Reason for Apple Refurb Price Drop?

[Lindenhurst]

Picked up one for my Son for Christmas. I always buy Apple refurbs, and on all but one occasion have been totally satisfied. In the one instance I wasn't, they replaced the unit with another one asap.

My 8 year old son couldn't care less about the future iPad 3. $419 is a nice price for a good as new unit with full Apple warranty.

 

[Piggie]

Common sense would tell you they have rows of diagnostic machine that they can plug returned iPad's into to check them internally, as well as inspection departments to visual the externals.

I still struggle to believe every single unit is stripped apart irrespective of reasons for the return.
So even an iPad where the customer changed his mind after the 1st day is going to be stripped apart?

 

[TheWheelMan]

Refurbs can be in any shape, and perhaps the cream of them have been sold at the higher price, with the bottom of the barrel left. The lower price is also likely to be a competitive move to battle Christmas tablet competition.

There are consumer laws in place about refurbs, and they cannot be in just any shape.

 

[gnasher729]

Refurbs can be in any shape, and perhaps the cream of them have been sold at the higher price, with the bottom of the barrel left. The lower price is also likely to be a competitive move to battle Christmas tablet competition.

Every single refurbished item is in "as new" condition with full warranty. Obviously there is always a chance of things going wrong, in which case you will get a replacement. The only thing that a refurbished device is not is brand new.

 

[applesith]

Then why are people still having issues like bleeding backlights with refurbs, if they were tested so extensively for faults? By your logic, there should be no reason to ever get a brand new ipad, since it may be prone to defects. May as well wait for refurbs, which are typically cheaper and have already been fixed/tested.

From what I know, apple simply changes the batt and casing. The original problem may or may not have been detected and/or fixed.

Just because it's refurbished doesn't mean it's exempt from regular tech malfunctions after shipping. While they do go thru testing, stuff happens. It's tech. People don't only buy refurb because they aren't widely available (small link on apple's site) and the box is ugly. You must know that Apple product experience goes beyond just the device.

 

[Carouser]

Refurbs can be in any shape, and perhaps the cream of them have been sold at the higher price, with the bottom of the barrel left. The lower price is also likely to be a competitive move to battle Christmas tablet competition.

Total nonsense and deserves to be refuted again.
- refurb units are of the same build quality as new units
- the idea that there is some way to distinguish gradations of quality and that this matches refurb/non-refurb units is ridiculous
- Not all iPads are to consumer satisfaction; but this is not correlated with refurb status.

The implication that there is some kind of 'Christmas tablet competition' that is affecting Apple's approach is a nice touch; usually FUD isn't so subtle.

 

[drummingcraig]

Picked up one for my Son for Christmas. I always buy Apple refurbs, and on all but one occasion have been totally satisfied. In the one instance I wasn't, they replaced the unit with another one asap.

My 8 year old son couldn't care less about the future iPad 3. $419 is a nice price for a good as new unit with full Apple warranty.

+1

Never had issues with Refurbed purchases.

I just picked up a 64GB iPad2 for my wife for Xmas. Great deal for a "like new" unit with full factory warranty.