Apple Begins Selling Refurbished 2019 iPad Air and iPad Mini 5 Models

[mimeArtist]

I love my mini - would love them to do a pro version - I also wish they'd do one that's bigger than the 12.9... But I'm just difficult

Currently drawing a face a day at the moment - instagram.com/jameseverettstone and the mini is so good when I'm out and about.

 

[code-m]

Neither a conspiracy nor a complaint. I’m giving Apple kudos on inventing a channel which lets them sell virtually the same product at two different price points.

I’ve bought many “refurbs” myself over the years. They all looked brand new. I don’t believe Apple’s line that all refurbs get “a brand new outer shell and battery“. How is that economically and logistically possible with a complex/intricate product like an iPhone or a MacBook? Or a glued-together product like a watch?

(unless the “new outer shell” is actually a new "plain box”. And the “new battery” is... well... that was in the product already! Clever wording. Saying one thing, meaning another. Not really saying anything untrue. Clever.)

Buyer’s psychology nothing more, I have purchased new and refurb from Apple and I feel more companies should do the same with bi-lateral sales channels for a product. Some do not many.

The plain white box is not part of the product, so if a new shell is required then Apple has to make good upon its promise, otherwise it is considered false advertising and their would be setting themselves for a class-action. The new battery is a given. How can they do this well with the robots and human combination, margins are high on new products to subsidize refurbs, not a new concept.

I have purchased both new and refurb and both are great, no complaints. QC is another or defective hardware but that happen with every product from time-to-time. Apple always holds true to making it right within and out of warranty, their have missed on occasion but will make it right in the end.

Get off the conspiracy, unless you can prove otherwise. It is not a healthy mentality or attitude to have, sometimes it is warranted in this case I do not see an issue.

 

[bobob]

Neither a conspiracy nor a complaint. I’m giving Apple kudos on inventing a channel which lets them sell virtually the same product at two different price points.

I’ve bought many “refurbs” myself over the years. They all looked brand new. I don’t believe Apple’s line that all refurbs get “a brand new outer shell and battery“. How is that economically and logistically possible with a complex/intricate product like an iPhone or a MacBook? Or a glued-together product like a watch?

(unless the “new outer shell” is actually a new "plain box”. And the “new battery” is... well... that was in the product already! Clever wording. Saying one thing, meaning another. Not really saying anything untrue. Clever.)

With 1.5 billion currently active iOS devices, I think Apple has a handle on how to assemble/disassemble their products and also access to a few spare parts.

They have far more to lose from misleading buyers about this than they have to gain.

 

[Arran]

With 1.5 billion currently active iOS devices, I think Apple has a handle on how to assemble/disassemble their products and also access to a few spare parts.

They have far more to lose from misleading buyers about this than they have to gain.

I’m sure they know how to do it. At issue is whether it’s economically viable to incur the costs of handling a product twice and then charge less.

Where’s the refurb factory? Do they really ship returned iPads from, say, Iowa, back to the low-labor-cost factory in China? And still make money?

 

[bobob]

I’m sure they know how to do it. At issue is whether it’s economically viable to incur the costs of handling a product twice and then charge less.

They are charging less, but they're not giving them away. For the example in the OP, Apple is charging $469.

Where’s the refurb factory? Do they really ship returned iPads from, say, Iowa, back to the low-labor-cost factory in China? And still make money?

In this age where Amazon can offer free next day shipping of a $1 cable to their Prime members, it doesn't seem particularly challenging for Apple, a master of logistics, to gather up returned devices and coordinate their shipment back to China for refurbishment.

Ballpark... $50 in parts, $10 in labor, and $20 for round trip shipping.

Is my guesstimate too low? Double it. Triple it. It still leaves a healthy chunk of change for Apple's trouble.

