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Refurbished iPad 3rd gen

N

Nevzorus

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 29, 2012
441
0
Hi! I would like to know what's wrong with a refurbished iPad. I know you can't find any refurbished iPad 3's yet but i know you will soon. If everyone says that a refurbished iPad 3 is like the normal iPad then why won't you people buy it if you can save some money? :eek: What's the difference on a refurbished and a not refurbished iPad? How much would this model be if it was refurbished:

iPad 3rd gen, 32 GB, Wi-Fi only, white

English is not my native language so don't complain, i'm trying my best. :)
 
Nevzorus said:
Hi! I would like to know what's wrong with a refurbished iPad. I know you can't find any refurbished iPad 3's yet but i know you will soon. If everyone says that a refurbished iPad 3 is like the normal iPad then why won't you people buy it if you can save some money? :eek: What's the difference on a refurbished and a not refurbished iPad? How much would this model be if it was refurbished:

iPad 3rd gen, 32 GB, Wi-Fi only, white

English is not my native language so don't complain, i'm trying my best. :)
Click to expand...

Refurbished (Especially from apple) is as good as a new one. Nothing wrong with it and it comes with a warranty as well.

Reason more people don't buy refurbished is because some people absolutly want NEW vs. refurbished. Its only personal preference.

The price is usually about $50 cheaper for refurbished models but you may be waiting a while before they show up on Apple's website.
 
WILLDOGS said:
Refurbished (Especially from apple) is as good as a new one. Nothing wrong with it and it comes with a warranty as well.

Reason more people don't buy refurbished is because some people absolutly want NEW vs. refurbished. Its only personal preference.

The price is usually about $50 cheaper for refurbished models but you may be waiting a while before they show up on Apple's website.
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Oh, 50 dollars cheaper?! Omg, that would be FANTASTIC :D What's the downside of the refurbished ones?
 
Because some people have enough disposable income to buy new and therefore don't need to save the $50 bucks on a refurbished item.. simple as that...

Then there are some uninformed people who think refurbished is a bad word and see it in a negative light.

And then there are some who have purchased refurbished products from other companies who are not as meticulous as Apple, and have had a crappy experience, so they are put off by refurbished.
 
Nevzorus said:
I know you can't find any refurbished iPad 3's yet but i know you will soon.
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Define "soon". With the first and second generation iPads, refurbished units didn't go on sale until around August / September. Saving $50 is certainly worthwhile, but is it worth $12.50 per month to have it now vs. waiting?
 
I rank Apple higher than most companies on refurbs but I have had a negative experience. I've purchased several refurb Apple items but I had a refurb Macbook Pro with a bad optical drive out of the box. I suspect it was just a return and they reloaded the OS but they certainly didn't do it via the optical drive. Perhaps a drive swap. They obviously didn't check the optical drive in the process. I had Applecare on it and eventually sent it in when a few things were going wrong with it. (It also had the bad series of graphic chips.) When I got it back it was fine. They would have fixed it with the regular warranty anyhow. On the downside, I'm nowhere near an Apple store. So, it was all FedEx shipments.
 
Nevzorus said:
Oh, 50 dollars cheaper?! Omg, that would be FANTASTIC :D What's the downside of the refurbished ones?
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I return ipad -> apple makes sure nothing is wrong with it (or fixes it if there is something) -> apple sells to you as refurbished

The "downside" is that you have my cooties on your device.
 
For iPads, iPods and iPhones you really can't tell the difference between a refurbished product and a new one from Apple. The discount on refurbished units is not great, and they often aren't available right away after a new product launch so many people just buy new. Refurbs are also not available at physical Apple stores (unless you are getting a warranty replacement) so there is also a convenience factor.

