what are some general rules of thumb for refurbished products?

This might be in the wrong section, but whatev. My dad avoids refurbished products like they're the black plague.

However, I've also heard "as long as it runs, it'll likely run forever." Any input?

 

Most refurbished products are returned products that customers have bought and opened. Usually they don't like the color, buyer's remorse, too slow whatever. So they return it to the manufacturer/reseller and it gets sent back for refurbishing. They check the functionality and everything, barring cosmetic issues. But because it was opened, consumer protection laws say it cannot be sold as brand new thus refurbished.

The 10-15% of the time the item IS defective, or has a defective part. It is fully tested and the defective part(s) replaced and packaged up.

Now you get anywhere from 20-50% savings over brand new because it isn't "brand new". Think of it as buying a used car.

 

I love refurbs. Most of the time I can't tell the item is new.

 

Trottel, that's funny (I'm up too late).

I think we always get what we pay for. I have had many used/refurbished items in my life and I never appreciated them as much as spending a fair price for a brand new item instead. (Even if it was of slightly lower quality/performance than the used 'deal').

With notebooks in particular, I am worried about a misused battery (have seen this many times), system files that are trashed (virus?) - even in the recovery partitions and with 'older' refurbished/used systems LCD's that are past their prime because they were simply left on 24/7 downloading who knows what with the screen at full brightness.

Of course, even with all the above, if the price is right, it is right!

Just go into this type of purchase with your eyes wide open.

Good luck.

 

I've been extremely happy with the five Dell refurbs I've purchased. Really top notch. Their stuff is completely reassembled and always given new batteries. Any part that is scratched is also replaced. In most cases you would never be able to tell it wasn't new. Even their "scratch and dent" products are like-new save for maybe a tiny nick on the palm rest, and they are sold at an even bigger discount. On two laptops I got such good deals I sold them on Ebay right away and made $150 off of each, and they cost me $279 a piece with free shipping after a discount code! A scratch and dent Studio 15 I bought on there I sold on Ebay 9 months later and recouped almost all the money I paid for it. It remained in almost pristine shape since it sat on my desk, but still. Also I order stuff from Newegg all the time. Most of their refurbed products are sealed in retail packaging, usually with the product sticker on it having an 'R' at the end of the product code or just saying "refurbished." I bought a top of the line ATI HD4890 the same month they were released (April of last year) refurbished for only about $135 and it was practically new. Of course not every experience has been great, but I have never been boned and left in the cold. I'm not talking buying used stuff on Ebay; I am talking buying manufacturer refurbished products.

 

My experience has been similar with that of Trottel, though I've purchased much less refurbished products. I got my Dell E6400 from the outlet a year and a half ago, and aside from how the laptop was boxed (it was packaged very securely), I couldn't tell that it was refurbished, save for the green sticker on the bottom. I've also purchased my DSLR refurbished as well as Logitech dented box items, and all have been excellent. Not to mention the money I saved. So long as I can get a good deal at the Dell Outlet, I will probably never purchase a new computer again, unless its a really good deal.

I even bought a Dell Latitude D630 off of ebay, which died shortly after I got it (blasted Nvidia chip). However, I was able to send it in to Dell and get it back in even nicer condition than when I bought it. The point being: I wouldn't worry about purchasing refurbished products as long as there is good support behind the product. And for someone that loves to upgrade somewhat frequently, the money saved really starts to add up.

 

Couple of things;

Dell refurbished is a whole different beast. And I believe same applies to certain HPs. They come with the standard 1 year warranty (though some business models come with 2-3). I believe HP refurbs bought through their outlet store come with a 1 year but other than that most refurbished systems only have a 90 day warranty.

Batteries are a hit or miss. Some are like brand new, some may have 20% wear on them already.

System files shouldn't be trashed, they reimage hard drives pretty good at the factory.

I bought plenty of refurbished stuff, PSP 2000 now entering it's 7th month of use, couple notebooks here and there.

 

My first laptop was a refurb,never had a problem with it,lots of good deals out their that are refurb's.

 

I will always buy refurbished if I can, for items where performance does not degrade over time with extended use.

Just about every refurbished product I have ever laid my hands on was in like-new condition. Once out of the shipping / packaging, you will likely not be able to tell the difference between a refurbished product or a brand new product.

 

I'd buy refurb from Dell or HP or any laptop OEM really. Mainly because they are srutinized probably moreso than a new product. I'd just be wary of "open box" items. Those are usually at the reseller and many times are just repackaged and resold as "open box" without much srutiny. I'd only buy "open box" if you can actually see and use the item first or if they have a no questions return policy.

I bought a "scratch and dent" laptop from Dell's outlet once for someone. The "scratch" was a tiny nick on the edge of the lid, and on a black surface it wasn't even noticed. Saved like 25% too. It was basically new. Dell also tends to package them like new too, so all the protective stickers, etc.

 

As far as computers are concerned? They're not worth it. At least that's the conclusion that Consumer Reports comes to.