 

[recoil80]

I bought an iPad mini with a good deal during BF and I love the form factor. I have a few iPads at office for development, but at home I prefer the smaller one. I find it easier to handle on the couch and while laying on the bed.
I watch a lot of videos on it and I wish it had an OLED display. Movies on my Xs looks better, but the phone is too small to really enjoy a film.
I don't mind having the home button, I only use it to unlock the iPad then I use gestures. I hope they'll keep a Mini in the lineup in the future, I get is not their main tablet but some people prefer the smaller form factor as it is more portable.

 

[PickUrPoison]

<snip>
Ballpark... $50 in parts, $10 in labor, and $20 for round trip shipping.

Less, less and less ?

My estimates would be $30/$8/$2. Shipping in particular is cheap; you can get hundreds of devices on a pallet that might cost $200-300 at most to send air freight. And many products will be no defect found, products that came back within the return window and aren’t actually defective.

 

[Channan]

As I have said at the very first reply to the thread, I cannot justify the purchase of the mini 5 because my mini 4 is still perfectly function. It is for MY use case.
Pencil support has no use case for me, so that is not a positive.
USB-C fast charging comes with high cost (up front cost of charging peripherals along with battery longevity) that is again not applicable for my use case where I leave it charge overnight as needed. Another meaningless change to me.
Not using the front camera for anything. Again...same point.
I do not even use the Bluetooth on it, even though I have too many Bluetooth headphones in the house. So the range improvement really is not applicable for my use case.
It is kinda sad that it has to come down to saying "quadruple the base storage". My mini 4 has 128GB, and still not even half way filled.

Meanwhile, the performance and battery life improvement maybe a welcomed positive for my use case.
But then again, these two alone is not enough to justify the purchase of $469.

On the other hand, if we are comparing the refurbished mini 4 with 128GB ($309) vs the refurbished mini 5 with 64GB ($339) that is being sold on Apple's website, then it is a more palatable.

You said you can’t see anything different between the iPad mini 4 and 5 except for a few things and @NickName99 pointed out several differences. That’s great that you’re happy with your iPad mini 4. Nobody’s trying to convince you to upgrade because nobody cares if you do.

I have the iPad mini 4 and it’s almost to the point where it’s too laggy and slow to use, plus the battery life is awful. I didn’t get the refurb because I wanted a white/silver cellular model which they didn’t have, and now they don’t have any cellular mini 5s on the refurb store. Next time I see they’re available, I’m going to pick one up.

Even if my iPad was mostly fine, it took years for the 5 to come out. Who knows when or even if Apple will release another mini. It’s possible this is the last one and it’s going to last a lot longer than the mini 4 will.

 

[B4U]

You said you can’t see anything different between the iPad mini 4 and 5 except for a few things and @NickName99 pointed out several differences. That’s great that you’re happy with your iPad mini 4. Nobody’s trying to convince you to upgrade because nobody cares if you do.

I have the iPad mini 4 and it’s almost to the point where it’s too laggy and slow to use, plus the battery life is awful. I didn’t get the refurb because I wanted a white/silver cellular model which they didn’t have, and now they don’t have any cellular mini 5s on the refurb store. Next time I see they’re available, I’m going to pick one up.

Even if my iPad was mostly fine, it took years for the 5 to come out. Who knows when or even if Apple will release another mini. It’s possible this is the last one and it’s going to last a lot longer than the mini 4 will.

Not sure why your mini 4 is laggy at all.
Mine is still running like a champ with iOS 10.

 

[Channan]

Not sure why your mini 4 is laggy at all.
Mine is still running like a champ with iOS 10.

iOS 10 is 4 major versions old now. I haven’t been on iOS 10 in years.

 

[B4U]

iOS 10 is 4 major versions old now. I haven’t been on iOS 10 in years.

13-10=3.

 

[Channan]

13-10=3.

13, 12, 11, 10

 

[B4U]

13, 12, 11, 10

13 = current version
12 = 1 major version older
11 = 2 major version older
10 = 3 major version older

3 ≠ 4.

 

[Channan]

13 = current version
12 = 1 major version older
11 = 2 major version older
10 = 3 major version older

3 ≠ 4.

I could continue to argue with you but this conversation doesn’t even matter. Way to completely ignore the actual relevant information from my replies.