The refurbished macs are not quite so flawless. They sometimes come with cosmetic blemishes and other defects though most of the time they are fine. I've had many refurbished iPhones that are indistinguishable from new, but when I got a refurb macbook pro it arrived so warped that it wouldn't lie on a table flat and rocked back and forth when I typed on it.
 
deeddawg said:
Define "soon". With the first and second generation iPads, refurbished units didn't go on sale until around August / September. Saving $50 is certainly worthwhile, but is it worth $12.50 per month to have it now vs. waiting?
Click to expand...

This. Exactly this.
 
Nevzorus said:
What's the downside of the refurbished ones?
Click to expand...

The main downside of refurbished is that it can make it harder to sell -- in general "refurbished" has a bad connotation.

I've bought a few Apple refurbs that I though were especially good deals even after paying sales tax (Airport express, 24" Cinema display) and I'm very happy with them, and also no plan to flip when a new model appears like I do most Apple products.

One important consideration - only by an refurbished Apple product from Apple. They are the only ones that come with a 1 year Apple warranty. Other sellers also sell refurbished Apple product but they usually only come with a 90 day warranty, and do not guarantee genuine Apple repair service.

Also you do need to look at total cost. Many times you can find new Apple products on sale at legit resellers going for the same price as an Apple refurb. A good example of this was the iPad 2 last holiday season. Many resellers were selling for $50 off.
 
refurbs

When possible, I prefer to buy refurbs (from Apple) over new because I know that someone has at least had a look at it. I have always had excellent luck.
 
The negatives for buying Refurb:
-No original packaging Apple owners love their boxes. I've got a closet full of them
- Lower Resale Value Buying used is risky enough. But being the 3rd owner? No thanks.
- Peace of mind. Refurbs probably have LESS risk for problems but that wont stop us from saying "its because its a refurb" if something goes wrong.
- Used and Cutting Edge don't feel right. It's pretty weird to want "the latest and greatest" product that someone else owned.
- Genius Bar Geniuses know its a refurb. While standard support is the same, geniuses have the power to bend the rules sometimes. I've noticed they'll be less likely to do that for a refurb rather than a brand new one purchased at that store.

Finiksa said:
Actually you won't, Apple replace the outer case on refurbished products. They only reuse internal components.
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Who told you that? Most returns I've seen/owned have had minor scuffs or signs of use so while Apple does an amazing job at cleaning them off, the chance for a cooties infection still exists.
 
Last edited:
Nevzorus said:
Does the battery suck on the new refurbished iPad?
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I bought different refurbished apple devices in the last years and nothing went wrong. Every single device was like new. If I didn't know it better, I wouldn't even have noticed it.
 
Most refurbs end up being returned iPads that can no longer be sold as new, even if they are flawless. And obviously, if there were any major dings/dents, the iPad couldn't be returned, especially when a product is brand new.

However, as time goes on and iPads are returned to Apple from product failure, that's when it's possible to get an iPad made from salvaged parts.
 
With all the screen problem returns (bleeding, color blotching, display inconsistencies), don't you think those will now become part of the refurb pool?
 
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Jackintosh said:
With all the screen problem returns (bleeding, color blotching, display inconsistencies), don't you think those will now become part of the refurb pool?
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I don't think that the refurbished ones will have color blotching, display inconsistencies or something like that. Apple problably checks them and i'm sure you can return it if that happens.
 
Nevzorus said:
I don't think that the refurbished ones will have color blotching, display inconsistencies or something like that. Apple problably checks them and i'm sure you can return it if that happens.
Click to expand...

That might be true. But then why didn't Apple check them or notice these issues when originally sold as new, I wonder.
 
Jackintosh said:
With all the screen problem returns (bleeding, color blotching, display inconsistencies), don't you think those will now become part of the refurb pool?
Click to expand...

Doubt it, otherwise they'll just have to deal with people returning them again.
 
Jackintosh said:
That might be true. But then why didn't Apple check them or notice these issues when originally sold as new, I wonder.
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If it's true that you can buy refurbished ones in August/September, then you'll problably understand why. Apple is REALLY busy right now and checking iPads while your busy is kinda hard, but i really think they should do that though.
 
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