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Your Refurbished Mac Experiences...

J

Josh Kahane

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 29, 2006
439
1
Suffolk, UK
Hi

I am looking to buy a refurbished Macbook Air soon and I was wondering what your experiences have been like buying refurbished Apple products?

My worries are:
1. Physical damage effecting its look, down to the tiny scratch.
2. No Apple boxing, what about reselling?

Share your experiences...
 
I have a refurb macbook air, and a refurb Mac mini. Both came in great condition, if there is any damage it is fixed before the refurb is sold. They don't come in the original box, and I'm not sure how it would affect resale, probably you will save more money by buying a refurb than you will gain by having the original box when you eventually go to sell it.
 
Over the years I've had several refurb items from Apple - a white Macbook, a Mac Mini, an alu iMac, and an Apple TV. All perfect.

As to the packaging, it doesn't bother me. I generally keep my kit until such an age that people are surprised if it comes with any packaging at all!
 
My Macbook Air came in pristine condition! Not a single scratch or blemish. No retail box so I looked on ebay and found some selling their packaging only. Got a full set of Macbook Air packaging shipped for less than $20. Just peel the stickers off of the back of the box identifying the computer and your good to go.
 
27" iMac (2009) perfect. Looked like it was brand new and performed the same. I did sell it a few months ago for my MBP on eBay. The plain box was never a problem when I sold it,, sold as "Used with over two years of Apple Care left. I never mentioned the box and the buyer actually picked it up locally and was very happy.
 
Don't worry....Apple wants to protect their reputation at all costs. You'll receive a very nice unit.
 
Im so pleased to hear what you guys have all shared, makes me far happier, and I had a feeling it would be odd that anything more than perhaps a few minor scratches on the undercarriage would be odd coming from the quality assured company which is Apple.

I've been with Apple all my life, its sticking that way, refurbished this time. ;)

P.S Super idea about buying a box off eBay. I'll do just that.
 
If you want more information, here are just a few of many threads on this topic, found by searching the forum with MRoogle:

Would you buy a refurbished Mac from Apple
Refurbished MBP or New?
Refurbished vs New: your experiences, thoughts?
Macbook Pro Refurbished questions
has anyone ever had a bad refurbished MBP?
Refurbished MacBook pro
Open box or Refurbished MBP?
Refurbished buy...Good idea or not?
leaning towards imac, or a macbook, and should i buy new or refurbished
Refurbished MacBook Pro?
Considering refurbished MBP however...
macbook refurbished?
Refurbished???
Has anyone had any bad experiences with getting a Macbook Pro Refurbished from Apple?
New vs. Refurbished iMac
Do refurbished MBPs come with the new batteries?
Is refurbished MB a good buy?
How are refurbished products different?
has anyone bought a refurbished Macbook pro ?
Mac Pro refurbished - yes or no?terrified to go refurbished!
Warranty with refurbished MBP?
refurbished macbook pro
Refurbished MBPs Ship From?
Apple Refurbished Macbooks
Refurbished MacBook from Apple online store... worth getting?
Refurbished MBP or New Macbook?New to Apple: Should I start with a Refurb?
Refurb Qualities and Battery Life
Refurb vs Amazon
Apple refurb store
MBP Refurb
best place to get a refurb MB?
Buying advice please, new vs refurb iMac
Refurb or New Macbook?
 
I've had 100% success with refurbs from Apple. I've bought a PowerMac G4, MacBook Pro, an iPod and two AirPort Extreme Base Stations, and they've all been perfect and are still in service to this day.

As for the packaging, no, you don't get the glossy white "I JUST BOUGHT AN EXPENSIVE APPLE PRODUCT" package, but it is all packaged extremely well, at least as well as new, just in a plain brown box.

:apple::apple:
 
I've bought the following as refurbs:

MacBook (White)
MacBook (Aluminum)
Mac mini (C2D White)
Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server (White)
Airport Extreme

All have been in completely new condition and none have required any repairs. The first MacBook had additional RAM in it. I still have all of these and keep equipment so long that the resale price won't matter. BTW, the serial numbers are different, so there is no hiding that they are refurbs anyway.
 
I bought a MacMini refurb a few years back from the Apple Store.

The machine worked perfectly and was flawless.

Best bit was when I sold it a year later I got more for it than I had paid! Very bizarre economy…
 
I'm an Apple Reseller, but I have bought refurbs for myself on occasion over the years.

Make no mistake about the condition of the machines, they leave the apple service centers pretty much perfect. I just got a refurb 11" air last week, and same thing. After you tear the cellophane off, its very tough to tell the difference between a new retail unit and a refurb unit.

I get a bazillion machines here at the office, so I'm kind of jaded to the glossy packaging anyhow. The refurb boxes actually protect the machine better. The air came in a box with several inches of foam around it, instead of shipped in regular cardboard like the iPad box.
 
The only thing I can add is that the only Mac I've had that needed servicing was one that was bought new. Small sample that means nothing in the grand scheme of things, I know. I run my computers until they drop, so packaging doesn't mean much to me.
 
I've owned several refurbished macs. They've all been indistiguishable from retail except for the packaging. As to resale value, I guess it depends on how long you keep it. The longer you keep it, the less the box matters when you go to resell.
 
The only Mac I ever purchased new has been the only one that needed repairs. Every other mac I've bought has been refurbished and in A+ condition.
 
Got a 13 inch MBA (the previous generation) as I didn't want to wait any longer (waited already 2 years). No problems, in fact, you can buy a protection plan as if it was a new computer with the full 3 years of warranty. Wanted to use it until the new MBA came out. Now, these lack the backlit keyboard so I am still using it.
 
I grabbed a base model 15" 2010 MBP refurbed and I love it. There was one extremely minor scrape, and I only noticed it because I did a full (albeit, too through) inspection when I got it. There is absolutely no way to see said scrape without being about 2" from it and that you know what you're looking for.

It feels brand new, and the packaging was no issue to me since I don't plan on reselling it.
 
I had a Rev.A Macbook. It was total junk. It spent 45 days in repair before the unit was finally replaced with a brand new machine. I think this had more to do with Rev.A problems than it did with their refurbishment process, but total junk nonetheless.
 
I bought a refurbished black MacBook in early 2008 that arrived with a single dead pixel. Apple took it back without any issue. They even paid for the return shipping if I recall correctly.

Just check the Mac over once it arrives and you'll be fine.
 
just got a refurb imac i7 on saturday. looks new, acts new, and smells new too. my studio control room has smelled of wonderful new warm electronics all weekend. i may never buy new again. no point. i saved over $300. this easily pays for a ram upgrade, applecare, and a very nice 1tb backup drive.
 
The refurb + Apple Care + accessories for the same price as new is a sound strategy. Just hope they have the model you want in the refurb store :D

I actually used a similar strategy when car shopping. Had a friend at a Hyundai dealership, and they were selling a 3.8L Genesis Coupe that had like 100 miles on it and got the door dinged in the dealer parking lot, needing a quick repair. Got the color I wanted with bonus Nav upgrade for $6k less than it would have cost me new. Upped the warranty to 7 years for I think $2500 or something, and drove home happy :D
 
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