Should I buy an Apple Refurbished Laptop?

[Nick McEnjoy]

Hello everyone,

Apple is offering the MBP 13" (2/2011 version) for $929 shipped.
From what I read on Apple's web site, the refurbished products are pretty much like new. Could anyone please share your experience about Apple refurbished purchase(s)? How is/are the item(s)?
Should I buy one now, or wait to get one on Black Friday?

Thank you in advance.

Nick

 

[simsaladimbamba]

MacRumors Guides: Apple Refurbished Store

Apple Certified Refurbished Products

1) What are Apple Certified Refurbished Products?
Apple Certified Refurbished Products are pre-owned Apple products that undergo Apple's stringent refurbishment process prior to being offered for sale. While only some units are returned due to technical issues, all units undergo Apple's stringent quality refurbishment process.

Each Apple Certified Refurbished Product:

is fully tested (including full burn-in testing).
is refurbished with replacement parts for any defective modules identified in testing.
is put through a thorough cleaning process and inspection.
is repackaged (including appropriate manuals, cables, new boxes, etc.).
includes the operating software originally shipped with the unit and the custom software offered with that system.
is given a new refurbished part number and serial number.
is placed into a Final QA inspection prior to being added to sellable refurbished stock.
Refurbishment procedures follow the same basic technical guidelines as Apple's Finished Goods testing procedures.​

If you want more information, here are just a few of many threads on this topic, found by searching the forum:
Refurbished MBP or New?
Getting an iMac - New or Refurbished?
Refurbished vs new
HELP: Refurbished 17" or New High End 15"?!
Are Refurbished Macs as high quality their new counterparts?
Do refurbished fail more often than new MBP's?
New MPB or refurbished model?

search results by GGJstudios​

 

[Nick McEnjoy]

Wow. That's Macbook Pro lightning fast. Thanks a lot.
Can I keep the poll?

Thanks.

 

[GGJstudios]

Wow. That's Macbook Pro lightning fast. Thanks a lot.
Can I keep the poll?

You can, but there's no point. As you can see, this question has been asked hundreds of times in this forum. You won't get any different answers than those that have already been given countless times. You'll find that most questions you can think of have been asked many times, so searching the forum first is an excellent way to get fast answers, without posting and waiting for people to respond.

 

[shyam09]

Hello everyone,


Should I buy one now, or wait to get one on Black Friday?

Thank you in advance.

Nick

well you can wait until black friday and save $101 [brand new MBP] which is a beautiful dollar off the education price
but if you have a microcenter nearby or something, you can stop buy and grab a base 13" MBP current gen [make sure it includes the refresh upgrades and all] for about @$1000

 

[Nick McEnjoy]

You can, but there's no point. As you can see, this question has been asked hundreds of times in this forum. You won't get any different answers than those that have already been given countless times. You'll find that most questions you can think of have been asked many times, so searching the forum first is an excellent way to get fast answers, without posting and waiting for people to respond.

I did the search, but I could not find any thread regarding the refurbished MBP 13" 2/2011 version versus the newly "refreshed" version. Most of the discussions regarding refurbished Macs are several months, if not years, old. In addition, the two versions are slightly different: the new one has a slightly faster CPU and a bigger hard drive.

 

[GGJstudios]

I did the search, but I could not find any thread regarding the refurbished MBP 13" 2/2011 version versus the newly "refreshed" version.

You didn't ask that. You asked:

Could anyone please share your experience about Apple refurbished purchase(s)?
How is/are the item(s)?
Should I buy one now, or wait to get one on Black Friday?

Most of the discussions regarding refurbished Macs are several months, if not years, old.

Those were only a sample of the threads found by searching. All of these are threads active in the past year, with 5 or more responses:

​

In addition, the two versions are slightly different: the new one has a slightly faster CPU and a bigger hard drive.

That's only a difference in different models. It has nothing to do with new vs refurbished.

 

[Nick McEnjoy]

well you can wait until black friday and save $101 [brand new MBP] which is a beautiful dollar off the education price

I lean towards this. The new version is a little bit better. Also in some "refurbished" threads, some people said the items sometimes got some marks. No one really knows how long the hard drive and the battery have been used...

but if you have a microcenter nearby or something, you can stop buy and grab a base 13" MBP current gen [make sure it includes the refresh upgrades and all] for about @$1000

I checked. They currently have the old version $999 + tax, which is about $70 more than the refurbished one.
The current gen is 2.4Ghz, 500GB.

 

[Nick McEnjoy]

You didn't ask that.

Well, I did state specifically:

Apple is offering the MBP 13" (2/2011 version) for $929 shipped.

So everything followed is applied for this specific model.

The next part I want people to share their experience:

From what I read on Apple's web site, the refurbished products are pretty much like new. Could anyone please share your experience about Apple refurbished purchase(s)? How is/are the item(s)?

I agree there are some information here, but many things have changed since then. Someone even died. There might be new information that has not been in the old threads.

That's only a difference in different models. It has nothing to do with new vs refurbished.

In fact, there are two questions: new vs. refurbished, and old version vs. new version. And "a difference in different models" thingy is important: The refurbished one is in fact a little inferior to the current gen one. So I would not really "save" 200 bucks. And that's why I want to hear people's opinions.

 

[Titanium81]

Hello everyone,

Apple is offering the MBP 13" (2/2011 version) for $929 shipped.
From what I read on Apple's web site, the refurbished products are pretty much like new. Could anyone please share your experience about Apple refurbished purchase(s)? How is/are the item(s)?
Should I buy one now, or wait to get one on Black Friday?

Thank you in advance.

Nick

You will probably save more by, buying refurbished now than waiting and buying new on Black Friday.

Current refurb discount $270.00

If Apples takes $100 off a new MBP13" for the Black Friday sale (Which may or may not happen).

Your still paying $170.00 more than you could be.

You are almost always guaranteed the best price/value when you buy refurbished.

 

[Nick McEnjoy]

You will probably save more by, buying refurbished now than waiting and buying new on Black Friday.

Current refurb discount $270.00

If Apples takes $100 off a new MBP13" for the Black Friday sale (Which may or may not happen).

Your still paying $170.00 more than you could be.

You are almost always guaranteed the best price/value when you buy refurbished.

Then, if Black Friday turned out too black (no deal) then I still have the (then) refurbished option, which might be even better (than today's refurbished deal). Also, I should take the brand-new/newer version/better config factors into account. Is that possible and reasonable?

I decided to wait. BF is only three weeks away.
There will be more refurbished MBP's. Even new gen MBP refurbs will be in stock. The brand new and refurbished old gen MBP 13" are only $70 away. Besides, local Micro Center usually offers best prices, and local Best Buy price matches (I asked) with any store. Either way, I would get best pricing then.

 

[Vantage Point]

when calculating the cost make sure you include tax. I've considered refurb MBP's but after adding 7% sales tax vs getting a good price on a place like Amazon or B&H Photo where I also get free shipping and no sales tax (depends on the state you ship it to) then it seems like a better deal to pay slightly more for brand new. I got my 15" MBP from Amazon last year on BF for about $1,650 no tax... Just wait 3 weeks to see your options