Buying a refurbished machine

[Haemorrage]

I have a few quick questions before parting with my money for a refurbished mac.

1) Can anyone tell me why in the refurbished section they don't have a full selection on Apple's Australian website compared to the American one?

2) I'm aware of many of the pros of buying a refurbished machine but is there any cons I should know about?

3) Is it possible to buy off the American Apple website and have the machine shipped to Australia

4) Does Apple have other deals or refurbished machines that aren't on their website in which I would have to call them?

5) Since the only retail Apple store is in Sydney and I don't live anywhere near there, is it better to go to an authorised Apple reseller to buy from them (possibly they have refurbs as well) or buy directly off Apple?

 

[GGJstudios]

I have a few quick questions before parting with my money for a refurbished mac.
1) Can anyone tell me why in the refurbished section they don't have a full selection on Apple's Australian website compared to the American one?

The refurb inventory changes constantly, depending on what quantities and what models become available.

2) I'm aware of many of the pros of buying a refurbished machine but is there any cons I should know about?

No, you can get a refub model with AppleCare, the same as a new one. In addition, many of the refurb models have never been used, such as those built to order, then the order was canceled.

3) Is it possible to buy off the American Apple website and have the machine shipped to Australia

I'm not certain, but I doubt it.

4) Does Apple have other deals or refurbished machines that aren't on their website in which I would have to call them?

No, what they have, they publish.

5) Since the only retail Apple store is in Sydney and I don't live anywhere near there, is it better to go to an authorised Apple reseller to buy from them (possibly they have refurbs as well) or buy directly off Apple?

I'd just order from Apple and let them ship, since you're not close to a store.

 

[Haemorrage]

the official Apple retail store is in Sydney but there's other retail stores which are authorised resellers of Apple computers which I love near. I guess with question #5, I was seeing if there was any difference between the resellers and the retail store that Apple actually owns.

 

[pkagel]

I've bought a lot of different things off of the Apple refurb store and can't think of a single downside to buying there if they have exactly what you want to buy. Honestly, you get a new warranty, a computer/ipod that has been run through by a dedicated tech and possibly some extras that they happen to have thrown on there free as part of the deal.

 

[GGJstudios]

the official Apple retail store is in Sydney but there's other retail stores which are authorised resellers of Apple computers which I love near. I guess with question #5, I was seeing if there was any difference between the resellers and the retail store that Apple actually owns.

Apple only sells refurbs though the website, not through stores or resellers.

 

[branjosef]

I bought a re-furbished ipod nano (2nd gen) and it looked brand new when I got it. I still have it and its going on 2-3 years. The battery and everything still last. apple refurbs = good deal

 

[Haemorrage]

as another question, would ebay be a viable option for buying a mac?

 

[bballintom22]

i just bought my first mac and i originally purchased a refurb 2.0 alu mb, however i am returning it once it gets here because i bought a brand new one instead off of macmall. The reason is bc apple charges tax and macmall doesn't. The total for the apple refurb is about 1160ish with tax (kansas) and on macmall you can get a brand new one for 1199 after the rebate on that mb and shipping.

 

[Haemorrage]

i just bought my first mac and i originally purchased a refurb 2.0 alu mb, however i am returning it once it gets here because i bought a brand new one instead off of macmall. The reason is bc apple charges tax and macmall doesn't. The total for the apple refurb is about 1160ish with tax (kansas) and on macmall you can get a brand new one for 1199 after the rebate on that mb and shipping.

That doesn't do me one ounce of good considering that I live in Australia.

 

[svndmvn]

as another question, would ebay be a viable option for buying a mac?

Not the best option, but if you pay via PayPal, it's a power seller and has plenty of good feedbacks from people that bought similar items, you should be fine. Just remember, if it's too good to be true it probably isn't.