Why are there so many refurb iPhones??

[marksman]

Probably because Apple has one of the most generous return/replacement/repair policies in existence. Fortunately they build that cost into the price of their products, and then get a bit more in some cases with Applecare.

Much morso than almost any other vendor, they will replace a unit that is having a problem. This means they end up with a lot of units that just need some basic work and then can be resold as refurbished.

 

[birdmangriffin]

Refurb phones can be phones returned, and mended, and put out as refurbished.
Refurb can also mean old stock that they want to discount to get rid of - It happens a lot just before a product has an update. In this case, with 9th June so close, I imagine they're clearing any left stock inventory, and the last couple of broken iphones are being returned, mended and sent back out as refurb.

Mine was the first. It had about a day of talk time when I got it.

 

[mkrishnan]

My problem is FINDING a referb iPhone!

It seems to me also that, not only is there no huge oversupply of them, but they generate a remarkable amount of attention when they are available. Every time AT&T has had refurbished iPhones, there's a huge, multi-page thread here about it, and they sell out right away. I can't think of any other refurbished Apple product that generates that kind of demand.

P.S. spelling "refurb" with two e's makes no sense whatsoever. It's short for "refurbished."