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Previous MacBooks Refurbed Are Mostly NEW

gkarris

gkarris

macrumors G3
Original poster
Dec 31, 2004
8,301
1,061
"No escape from Reality...”
Just got my Black MacBook refurbed yesterday.

It was essentially new. Not a scratch on it. Some black paint inconsistencies on the tack button?

Then I stopped by the Apple Store to get the keyboard protector for it and the guy I normally talk with and buy from (he's the one that sold me my iPhone) said that they had sent all the previous MacBooks that were unsold back to Apple to be sold as refurbs...

Apple essentially took them out of the box, turned it on to check them, and put them back into the brown refurb boxes....

Mine is awesome!

Get them while you can...
 
I'm not convinced by that, why would apple pay people to change the packaging rather than just sending the packaging the macbook should be in?

It's not like anyone would complain that they got a new one rather than refurbished.
 
i only had my new macbook for less than a week when i exchanged it for a penryn macbook, so that's another reason why the refurbished macbooks look new. whoever purchases my "old" macbook please take good care of her; she served me well if only for a short time.
 
Fezzasus said:
I'm not convinced by that, why would apple pay people to change the packaging rather than just sending the packaging the macbook should be in?

It's not like anyone would complain that they got a new one rather than refurbished.
Click to expand...

It's against the law to sell something factory refurbished without issuing a new serial number and changing the packaging...

KompleX said:
i only had my new macbook for less than a week when i exchanged it for a penryn macbook, so that's another reason why the refurbished macbooks look new. whoever purchases my "old" macbook please take good care of her; she served me well if only for a short time.
Click to expand...

The guy at the Apple Store said they shipped back all the NEW MacBooks to Apple to sell as refurbished...
 
gkarris said:
It's against the law to sell something factory refurbished without issuing a new serial number and changing the packaging...
Click to expand...

Can you post this law? Because I swear there have been instances were people bought refurbs and got a brand new system, including the original fancy packaging.
 
gkarris said:
It's against the law to sell something factory refurbished without issuing a new serial number and changing the packaging...
Click to expand...

But that isn't what i'm saying. I said why would they bother to repackage new macbooks as refurbished
 
Jason S. said:
Can you post this law? Because I swear there have been instances were people bought refurbs and got a brand new system, including the original fancy packaging.
Click to expand...

The manufacturer does reserve the right to send you a new product instead of a refurb.

Called Google - you should try it...

Here's a place that describes what "factory refurbished is"...

http://buyessex.stores.yahoo.net/refurb.html

Will 'Factory-Refurbished' products come in different packaging?
By law, product packaging must state if an item is factory-refurbished. Packaging and terminology differs slightly with each retailer. Some items will arrive in a regular retail box with a sticker indicating that it's reconditioned, refurbished, or factory serviced. Some items are repackaged in a plain brown or white box. Enclosed manuals may refer to accessories (camera cases, straps, etc.) that are not included with the refurbished product. Be sure read over the product information page for a list of included accessories.
Click to expand...
 
I think refurbish almost always look new cause they put a new case on the outside, if there are any defects at alL?
 
gkarris said:
It's against the law to sell something factory refurbished without issuing a new serial number and changing the packaging..

I just got a refurb and man it looks brand spanking new to me. Where does one find this new serial number? Or do the just remove old one and stick in a new one in the system profile? :confused:
Click to expand...
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

my blackbook (refurb 2.2 bought after the penryns were released) was definitely a refurb. It came with no install discs (they are sending them to me now) and an extra gig of RAM. :D
 
I could probably believe this. When I got my Macbook, I would've liked to have seen one person who could look at it on my desk and tell me it was a refurb. It looked brand spankin new.
 
That's kind of weird. I can't see why Apple would sell brand new machines as refurbs when they could easily place them in the "special deals" section like they did the iPods when new models come along. They can then be sold as new and get a few extra nickels for them.
 
NC MacGuy said:
That's kind of weird. I can't see why Apple would sell brand new machines as refurbs when they could easily place them in the "special deals" section like they did the iPods when new models come along. They can then be sold as new and get a few extra nickels for them.
Click to expand...

I think they did that at the Apple Store a long time ago when the 2nd version of the MacBooks came out - it took a while to get rid of old stock. People were thinking - "Why not spend the extra $100 for a better processor, memory, and hard drive?"

This way, Apple can get rid of them quicker as refurbs.
 
Jason S. said:
Can you post this law? Because I swear there have been instances were people bought refurbs and got a brand new system, including the original fancy packaging.
Click to expand...

It is against the law to sell a refurb w/o disclosing to the consumer that it is a refurb, but I believe the serail number does not have to change. Some companies, such as mine, change the part number for accounting purposes. For example: Device X is 0997-00-10. A refurbed one is 0997-UC-10. The serial stays the same. It's the part number that gets changed, and the label on the device is updated too.
 
This all just goes to show that Apple deserves to be Fortune's #1 Most Admired Company.

Selling customers, who are willing to go with slightly older tech, refurbs as new, only helps customer satisfaction.

I forgot, that at church a long time ago, when the Mini was upgrade from the Core Solo to the Core Duo, Apple sent us a refurbished 1 Gig RAM/ 80 Gig HD instead of the 512/60.

I never thought I'd get a Black MacBook for around $1,000. I'm was tired of waiting for the Aluminum MacBook.

Though, when the time comes, I'm going to get the "newest" refurbished Aluminum MacBook the same way!
 
If you look at online store, they are selling MBP 15" refurbs for a couple hundred dollars less than their clearance items page. $1,499 refurb, $1,699 new old stock clearance.

People are willing to pay a little bit more for a brand new last weeks (months..) model than a refurb in brown box.
 
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