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Do all refurbs come in such good condition?

B

BananaDuffle

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 29, 2009
30
0
I got my refurb 2.8Ghz iMac yesterday and every piece of shiny plastic had that pull-off plastic cover, the packing was immaculate, the boxes for the machine and the peripherals looked new and there was not so much as a finger-print smudge on any surface.

I was gob smacked; this refurb got to me in better condition than most brand new PC hardware does!

Is this the standard or an exception? because if this is standard for apple... I'm not buying anything but Mac refurbs in future when it comes to personal computers.
 
I believe when Apple gets a refurb they clean it (internally and externally) and make it basically brand new again.
 
All refurbs are tested and held to the exact same standards as a brand new item out of the box. The only distinction is the different packaging.
 
I think so

When my Refurb MacBook Air came, there was physically nothing wrong it. The only sign that it had been used before was the fact that the battery already had 1 cycle on it.
 
Half the time they are actually new, sometimes people have bought them, not even opened them and returned them to Apple, but Apple can't sell those machines as new anymore, so they list them in the refurbished store.
 
Many (if not most) refurbs have never been used or even opened. Most refurbs sold are simply stock that was left over when a new revision was released. Of current revision refurbs, many are computers that were refused or returned (These are the ones that I like to get because they often have stealth upgrades in them usually in the line of more RAM or a bigger hard drive). As soon as a computer leaves Apple's doors, if the computer ever comes back they won't sell it as new.

I buy 5 or more computers each year and almost always buy refurbished. I have only ever received one computer that I knew had been used before I had gotten it. It was a Mac mini that had a few surfaces scratches in the plastic on top of the box. I was almost tempted to send it back but soon realized that it had 4 times the RAM that it was supposed to have been sent with.
 
Its been my experience too. Packed like new, works like, warranty like new. Why would you buy anything else?

You will see the occasional thread about someone opening up their refurb to find some damage.... these rare, and it also happens on occasion to new products as well. These are the exceptions.
 
I always by refurb, and I can never tell my machines have been refurbished. Ever.

I wish more people understood what a great deal refurb machines are.
 
All refurbs are fully tested, brand new machines are not. Statistically speaking, you have a higher chance of a DOA (dead on arrival) or hardware failure with a brand new machine than you do a refurb.
 
No, they are not all perfect.

My first refurbished Apple computer, a G5 Power Mac was just as you describe in the first post.

My second one, a white plastic C2D 20" iMac was in very poor condition. Half of the packaging was missing, the case was scratched including one deep gouge and the screen was covered in oily fingerprints. On booting up, there was a cluster of dead pixels and (luckily) the AirPort card was not working correctly so I was able to return it as DOA.

It has put me off getting another one, though a number of friends have since gone down the refurb route and have received perfect goods.
 
OllyW said:
No, they are not all perfect.

My first refurbished Apple computer, a G5 Power Mac was just as you describe in the first post.

My second one, a white plastic C2D 20" iMac was in very poor condition. Half of the packaging was missing, the case was scratched including one deep gouge and the screen was covered in oily fingerprints. On booting up, there was a cluster of dead pixels and (luckily) the AirPort card was not working correctly so I was able to return it as DOA.

It has put me off getting another one, though a number of friends have since gone down the refurb route and have received perfect goods.
Click to expand...

Wow, after 4 refurbs, I've never had this.

Are you sure someone didn't go in there and trade it with their own machine during shipping?
 
gkarris said:
Wow, after 4 refurbs, I've never had this.

Are you sure someone didn't go in there and trade it with their own machine during shipping?
Click to expand...

Are you serious?

You really think the delivery driver would have their iMac in the van on the off-chance they could swop it for a better one?

:confused:
 
Mine was in excellent, brand-new condition as well. That said, get the Applecare, my hard drive just died after 14 months.
 
gkarris said:
Someone at the distribution center... I've heard of it happening...
Click to expand...

Don't you think Apple would have had something to say when I returned an iMac with a different serial number?

I think it just slipped through quality control without being checked. There have been a few other people who have had rough refurbs here on MacRumors, but the vast majority get them in perfect condition.
 
It was exactly the same when I got my refurb first generation iPod Nano shortly after the next version came out.

It didn't have a scratch or blemish on it, the head phones were brand new, the only thing that would suggest it was a refurb was the basic brown cardboard packaging it came in.
 
gkarris said:
Someone at the distribution center... I've heard of it happening...
Click to expand...

I hate to sound sarcastic but was it from a friend's pet chihuahua who knows some very bad mail men and could not resist passing the story down the chain with neither embellishment nor fabrication?
 
gkarris said:
Someone at the distribution center... I've heard of it happening...
Click to expand...

This would only take a second to check as the refurb machines serial number would have been sent prior to delivery. Just do and Apple About This Mac to check the number.

Also I've had 2 refurbs both excellent condition (apart from one that got smashed in transit but this is not Apples fault). My current Macbook is experiencing Random Kernel Panics and is on the way back to Apple for a repair as the spec they sent was way higher than what I ordered so I did not want to get a refund and buy a lesser machine.

My first Core Duo iMac is now in it's third year and has never missed a beat; and when the time comes to upgrade I know it will fetch daft money on ebay.
 
I also had a bad refurb experience, two actually. I mean, of course not "every single" refurb is going to be in terrific condition, it's just not possible. Though, if you get a bad one, like I did, they offer to exchange it or give you a refund.

I'm starting to think I'm doomed with Macs, every Mac I've gotten over the last few months has had something wrong with it; 24" iMac, two Airs, 15" MBP...I just can't win. My Apple experience has been pretty horrible so far, but I'm still holding out hope.

I'm not meaning to bash the company, it's just my luck. It just gets disheartening when I'm spending more time on the phone troubleshooting and setting up returns than using the computers. Yet, I've never had Windows problems like this. I guess Macs and I are star-crossed lovers.
 
kastenbrust said:
Half the time they are actually new, sometimes people have bought them, not even opened them and returned them to Apple, but Apple can't sell those machines as new anymore, so they list them in the refurbished store.
Click to expand...

Actually, unopened ones can be and are, in fact, sold as new machines, because, let's face it, they are still new.

A refurbished unit could have had a major defect and have been sent back and repaired, or it could be an opened machine that may have been used for a few days or not even at all. Your 10% restocking fee helps to bring the cost down to refurb level. One of the coolest things about buying refurbished, aside from saving some money is that you can even get Apple Care on it.
 
I've had 2 refurbs and 2 new machines. The refurbs - an iMac and a Mac Mini - were both perfect, and the iMac even came in the original retail packaging.

The 2 new machines were both MBPs and only bought new because I wanted the latest models before they were available refurb... in fact my first MBP gave me way more problems than either of the refurbs! I would definitely buy refurb again...
 
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