First Refurbished iPad 2 Models Appear in Apple's Online Store

[Marcus PM]

I need to remember to look in the refurbished Apple bin next time I'm in the market for another Apple product.

 

[Adey]

No refurbs in the UK that I can see. I know people think $50 ain't much, but if you can't tell the difference, $50 would buy a fair few decent apps.

 

[scoobydoo99]

Not sure I understand how refurbished iPads work for Apple price-wise. I mean, isn't it just cheaper to just make a new iPad, than to take an old one apart (unglue everything with a heat gun, etc…), take the logic board and screen out, then place it into a bran new casing, reassemble and glue everything back? I understand that the most expensive part is probably the screen, the memory and the storage, but I'm sure the manual work involved and the new outer shell and battery is almost just as expensive. This would explain why it's not that much cheaper.

No, not all refurbished iPads were broken. Some were probably returned because the customer wasn't satisfied in one way or another ("I bought the 16GB WiFi version, but it turns out I need more space and 3G so I'm returning this.").

Doesn't matter whether it was broken or not, ALL refurbished iPads get new outer shells and batteries.

 

[jlluna]

SOB! I just ordered a new 32gb iPad from apple on monday, Just my Luck!

 

[BC2009]

Guarantee you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a "brand new" iPad and a refurbished one. I pretty much exclusively buy Apple products refurbished (with the exception of iPhones cause they don't offer those). I've got a refubished MacBook Pro, Apple TV, and Airport Extreme. They all appear brand new when I get them and I haven't had any issues with them yet. And I've saved a lot of money.

The carriers offer refurbished iPhones from time to time on their websites.

 

[Popeye206]

I wonder is the 3G Mac Book Pro will show up for $69,949?

 

[lowbatteries]

Apple should just knock the price of the new ones down to $99, they're getting their butts kicked by the TouchPad!

 

[BC2009]

[post removed] -- i was previously confused on prices because i was looking at the Canadian online Apple Store and thinking I was looking at US prices. Followed the wrong link.

 

[cvaldes]

"We test and certify all Apple refurbished products and include a 1-year warranty.
All refurbished iPad models also include a brand new battery and outer shell."

Does anyone know if new "outer shell" means new glass?

Thanks.

Probably.

You're welcome.

 

[Navdakilla]

Pretty good news

maybe this means ipad3 is on the way

 

[Rich C.]

Isn't that special...

Gee, $50 off a refurb is nice, but the educational discount on a new one is $100. They're still making a very nice profit off the refurbished units...

 

[notjustjay]

No, not all refurbished iPads were broken. Some were probably returned because the customer wasn't satisfied in one way or another ("I bought the 16GB WiFi version, but it turns out I need more space and 3G so I'm returning this.").

Yes. Frequently you can think of Apple refurbished like "open box" units, except a lot cleaner.

 

[xumax]

... ipad 3 ?!?!

just bought a new iPad 2 - if the iPad 3 is on its way this really would piss me off ..... damn!!!!!

 

[kirk26]

I'm rocking out to my 64GB HP Touchpad that I paid $250 right now. Loving it.

 

[J53119]

I know the general thought is refurbs may have have better quality control than a new one since they double check everything before going out, but I have to wonder if a lot of these refurbs are ones returned for light bleed issues that really don't have anything wrong with them.

 

[akm3]

Still better to buy new online. On a high end unit sales tax is still around $50+ so why not just get new online with free shipping and no tax?

$100 discount is needed IMO for this to be a good deal.

Don't forget you are legally required to pay Use tax equivalent to the sales tax. You tax cheat

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Not sure I understand how refurbished iPads work for Apple price-wise. I mean, isn't it just cheaper to just make a new iPad, than to take an old one apart (unglue everything with a heat gun, etc…), take the logic board and screen out, then place it into a bran new casing, reassemble and glue everything back? I understand that the most expensive part is probably the screen, the memory and the storage, but I'm sure the manual work involved and the new outer shell and battery is almost just as expensive. This would explain why it's not that much cheaper.

Apple refurbished products are basically for the people who don't have to get the latest thing RIGHT AWAY and can save some money on packaging. It's their tier 2 market to get the people looking for a better value, that they release when the demand for full price has been satisfied. They had a ton of 'refurb' iPad's for months that they didn't put on the refurb store because they were still selling every iPad they could make at full price. When demand is satiated, they release the lower price version and get those folks too. It's brilliant.

I actually believe that some of the "refurb" items are actually brand new or simply never sold.

 

[mrtravel123]

Not a very big discount. But, better than nothing. I'm sure that it'll make many people very happy.

 

[Zepaw]

I normally don't trust refurbished items at all. I would happily buy an official Apple refurb.

 

[notabadname]

I'd rather spend $50 more and get a brand new shiny one...

But Apple's refurbished products are "brand-new, shiny". And with identical coverage/warranty as a "new", you really can't go wrong.

I have bought two laptops and one desktop now through the refurb program. Absolutely indistinguishable from new. Not a blemish or mark on any of the three. You might as well get the nearly
8% discount (in this case) by purchasing refurb and offset the similar tax rate of many states.

 

[zombierunner]

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I think the iPad 3 is not too far away.
Possibly "announced" in 2011?

 

[wackymacky]

I have been waiting for refurbs to arrive.

No 16gb versions so still waiting it seems.

Here's a tip for you: get a jar and put just one dollar a day in it. In a month and a half you won't need to worry about a refeb because you would have saved $50.

 

[iphonsteve4ajob]

Only $50 less for a refurbished unit

I would agree. Not to scoff at $50, but I love my Apple products so much that I would rather pay the $50 for a brand new one. You're already paying $650+ for your shiny new device. Seems like Apple's being a little cheapo with this discount.

Kick it up to $100, then yes I would consider it.

 

[justinfreid]

$50 seems like too small a discount

Even with Cupertino's seal of approval and the same warranty as new, $50 off the retail price doesn't seem like a good deal considering that opening and servicing iPads is really difficult. While some of the refurbs may be opened and barely used iPad returns, the risk of getting a serviced one still strikes me as warranting greater than 10% off of the retail price. It seems Apple doesn't want to dilute the value of the iPad line at all.
Consider the iPad 2 Wi-Fi Front Panel Replacement instructions from iFixit: http://jstnfrd.com/nnt8jg.

 

[nylonsteel]

re original article

not much of a discount to get excited over

 

[Aaron from KY]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_10 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8E600 Safari/6533.18.5)

There is no educational discount on iPads at least not in the U.S. or for students.