as well.
Click to expand...

That fills me with some confidence then.

I guess you still have the 14 day return period? I could order it, inspect it and if I am uncertain return it and pay the extra I suppose :)
 
Cheffy Dave

Cheffy Dave

macrumors 68030
Feb 5, 2007
2,646
309
Sunny Florida, on the Gulf Coast in Homosassa Fl
One of the best kept secrets are the refurbs. My 2007 & 2008 C2D BMB are still going strong, 54 C2D 2010 11" MBA's with 64 SSD's snapped up out of the refurb store, 3 for me, 51 for friends, who paid me to put in 256 and 512 OWC SSD's, every single unit, going strong. Please keep in mind, most are returned to Apple, because they found it to small, went to a 13", etc, in some cases there was a problem, which Apple addresses, every unit, is thoroughly gone over,retested,and certified.
I would never hesitate to buy a refurb,anytime, from the Apple store. Buy with confidence, always,anytime!
 
designs216

designs216

macrumors 65816
Oct 26, 2009
1,046
21
Down the rabbit hole
I've owned 2 refurb MBPs and they have both arrived in pristine condition. Sometimes the buyer even gets a surprise, the last machine was advertised as having a 5400 drive and arrived with a 7200RPM HD. I would highly recommend Apple refurbs.
 
H

help4desk

macrumors newbie
Feb 14, 2013
23
0
Same for me, every product is immaculate. Just packaging differs, but who cares?

Btw, I'm waiting to see a MBA 11/8GB/i7/512GB in the refurb store....
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,031
7,872
SandboxGeneral said:
As stated above, the only difference you'll see is that it comes in a brown box instead of a glossy printed white box.
Click to expand...

I bought a refurbished 2010 MBA and it actually shipped in a white shipping box. :) Of course, it wasn't the glossy retail box, but for what I saved it was worth it. I'd have loved to have been in a position to buy one of the refurbished base rMBPs at $1369 yesterday rather than the $1879 I paid for the rMBP in December after I lost my MacBook Air.

To the OP, most refurbished units you see are simply product returns. For all yo know, there was never anything wrong with the Mac in the first place, but someone opened up the box and took it back for some reason. In other cases, it was truly refurbished or just repackaged and resold. My refurbished 2010 MBA arrived with 0 cycles on the battery.
 
M

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
My refurb was missing the bundled apps: iMovie, word processor, spreadsheet blah-blah. Not a huge deal but I thought I mention it.
 
jav6454

jav6454

macrumors Core
Nov 14, 2007
22,303
6,257
1 Geostationary Tower Plaza
chrisrosemusic1 said:
Hi there,

I'm debating on ordering

[...]

machine than save money and get one with a few nicks in it - I look after my stuff to the point of obsessive so a scratch would be as good as a broken unit to me.
Click to expand...

Refurb items from Apple look like new. They are even better in the quality of them since they go even more rigorous quality checks to assure they are ready for sale again.

The only difference between a Refurb item and a new one is the packaging. That is all to it. Not to mention all refurbs include the same 1 year warranty as new products (and AppleCare can be added).
 
V

Violet1337

macrumors member
Jan 19, 2013
53
0
Mrbobb said:
My refurb was missing the bundled apps: iMovie, word processor, spreadsheet blah-blah. Not a huge deal but I thought I mention it.
Click to expand...

Your refurbished device would have included Word Processor or Spreadsheet but it would come with the programs in iLife; iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, Mac App Store, Safari, Mail, Messages, Calendar, Contacts and Reminders.
 
R

righteye

macrumors 6502
Aug 29, 2011
337
47
London
chrisrosemusic1 said:
Well it's coming on Monday so I hope my experience will be as positive as the rest of you.

Will post a response once I get it :)

Thanks to all.

----------



Will do!
Click to expand...

You will be fine i have had two refurbished Macs a macbook pro circa 2010 and a Mac Pro 6 core Dec 2011 and both were immaculate, inside the pro there was not a single speck of dust and case was in perfect nick, the MBP was stolen but the MP is still working well.
 
A

AlexM1982

macrumors newbie
Feb 18, 2013
1
0
How is the lifespan of the SSDs with refurbished MacBook Airs? I would imagine that these are a little used or older than a brand new MBA. Is it a good idea to get AppleCare on these?
 
jamesjingyi

jamesjingyi

macrumors 6502a
Dec 20, 2011
841
144
UK
Got a refurb Mba 11 and its worth it :) Basically a new Mba without the box :) However my battery dis say that it is 6 months old when I got it :( But its still at 95% health and I've been using it for 3 months now.
 
S

symber

macrumors member
Dec 3, 2012
59
0
London
Both my 2012 MacBook Air and my 2011 27" i7 iMac are from the refurb store, and I'd never buy Apple products from anywhere else. Up to 20% off for a tip-top, cosmetically perfect product? Oh, ok then.

Like others have said, only difference is the unbranded, plain white box.
 
MattA

MattA

macrumors 6502
May 15, 2006
463
203
Orlando, FL
As far as refurbished products from Apple goes, we've had:

1 x iMac G5
1 x iMac 24"
1 x Powermac G5
1 x iPod Touch
1 x 24" ACD

All of them were perfect with the exception of the iMac G5. The keyboard was WELL used. Not sure what happened there, but when I called and let them know there was DNA on the keyboard, they sent me a new one no questions asked.

All of the other products looked and operated like new. There was no way to tell they were refurbished, save for the box they came in.
 
chrisrosemusic1

chrisrosemusic1

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 31, 2012
696
21
Northamptonshire, England
ilifecomputer said:
keep us posted!
Click to expand...

Got it today - absolutely flawless and only 1 cycle count on the battery. I'm amazed by how fast it is, and also just how light it is compared to my i7 2011 Pro.

Amazing price, amazing laptop - very very happy with Apple once again <3
 

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S

SBA

macrumors member
Aug 10, 2008
90
9
SandboxGeneral said:
As stated above, the only difference you'll see is that it comes in a brown box instead of a glossy printed white box.
Click to expand...

Mine came in a white box. A sad, generic white box. But really fantastic quality - zero cosmetic issues and the thing works great.

This is my second refurb, and I don't see a reason to not keep buying refurbs in the future.
 
J

jacmacattack

macrumors newbie
Feb 18, 2013
13
5
I've ordered an MBPs, and (now) 3 MBAs in tota;, all refurbished from Apple, and each one of the units I've received looks and feels pristine and new.

As I recall, there's a 2 week return policy, so there's practically no risk at all. The only frustration is waiting for the exact configuration to eventually make it to the refurb section.
 
M

majkom

macrumors 68000
May 3, 2011
1,854
1,150
God if we had refurb section in our apple online store, that would be awesome;(
 
S

symber

macrumors member
Dec 3, 2012
59
0
London
jacmacattack said:
The only frustration is waiting for the exact configuration to eventually make it to the refurb section.
Click to expand...

This is a useful tool if you're ever waiting for a specific configuration: http://www.refurb-store.com/en/

It'll send you an email each morning a product arrives in your chosen country's refurb store that fits your search criteria, meaning you can be the first to snap it up when it does come along.

Still have to wait, but makes the waiting easier...
 
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