Refurb Store Experience

[G.McGilli]

Not possible. Alone the box is showing that this is not possible. The box would be identical with one of a new device but with the words "Apple Certified Refurbished" on the outside. Apple would never sell a refurbished product in a box like the one on your photo.

10 years - and I personally have never received a refurb from Apple in anything but a plain white box with a shipping label on it. Doesn't matter what item was ordered - always - a plain white box. Macbooks, iMac, Mac Mini etc....

 

[BillyBurke]

Another refurb PLUS. Some years ago, I bought a very "maxed out" late 2012 iMac that came with the i9 Processor, 16GB, 1TB Fusion, Radeon Video card. Spec wise, it is still competitive with today's models.

The thing that "says it all" is that it is treated as new by Apple. Full Warranty and ability to buy AppleCare.

You save, I believe by design, about 15% off the new price.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

Another refurb PLUS. Some years ago, I bought a very "maxed out" late 2012 iMac that came with the i9 Processor, 16GB, 1TB Fusion, Radeon Video card. Spec wise, it is still competitive with today's models.

The thing that "says it all" is that it is treated as new by Apple. Full Warranty and ability to buy AppleCare.

You save, I believe by design, about 15% off the new price.

I think you meant the i7 processor? IIRC, Intel introduced the i9 ~2017.

 

[mikehalloran]

You save, I believe by design, about 15% off the new price.

That used to be true with everything.

Nowadays, there’s no set percentage on discontinued closeouts. I saved 27% on my iPad Pro Gen 1. Were it 15%, no one would buy as it would cost the same as a Gen 2. Some older iPads are over 30% off right now. All run the current and next iOS — if you don’t need the latest and greatest...

With current products, 15% appears to still be the target. I just compared some iMac Pros and i9s and the ones I checked hit the 14–16% range. Marketing just loves prices that end in ..9.

 

[PilotWoo]

Just bought a 2018 MINI from the refurb store. It was as new, in retail box and was shrink wrapped. Why pay full price?

 

[TVreporter]

Purchased a 2011 imac as a refurb and never had any issues. That is until the GPU died last year - no experts nearby to try to fix it and I’m told a replacement chip would be near $900 Canadian.

Looking for a 2019 iMac now - some good deals right now saving $500-600

 

[Ledgem]

How often is the return store inventory updated? Is there a set time of day or maybe certain day(s) of the week when the store is updated?

The frequency of updates depends on what you're looking for. For example, I was looking for an iPhone 8 recently. I think there was one day in about two months when a bunch of models were listed; they sold out very quickly (and I didn't get one). Similarly, I was monitoring certain iMac 27" models, and there were a few months when I didn't see any new models meeting my specifications... yet just a few months before that, it seemed like every week or two there'd be a bunch that would hit the store.

To make your life easier, use Refurb Tracker. I use it in RSS mode but if you don't use newsfeeds you can have it email you notifications, as well, although I don't know how well that works. You can specify which product(s) you're interested in, and in the filter you can do things to further narrow it down (for example, 512, 27 to limit to 27" iMacs with a 512 GB SSD). It doesn't ensure that you'll get to the products before someone else does, but it'll save you the time of checking the site yourself, and you'll be notified a lot quicker than if you were just checking it at random each day.

 

[28Gauge]

The frequency of updates depends on what you're looking for. For example, I was looking for an iPhone 8 recently. I think there was one day in about two months when a bunch of models were listed; they sold out very quickly (and I didn't get one). Similarly, I was monitoring certain iMac 27" models, and there were a few months when I didn't see any new models meeting my specifications... yet just a few months before that, it seemed like every week or two there'd be a bunch that would hit the store.

To make your life easier, use Refurb Tracker. I use it in RSS mode but if you don't use newsfeeds you can have it email you notifications, as well, although I don't know how well that works. You can specify which product(s) you're interested in, and in the filter you can do things to further narrow it down (for example, 512, 27 to limit to 27" iMacs with a 512 GB SSD). It doesn't ensure that you'll get to the products before someone else does, but it'll save you the time of checking the site yourself, and you'll be notified a lot quicker than if you were just checking it at random each day.

Thanks for the info and I will take a look at Refurb Tracker.

 

[Zdigital2015]

I just bought an Apple-refurbished 2018 Mini a couple of months' back. No problems.

BUT... as others have posted above... DON'T get a fusion drive model.
Get one with an SSD inside instead.
512gb is "the best compromise" between price and capacity.
Even 256gb will do the job.

Apple is now calculating the refurb costs based on the revised pricing of the 1TB and 2TB SSD BTO options, so it is now even more attractive to purchase the higher storage capacities or have to choose between 2 out of 3 (Core i9, Vega 48, 8FB/1TB/2TB SSD). The Core i9/1TB SSD/Vega 48 retailed for $3649 two weeks ago today, is now $3449 and refurb is $2929. The same with 2TB SSD is was $4249, now is $3849 and $3269 on refurb. So, if the OP, or anyone can swing it, the 1GB is probably the refurb sweet spot at only $170 more than the i9/8/512GB/Vega 48($2759), if the i9 and Vega 48 are the goal. The 512GB/580X version isn’t too bad either at $2379. Pretty good deals...

 

[28Gauge]

I am still checking the refurb store quite frequently hoping that the configuration that I want shows up again. I am looking to get:

2019 i9 iMac 27”
1 TB SSD
Radeon Pro 580X
8GB Ram (I will upgrade to 40 GB myself)

I waited too long and let a couple of the them get away last week! If all else fails, I can get the same configuration from the education store with Apple Care and sales tax for $3100. I figure that a refurb model with Apple Care and sales tax would cost about $2950, but that is just a rough guess.

 

[LizKat]

I am looking to replace my 2011 iMac and have been looking at the offerings on the Apple Refurbished Store. I have found a 2019 i9 that suits my needs well with a nice amount of savings offered over a factory new iMac, but I have been a little hesitant to order. I have never bought a refurbed product from Apple. For those who have purchased through the refurb store, how has your experience been? Was Apple thorough in repairing whatever caused the item to be returned? I plan on buying Apple Care, so I should be covered there. I just don’t want to have to deal with an iMac that is problematic or is just an out right lemon.

Always used refurb section of Apple store for my laptops since around 2009-10. They always looked new cosmetically speaking, and the packaging, accessories and battery were new.

I love that the refurbs are AppleCare eligible same as for a new purchase. It meant I could buy an Apple refurb mid-2012 MBP back in 2016 as a spare machine, and I wanted that model for the ports and optical drive. Its warranty finally expires near end of this month and it's still doing great even running Mojave. I'll swap in an SSD after the warranty goes because the cost is minimal and will jack up the response time to make it feel even newer.

My next new-to-me laptop will be an Apple refurb too, starting to shop around for it now or at least read specs and reviews because my 2010 MacBook is getting long in the tooth, upgraded drive and memory notwithstanding.

 

[alisalem]

Apart from the plain white box, there are no differences whatsoever. It even has that fresh Apple smell lol.