 

[B4U]

I could continue to argue with you but this conversation doesn’t even matter. Way to completely ignore the actual relevant information from my replies.

Look who is ignoring whose point?
I pointed out from the very beginning that I see the difference, but those cannot justify for MY use case.
Was it too complicated to see that?

 

[PickUrPoison]

Look who is ignoring whose point?
I pointed out from the very beginning that I see the difference, but those cannot justify for MY use case.
Was it too complicated to see that?

You seem to be going to a tremendous amount of effort to convince others that you’re fine with your “perfectly functional” iPad 4. Are you really fine with it, or are you just trying to convince yourself you are? Seems like your ready to dump it when you get the chance.

In any case, one person’s perfectly functional is another’s dealbreaker. Personally, I find Messages in the cloud incredibly useful, and it would drive me crazy having to manually sync my mini.

Different strokes for different folks. Whatever makes you happy ?

 

[Channan]

Look who is ignoring whose point?
I pointed out from the very beginning that I see the difference, but those cannot justify for MY use case.
Was it too complicated to see that?

A brief summary of how this thread went...

You: other than X, Y, and Z, I don’t see any difference between the iPad mini 4 and iPad mini 5.

Other person: there’s also A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.

You: I don’t need any of those things. I’m happy with my iPad.

Me: Nobody is trying to convince you to upgrade. Other person literally just pointed out the differences that you said you couldn’t see.

You: 13-10=3

 

[B4U]

A brief summary of how this thread went...

You: other than X, Y, and Z, I don’t see any difference between the iPad mini 4 and iPad mini 5.

Other person: there’s also A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.

You: I don’t need any of those things. I’m happy with my iPad.

Me: Nobody is trying to convince you to upgrade. Other person literally just pointed out the differences that you said you couldn’t see.

You: 13-10=3

A more complete summary of how this discussion went.

Me: "Even at that price, still cannot justify to get the mini 5 to replace my perfectly functional mini 4.
Until I can find someone in the family to hand the mini 4 over."

Mr. Heckles: "My wife went from a 4 to a 5 and it’s night and day. She loves it."

Me: "Other than a faster processor, front camera, display and Apple Pencil support, I am not seeing anything different?"

NickName99: This and that (quite a few subjective quantifier as well).

Me: Countered every point.

PickUrPoison: No one is trying to convince to get a mini 5. (Again, read my first post).

Me: "Who in the world wants to put that cancerous iOS 13 in the iPad mini... ?"

FilmIndustryGuy: (Basically beating a dead horse)

Me: (Essentially said please quit beating the dead horse)

You: (This is where you decided to jump in) Telling me that your iPad mini 4 is laggy.

Me: Questions why is your iPad mini 4 laggy and then points out my mini 4 is running like a champ with iOS 10.

You: "iOS 10 is 4 major versions old now. I haven’t been on iOS 10 in years."

Me: "13-10=3." (Pointing out your calculation is wrong)

You: (Continues to show your calculation is wrong)

Me: (Break down the numbers into simple pieces for you to count)

You: (Decided not to continue and say I am ignoring your point when in fact the points are already countered like whole page prior. Again, beating the dead horse)

Me: (Pointing out that very fact that who is ignoring whose point)

You: (The overly simplifies summary that ignored part of the discussion from the very beginning)

 

[B4U]

You seem to be going to a tremendous amount of effort to convince others that you’re fine with your “perfectly functional” iPad 4. Are you really fine with it, or are you just trying to convince yourself you are? Seems like your ready to dump it when you get the chance.

In any case, one person’s perfectly functional is another’s dealbreaker. Personally, I find Messages in the cloud incredibly useful, and it would drive me crazy having to manually sync my mini.

Different strokes for different folks. Whatever makes you happy ?

I believe it is the other way around where I was not even trying to convince others.

I simply pointed out that the price is not enough for me to get it.

Then quite a few of the members here are trying to say my gadget is not good anymore or how the new one is massively better, when they have absolutely no idea how I use mine. (Like trying to tell me how I should eat a steak or an egg)
Therefore I had to point out a more complete picture.

