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Buying a Refurb PowerBook

D

denm316

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 16, 2003
338
0
Philadelphia
I was recently on Apple's site and was looking at the refurbished models of their PowerBook Line. I have seen a stock 15 inch 1.25GHz, 80GB, Airport Extreme, and 512MB of RAM Powerbook for only $1,999.00(refurbished). This seems like a great deal especially since I am really in the market to but a new powerbook.

I was curious if anyone has had any experience with purchasing refurbished PowerBooks or products from Apple. I know the warranty is the same I am just nervous about the quality because I want a picture perfect powerbook right out of the box.

Any comments or suggestions are greatly welcomed,

Thanks,
-Dennis
 
just to clarify, it's refurb, not "used." it's either overstocked brand new units or units once sold but returned within 10 days. (and if the reason for the return was something technical, it would be addressed by apple.) it will have the same warranty but will not come in the original box.

i'd say chances of it being "picture perfect right out of the box" is about as good as a new one. if anything, it would have gone through technical checks again before shipping so it may even be more reliable than a new one.

there are other threads on this very issue. look around.
 
Dennis--

The people I know that have bought Apple refurbs have been very happy with them. As you scan the threads here, I think you'll see most people have been pleased. I almost went for the same PB you're looking at, and decided on a brand new one. Two reasons--I wanted the faster HD in it and I wanted the single 512 stick of ram, neither of which can be done (I was told by Apple) to a refurb. And the education package I got was too good.

On a refurb, you might have a couple of tiny scratches/imperfections--but you might not. You also might get the Apple "brown box" instead of the original packaging. But for the money saved, it IS an awfully good deal!

Best,

Bob
 
Naimfan said:
Dennis--

The people I know that have bought Apple refurbs have been very happy with them. As you scan the threads here, I think you'll see most people have been pleased. I almost went for the same PB you're looking at, and decided on a brand new one. Two reasons--I wanted the faster HD in it and I wanted the single 512 stick of ram, neither of which can be done (I was told by Apple) to a refurb. And the education package I got was too good.
Click to expand...

good point. you can't BTO a refurb.
 
Now I have an odd question about the refurbs. Is there a high chance that there will be dead pixels in them. Most of the time, dont people return their powerbook because of dead pixels. Does apple address that before they put them on the refurb list?

Just a theory, I could be totally off!
 
DreaminDirector said:
Now I have an odd question about the refurbs. Is there a high chance that there will be dead pixels in them. Most of the time, dont people return their powerbook because of dead pixels. Does apple address that before they put them on the refurb list?

Just a theory, I could be totally off!
Click to expand...

i doubt that refurbs got more dead pixels. for one, many people won't bother checking for dead pixels. in addition, would you pay 10% restocking fee to return just for dead pixels? i think reasons people return stuff vary but i doubt dead pixels is high on that list.

dead pixels aren't "addressable." it cannot be "fixed" in the regular sense - without a total replacement. if the refurb was returned for excess dead pixels - beyond apple's vague limit - i imagine apple would replace the display before selling as a refurb or not offer as a refurb at all..? (because refurbs got full warranty - so if apple sold displays with too many dead pixels as refurbs, they will still need to fix them.)

dead pixels happen... unfortunately. while you may have increased risk for dead pixels in the refurb, i think the increase is quite marginal... there is no guarantee for dead-pixel free display for brand new units anyway...

all my opinion, though.
 
Oh yeah, I totally agree with you, dead pixels will happen, new or used. It's just my buddy yelled and screamed enough at the genius bar about one dead red pixel in the middle of his 17" powerbook screen, that they gave him a new 17". That old one he had probably got shipped back to apple and it's of course still sellable, so would it go on the refurbed list?
 
wow, your friend's pretty lucky. one stuck pixel (may have been fixable by rubbing, if it wasn't dead.) for an exchange... but i guess it was in the middle...

anyway, yeah, i imagine in that specific case, apple may put that back in the pool and try to pass it on..?

can't wait for the day pixel manufacturing technology becomes more robust, though i'm not sure if it ever will happen. there's an awful lot of TFTs in there...
 
yeah, he was lucky but he was also being at total ****** about it because it was so expensive. I think I would have handled it much differently, trying to get the geniuses on my side rather than scream them into a corner.
Anyway, considering the number of pixels on the LCD, it's pretty amazing how one out of hundreds of thousands can piss some one off like that.
 
DreaminDirector said:
yeah, he was lucky but he was also being at total ****** about it because it was so expensive.
Click to expand...

He must be from the "Bob Knight School of Negotiation." :D

I have had one small problem buying a refurb product, a DOA iPod. I contacted Apple, return shipping box was at my door the next day, I sent back and had a new (refurb) in 5 days. So I would say go for it, I'll never buy new again unless I have a very specific BTO need. Same thing for cars, CPO all the way baby.

I'll be buying a refurb PB once my tax refund check shows up...

Cheers,
hughdogg
 
DreaminDirector said:
Anyway, considering the number of pixels on the LCD, it's pretty amazing how one out of hundreds of thousands can piss some one off like that.
Click to expand...

just fyi, 17" PB has ~3.9 million transistors. just one fails and you've got yourself a stuck pixel. ;)
 
denm316 said:
I was recently on Apple's site and was looking at the refurbished models of their PowerBook Line. I have seen a stock 15 inch 1.25GHz, 80GB, Airport Extreme, and 512MB of RAM Powerbook for only $1,999.00(refurbished). This seems like a great deal especially since I am really in the market to but a new powerbook.

I was curious if anyone has had any experience with purchasing refurbished PowerBooks or products from Apple. I know the warranty is the same I am just nervous about the quality because I want a picture perfect powerbook right out of the box.

Any comments or suggestions are greatly welcomed,

Thanks,
-Dennis
Click to expand...

I just bought one of those exact machines refurbished. I actually got it exactly one week ago today. Other than it coming in a box that said "Refurbished Apple Computer", I can't tell that anything was ever wrong with it. Not one dead pixel, scratch or anything. It's running great and I love it! So I would snap one of those up real quick before they are gone!
 
phrac said:
I just bought one of those exact machines refurbished. I actually got it exactly one week ago today. Other than it coming in a box that said "Refurbished Apple Computer", I can't tell that anything was ever wrong with it. Not one dead pixel, scratch or anything. It's running great and I love it! So I would snap one of those up real quick before they are gone!
Click to expand...

Phrac,

I am just curious how long did it take yo to get it in the mail after placing the order, and did the machin come with all the necessary cables and documentation as it does with a new PowerBook.

Thanks,
Dennis
 
denm316 said:
Phrac,

I am just curious how long did it take yo to get it in the mail after placing the order, and did the machin come with all the necessary cables and documentation as it does with a new PowerBook.

Thanks,
Dennis
Click to expand...

Well, I placed the order at about 5:00pm on a Thursday and they shipped it out that day. I just chose the standard ground shipping and it arrived on the following Wednesday via FedEx.

I opened the box and everything was in there including iLife 04 and Panther restore CD, although Panther was not installed on the machine. All the documentation, cables, and stuff like that was included also.
 
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