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I ended up purchasing a 38MM Series 2 aluminum refurbished with sport band. They refurb Series 2 seemed to have gotten restocked yesterday and two of the four 38MM Series 2 aluminum options are already sold out. They go pretty quick.

For payment, I used a mixture of Apple Store gift cards and my Discover card for the balance since Discover is offering 5% cashback on Apple Store online purchases. We'll see if get the 5% on the entire order or the balance. In the past, Discover wasn't so good at delineating different payments.

Crossing fingers, I get one of the pristine refurbs and not one that shows clear signs of wear or other people's bodies (blech).
 
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I ended up purchasing a 38MM Series 2 aluminum refurbished with sport band. They refurb Series 2 seemed to have gotten restocked yesterday and two of the four 38MM Series 2 aluminum options are already sold out. They go pretty quick.

For payment, I used a mixture of Apple Store gift cards and my Discover card for the balance since Discover is offering 5% cashback on Apple Store online purchases. We'll see if get the 5% on the entire order or the balance. In the past, Discover wasn't so good at delineating different payments.

Crossing fingers, I get one of the pristine refurbs and not one that shows clear signs of wear or other people's bodies (blech).

Picked up a 42mm space gray sport. It should arrive Monday. Hopefully it's just a return from someone who didn't want it as a holiday gift.
 
The refurb SS series 2 that I ordered as a Christmas gift for someone came today and I gave it a quick inspection..

Everything looks fine on the watch itself but a few things to note:

1. Came in a long box and not the standard SS box. This box is bland and cheap looking. Not impressed at all!
2. Did not come with a charging brick or cable (seriously Apple?) inside
3. Packaging is very basic and you don't get the wow factor you get with the new version, unboxing wise that is

Is it worth saving $90 ($100 including tax)? Maybe, probably.... I would have liked Apple to ship in the same box the SS comes in and not in a bland generic one

I forgot I read this a couple weeks ago...

I picked up a refurb SB S2 at the Apple Store today and was surprised by the cheap packaging. I inspected the watch there which looks great and discovered that the 5w brick wasn't there. I questioned it and talked to two guys, one who said all sport watches came without including S2. I showed them the "what's in the box" on the store app and a manager just gave me a new brick for free. The employees honestly didn't know how the refurb was supposed to be packed. If they had just told me refurbs don't come with I would've been ok. I second guessed keeping it though thinking of resale value down the line without the cube packaging and case.

Then I found this...

IMG_1096.PNG
 
I think you'd still come out ahead on resale.. You saved about $100 (with tax) and I don't see you taking a $100 hit on resale just because it's with a different box..
 
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How was the shape/quality of your refurb?

I personally don't own any refurbished Apple Watches. But if you search on these threads, some have stated that their refurbished models look brand-new out-of-the-box and never used. And other refurbished models have been delivered that look like they've been used or not cleaned with minor damage. So, apparently the casings on the Apple Watch are not getting replaced unless their severely damaged. It Appears it's lottery what you will receive.
 
What's the worst condition you can expect to receive one of these in? From what I've read these seem to be returns can can't be resold but have any actually been refurbished?
 
What's the worst condition you can expect to receive one of these in? From what I've read these seem to be returns can can't be resold but have any actually been refurbished?

I would not except anything that was not in brand new condition! If you get one in less shape than that, I'd be sending it back lickety-split!
 
I am new to the AW game, but have 5 other Apple products. For myself I went ahead and purchased a refurb series 1, 42mm with white sport band. It came yesterday in a beautiful white box with looooong cable, and surprisingly the charging brick. Since I am new to this I just wanted an entry into the AW scene to see if I liked it or not. The watch is beautiful, no scratches, and was very clean and packaged accordingly.
 
I'm not trusting a Watch from the refurb section nor any refurb sent from repairs again.

First SS Watch I bought had damage to the oleophobic coating. Replaced with one that was already scratched to hell. Third one came this week and there's defects under the sapphire that look like adhesive problems. I have an email out to support now demanding either a new in box unit from a store or I'm exchanging it for a new aluminum model. What a mess.
 
I was slightly torn with my refurbished SS 38mm series 2. It didn't have many micro scratches on the case, but it has a small dent at the edge of the case, under the screen. It's mostly un-noticeable, except when light hits it.

I debated returning it, but I ended up deciding that it would eventually get scratched anyway. I just kind of thought of it as a trade off for saved money.

Slightly disappointing though for Apple to ship out stuff with blemishes.
 
I was slightly torn with my refurbished SS 38mm series 2. It didn't have many micro scratches on the case, but it has a small dent at the edge of the case, under the screen. It's mostly un-noticeable, except when light hits it.

I debated returning it, but I ended up deciding that it would eventually get scratched anyway. I just kind of thought of it as a trade off for saved money.

Slightly disappointing though for Apple to ship out stuff with blemishes.
Return and re buy
 
I'm not trusting a Watch from the refurb section nor any refurb sent from repairs again.

First SS Watch I bought had damage to the oleophobic coating. Replaced with one that was already scratched to hell. Third one came this week and there's defects under the sapphire that look like adhesive problems. I have an email out to support now demanding either a new in box unit from a store or I'm exchanging it for a new aluminum model. What a mess.

I have heard reports of either receiving a really nice refurbished watch that looks new and then there were other reports stating that some of the refurbished watches were scratched or defective for one reason or another. So there definitely is inconsistency with what you're receiving from the refurbished section. In some cases, I don't believe that Apple is replacing the watch casing on the Apple Watch.
 
I don't think that they replace the casing on any of them. They clearly state that the casing is replaced on some refurbished items. The Apple Watch ones do not say this. I'd imagine that the water resistance factor has a lot to do with this with Series 2 watches, at least.
 
I have heard reports of either receiving a really nice refurbished watch that looks new and then there were other reports stating that some of the refurbished watches were scratched or defective for one reason or another. So there definitely is inconsistency with what you're receiving from the refurbished section. In some cases, I don't believe that Apple is replacing the watch casing on the Apple Watch.

No, they definitely aren't. AppleCare has told me all replacement watches are direct from factory and not repairs/refurbs but I don't necessarily believe them.
 
No, they definitely aren't. AppleCare has told me all replacement watches are direct from factory and not repairs/refurbs but I don't necessarily believe them.

I don't believe that either. There have been many forum members on here saying they received replacement Apple Watches with scratches or the Watch was dirty, as if someone wore it previously.

Because when the customer pays for such a premium device, I would expect a product that's not scratched or "Used" looking upon arrival. Apple is good about their replacement program and the condition most receive, but there have been reports of forum members not content with what they received. Others have had good experiences.
 
I don't believe that either. There have been many forum members on here saying they received replacement Apple Watches with scratches or the Watch was dirty, as if someone wore it previously.

Because when the customer pays for such a premium device, I would expect a product that's not scratched or "Used" looking upon arrival. Apple is good about their replacement program and the condition most receive, but there have been reports of forum members not content with what they received. Others have had good experiences.

Mine have been entirely hit or miss for both watches we own. I went through three replacements for my girlfriend once and went through two for myself before. It's really frustrating at this point. I'm debating about returning this SS watch today and picking up an aluminum in it's place. I like the SS but if I'm having this many issues with it I'd rather save a little bit of cash and have something that I've had better luck with (had a SG aluminum S0).
 
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