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Should I Buy A Refurbished iPod?

Maclarny

Maclarny

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 20, 2003
433
0
MN
I am looking at, with great interest, a refurbished 10 GB iPod from the Apple Store. I am a proud owner of a 1.6 Ghz Refurb G5 which has worked like new ever since I got it.

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with purchasing a refurbished iPod and if they could share their stories with me.
 
i wish i could... i bought a refurbished flat panel imac last year and couldn't be happier with the savings i got...

last saturday, i bought a 3G 15GB (with dock, case, and remote) for $199... and it should be showing up tomorrow...

i can't wait, and seeing as you had good experience with your G5, and i've had good experience with my imac, i'd say go for it...

but we'll see for sure tomorrow,
reality
 
I haven't bought a refurbished iPod, but on a general note refurbished items are usually a great buy. Most manufacturers sample test their products, so some new products can slip out with defects. With a refurb you can be sure it has been through all the manufacturers tests and passed, is cheaper, and comes with full warranty. I have bought refurbs from Palm, Visioneer and HP, and never had a problem.

Note that I would only buy a refurb from the original manufacturer - I wouldn't be so trusting with refurbs from an independent company.

I would say you could buy with confidence. Good luck.
 
I say go for it. It's a great deal, and if you don't buy it soon, it will be gone. Actually the last batch of the refurb 10GB sold out quickly, and the ones your seeing now were just added.
 
My wife and I have had refurbished iPods:
2G 10GB, 2G 20GB, 3G 20GB, & 3G 40GB

No problems whatsoever except for a faulty firewire cord.....it wouldn't mount the iPod on the Mac but it would charge it....and they had a new one to me the next morning (and I called them around 5pm the night I received it). Everything is included except the original box and you still get a warranty. They are a great deal!
 
Just make sure you don't get one that someone dropped in the toilet.

I'm serious, someone dropped their iPod in a toilet.
 
realityisterror said:
i wish i could... i bought a refurbished flat panel imac last year and couldn't be happier with the savings i got...

last saturday, i bought a 3G 15GB (with dock, case, and remote) for $199... and it should be showing up tomorrow...

i can't wait, and seeing as you had good experience with your G5, and i've had good experience with my imac, i'd say go for it...

but we'll see for sure tomorrow,
reality
Click to expand...

Let me know how it is. I'd like to know the condition it's in as well as if there are any noticeable defects. I once heard that people have gotten refurbished iPods with scratches on them :(
 
I have a 3G 10GB refurb iPod for almost a year now - it's worked great. Even if I did have a problem, it's still covered by the same warranty as one that's new - but it already had the bugs worked out being a refurb and all. :) Mine came in a retail box though, which I found curious, as my iBook that I got at the same time came in a generic "Refurbished Product" box. I suppose they may have run out of the refurb models and just sent me a new one (for the refurb price), hadn't really thought about it until now. I'd say you can't go wrong with the refurbished stuff.
 
yes

i just got mine on tuesday, and i LOVE IT! i had never bought an ipod because i always thought that $300 was way too much money for an mp3 player. definitely wanted one, but couldn't justify that much money for *just* something to play music. when i saw the refurbed 10gig 3G for $169, i made the move.

a lot of times when i buy things like that, i end up saying to myself, "now did i really need to do that? was i right in giving in to the urge of an impulse, *luxury* purchase?" well, the answer is yes. i am in love...
 
I just placed an order a few minutes ago for a 10 gig refurb iPod in the apple special deals section. It came out to $180 including tax. Does anyone know what rev they are? It didn't say on the website.
 
JzzTrump22 said:
I just placed an order a few minutes ago for a 10 gig refurb iPod in the apple special deals section. It came out to $180 including tax. Does anyone know what rev they are? It didn't say on the website.
Click to expand...

it lists them as ipod's (with dock connector) so it is a 3G...

Thom_Edward's post is making me over excited.. i ordered last saturday and it should come tomorrow (friday)... but the fedex page shows nothing other than departed sacramento sorting facility.. and that was 2.5 days ago... if it doesn't come tomorrow, i'll be stuck waiting till monday... life is so difficult... :rolleyes:

don't let me down fedex,
reality
 
Jalexster said:
Just make sure you don't get one that someone dropped in the toilet.

