Buying a refurbished MacBook?

[vivalashakeit]

What's the difference between a MacBook that's been refurbished and one that's brand new? I know the refurbished is cheaper, but why?

 

[tubbymac]

The box. That's the only difference. The new units come in the white box you see in the stores. The refurbished units come in an unmarked box that's bigger. Warranty is the same. Even has the new computer smell when you open the box.

 

[jamse]

nothings wrong, but people dont like the idea of products being "refurbished." when a unit is sold as refurbished they take out defective components out of the unit and replace them with working components, or if the unit is cosmetically damaged they will replace the exterior. i think apple also sells opened units, that were returned as refurbished.

you get the same 1 year warranty, all the accessories, just not the retail box.

 

[maestro55]

There is nothing wrong with buying refurbished. The only reason when I bought my MacBook it was the day that a new revision started shipping but otherwise I would have considered getting a refurb. I say go for it if you see something you like.

 

[J&JPolangin]

...the only problem with buying from the Apple refurb store is they don't ship to military addresses directly😡

 

[ronimac]

refurbished macbook

its totally worth buying a refurbished macbook. i bought one a couple of weeks ago and its brand new good way to save money. u can check it out if u want i made a video of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeScSI3sHGo

 

[airlights]

its totally worth buying a refurbished macbook. i bought one a couple of weeks ago and its brand new good way to save money. u can check it out if u want i made a video of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeScSI3sHGo

Your video was brilliant. It completely convinced me to buy refurb.

 

[aluminumapple]

Refurbished refers to alot of people who might have opened a brand new baught macbook than suddenly decides to return it, or people who have returned within the lotted time of the purchased date, or defective product that has been fixed to be re sold.

 

[OnceBitten]

just the box,go for it!

 

[VoodooDaddy]

Ive bought 2 refurbed Macbooks. Both looked like brand now. The 2nd one I bought did have issues out of the box however. Upon first book it had a kernel panic. Had to reboot and it started fine. But after using it a while it had another kernel panic. It wouldnt run the hardware test so I knew something was wrong. Apple replaced it straight away and the next one was fine. Even with the issue I has on the 2nd one this wouldnt deter me from buying refurb in the future.

Ive also bought a refurbed 20" iMac with no problems whatsoever.

I look at it like this, plenty of people that have bought brand new had hardware issues. So buying new is no guarantee against problems. Save some cash and get a refurb.