In regards to am I really fine with my mini 4. Well, I still am. (I got mine like a year before the 5 came out and got a killer deal.)
In fact, I was quite disappointed when I saw the mini 5 came out, because I had expected more changes/improvements. Therefore, I would not get the mini 5 even at this price point unless there is something very out of the ordinary happened.

I am glad to see that you find Messages in the cloud to be useful, but I have learnt to deal with that annoyance because my iPod touch 5th gen is going to stay on iOS 9. It does its job of playing music perfectly fine with this minor blemish.

I am very glad to have a civilized discussion like yours instead of those being smart/sarcastic in page 2.

 

[PickUrPoison]

I believe it is the other way around where I was not even trying to convince others.

I simply pointed out that the price is not enough for me to get it.

Then quite a few of the members here are trying to say my gadget is not good anymore or how the new one is massively better, when they have absolutely no idea how I use mine. (Like trying to tell me how I should eat a steak or an egg)
Therefore I had to point out a more complete picture.

In regards to am I really fine with my mini 4. Well, I still am. (I got mine like a year before the 5 came out and got a killer deal.)
In fact, I was quite disappointed when I saw the mini 5 came out, because I had expected more changes/improvements. Therefore, I would not get the mini 5 even at this price point unless there is something very out of the ordinary happened.

I am glad to see that you find Messages in the cloud to be useful, but I have learnt to deal with that annoyance because my iPod touch 5th gen is going to stay on iOS 9. It does its job of playing music perfectly fine with this minor blemish.

I am very glad to have a civilized discussion like yours instead of those being smart/sarcastic in page 2.

You make valid points. The main issue is whether the device meets your requirements.

There are plenty of Macs 7-10 years old that some would laugh at as being ridiculously slow or obsolete, but my Mom’s 2011 Mac mini serves her perfectly well. Thanks in no small part to 2GB of RAM, a 5-year old iPad mini 4 is still usable. I know mine is anyway (for my purposes) and obviously you feel the same ?

 

[smirking]

btw, please don’t throw away electronics, at least recycle them. I pass mine down to kids in the family if they’re still usable.

Or at the very least sell them on eBay because people are always looking for spare parts. You probably won't get a lot of money for an obsolete machine, but at least someone will be able to harvest it for parts they need or parts to resell.

And with some electronics, you could very well be surprised what a broken unit will fetch. I was completely stunned when I sold a broken high end injket printer for 2/3 of my original purchase price from over 12 years ago. Even more surprising is that I may have sold too low given how much spare parts from that model was fetching.

 

[Channan]

Me: "Other than a faster processor, front camera, display and Apple Pencil support, I am not seeing anything different?"

NickName99: This and that (quite a few subjective quantifier as well).

Me: Countered every point.

Oh yes, I like your summary a lot more. This shows your problem much better.

You don’t see anything else different, someone lists all of the differences, and your response is to “counter” it.

“I don’t like your facts, let me argue with my opinion.”

 

[B4U]

Oh yes, I like your summary a lot more. This shows your problem much better.

You don’t see anything else different, someone lists all of the differences, and your response is to “counter” it.

“I don’t like your facts, let me argue with my opinion.”

“I don’t like your facts, let me argue with my opinion.”
Says someone who counted 3 as 4.
I posted an opinion from the very beginning, and someone have to tell me my opinions are wrong.
Essentially, tell me how to eat a steak properly. Sure, dad.

 

[Channan]

“I don’t like your facts, let me argue with my opinion.”
Says someone who counted 3 as 4.
I posted an opinion from the very beginning, and someone have to tell me my opinions are wrong.
Essentially, tell me how to eat a steak properly. Sure, dad.

You are by far the most childish person I’ve had a discussion with on this forum. Not a single person told you that your opinions were wrong. You can’t properly follow a conversation so you make things up in an attempt to cover up your foolish remarks.

No point in arguing with you any more when you’re going to flat out lie like that.