I'm serious, someone dropped their iPod in a toilet.
Click to expand...

You know that when Apple gets a returned iPod, they just don't throw it in a box, and sell it as refurbished?

Do you know why they call it refurbished?!?!?
 
After reading that Apple has been holding back some of the new iPod's features, I would hold back on the 10 GB and go for the 20 GB iPod. It doesn't seem logical to pay $169 for a one-year-old product when a brand new iPod is only $130 away. I would wait, at least until some of the 4G iPods show up on the refurb site.
 
wide said:
After reading that Apple has been holding back some of the new iPod's features, I would hold back on the 10 GB and go for the 20 GB iPod. It doesn't seem logical to pay $169 for a one-year-old product when a brand new iPod is only $130 away. I would wait, at least until some of the 4G iPods show up on the refurb site.
Click to expand...

you have some points worth considering... but even though it's "only $130 away", it's 175% of the 10GB...
my main point is that i can't justify spending $300 on a music player... even if it does have some hidden features, i'll just spend $169 for a music player that does that one thing well... it plays music...

(but if you ask me, i still got a better deal than all of you :D... 5GB more than the 10GB, a dock, and case for only $30 more...)

reality
 
wide said:
After reading that Apple has been holding back some of the new iPod's features, I would hold back on the 10 GB and go for the 20 GB iPod. It doesn't seem logical to pay $169 for a one-year-old product when a brand new iPod is only $130 away. I would wait, at least until some of the 4G iPods show up on the refurb site.
Click to expand...

The only reason I havent' purchased an iPod yet is the price. I can find no reason to pay at least $100 more for storage I'll never need when I can just buy a 10 Gb refurb which is already miles ahead of the nearest competition.
 
my new ipod arrived last night, 10gig 3g perfect condition. she's a beaut. im going to get a case soon too!

to the person who was worried about fedex-if its going ground dont worry, mine did the same thing and then didnt show movement until it arrived on the east coast. I had it the next day.
But, it did take 6 days to arrive.
-carly
 
Personally i don't even need something the size of a 10. A mini would be fine for me but it was 80$. Why spend an extra 80$ to get something more than twice as small, meaning storage room. I don't see a point in spending more money for something i will never use to it's fullest. I can't think of that many songs. 2500 songs is way more than enough for me. I thought 170$ is a great price for a 10gig. I can't wait for it to arrive.
 
Oh yea i forgot to ask. I ordered ground shipping, how long do you think it would take for them to ship so i t shows up on my order status?
 
I bought a 30GB refurb on the day that the 4Gs came out. I ended up paying something like $303 after taxes and all, then turned around and sold my 2G 20GB on ebay for $250. I don't think that's too bad of a trade.

There is one small mark on the screen of my 30GB right by the battery icon. It only shows at certain angles and does not show when the backlighting is on. It doesn't really appear to be on the outer screen but rather underneath it. I'm not sure if I am going to raise a stink about it and try to get it replaced or not.

The only downside for me is that it shipped in the plain cardboard box..cause the ipod boxes are cool.

Brett
 
It's just a box. You don't even do anything with it. It just sits there after you open your product. Why are you upset about the box?
 
JzzTrump22 said:
It's just a box. You don't even do anything with it. It just sits there after you open your product. Why are you upset about the box?
Click to expand...

Wasn't really upset, just a little bummed. I knew it would come in the plain box, so if it were a real issue I wouldn't have ordered a refurb. The real box could help a bit if/when I sell this one on ebay. (After I traded my PB 400 I sold the box it came in on ebay cause that person bought a PB used and wanted an original box).

Also I have some design experience and I can appreciate the design of the boxes, for the pure aesthetic value, and they have won awards for the design.

Like I said it's not a deal breaker, but the original retail box is really a work of art.

Brett
 
I bought a "refurbished" 3G iPod from Apple last year. It's been fine, and in fact I don't think it was really refurbished at all. It came in the retail box.

I've come to the conclusion that some products sold as refurbished on Apple's web site are in fact overstocks.
 
Are they nice and shiny just like brand new ones or do they look used with usage scratches?
 
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