In their analysis, the reduction in price, is seldom that much less than buying a new machine. Which gives you the full warranty and better piece of mind. However, they did stop short of implying that these products don't perform any less than their new counterparts. Nevertheless, in many cases, you do get an abbreviated warranty--so be careful to weigh all the pros and cons.

On the other hand, "scratch and dent" products can net you a huge bargain since their price can typically be negotiated. Much of my home electronics are made up of these bargains. So far, I have little to complain about.

 

Depends on the item and manufacturer. Dell actually marks down their refurbished products considerably (i.e. 20-25%) and give a decent warranty. At least last time I got a full 1 year warranty.

 

Dell Latitude refurbs from the Outlet come with the same 3-year standard warranty as a new Dell Latitude, I believe. That, in addition to the 25% off Outlet Latitudes coupon that comes up every once in a while make their redistributed/refurb machines a great deal.

 

It all depends on which unit you buy. Some Latitudes come with 2-3 year warranty, some only come with 1 year. Just read the details of the unit before you buy it.

 

I actually wasn't talking about laptops, I was talking about getting an factory refurbished xbox 360 from "Big Outlet Refurbished Electronics." Seeing that refurbished products vary in dependability with varying companies, do you guys know if factory refurbished xbox 360s are reliable? I hear on another forum that they are "ticking time bombs"

 

I would avoid those refurbished XBOX 360's. Alot of them have banned MAC addresses from hacking/modding. Plus many don't fix the RROD issues.

 

How can they sell such a unit ? If it is ebay, I can understand but regular retail channel ?

Xbox live is a key part of Xbox and if it is banned, it is kind of not functioning as it should.

 

Most refurbishers I guess don't really check for stuff like that. I know electronics stores had a problem with that. People would get banned on Live then return the 360 within the return period and say theirs were defective.

 

well I'm not planning to play xbox live. I was talking about whether some of these machines will die on me faster than they're suppose to.

 

Because it's listed are "refurbished" not new!

 

Any reputable vendor of refurbished products should have some kind of warranty period or return policy. A banned Xbox Live ID can be rectified by using those replacement options.

And the RROD was an inherent design flaw in the early generations of Xbox's. Buying. Refurbished unit does not increase your chances of getting an RROD over buying a brand newunopened Xbox console from the same generation.

 

Oh I'm not doubting they have a return policy, it's just a headache buying it, finding out it's defective and returning it possibly multiple times.

RROD is still a common issue among refurbished 360's. How do I know? Because my workplace sells plenty of them. And alot get returned because they actually do RROD. We've also had batches that had their MAC address banned.

 

tsunade, thanks for the responses. very helpful.

I bought my refurbished xbox from big outlet electronics in New Jersey. Maybe you know those guys. Based on the number of returns you get due to RROD, what is the likelyhood of me getting one of those things?

Also, I'm not planning to play xbox live. But is there a way to check whether or not the MAC address is banned without having to connect to xbox live?

 

I bought my very first refurbished laptop from Newegg about a few months ago and so far I'm pretty happy with it. It looks totally new and came with a brand new battery too. A university I teach at provides me a nice computer, so I don't really care if it's brand new or refurbished. It's just my toy anyway.

 

No, no, it's the savings that counts;and nobody can appreciate a bargain more than me.

In any event, I'm not that concerned with it being new either, as long as I can get a substantial discount from a refurbished product vs a new one. The Consumer Reports survey I read claims (based on average of course) they do not.

 

Yes, of course I agree with you. I think the G60 was about $999 a year ago when it was released. I paid about $650. So, I saved about $350. And then I used the money I saved to upgrade some components (SSD and CPU). Even though it's a previous generation chip, I'm quite happy with its performance so far.

 

Well the funny part is some refurbished computers hardly have any savings. We had a refurbished U505 Toshiba, light and thin 13" for 799, with only Core 2 Duo, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB HDD and 4500 HD integrated graphics...I bought my Vostro 1500 back then for like 900 brand new...but then we had another refurbished Toshiba for 900 with i7 720QM, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB HDD and GT330 graphics for only 100 bucks more than the 800 dollar refurb Toshiba

 

Ive bought 2 bdst buy returns that were in new condition.

Not refurbished however they are sometimes missing the power supply or etc

great deals both of them

 

Ehh, refurbished are totally different.

Missing a power cord can be very expensive, especially a Sony one? And the very thin Z series which are very proprietary.

Actually I would be more likely to buy refurbished than open box. I've seen some returned notebooks, really messed up stuff. People swap components, take stuff from them, and they could have dropped the unit but not have did any damage you can see. And trust me nobody checks for that stuff, you could be buying a lemon.

 

its just dollars and cents.

An open box can be super cheap.

they are the same machines actually best buy also sells refurbished for more and the only difference is it comes with the box and all the manuals or not. tested the same way from the same place.

my power supply was 30$ but most power supplies for non gamer laptops are under 10$ theres an aftermarket now.

 

Yes, open box (like scratch and dent, or display models) are completely different. In either case, most store allow a 30 day "no questions asked" return policy.

If that is the case--and you know it's a great deal--it would behoove you to have the system checked out thoroughly (ala purchasing a used car) and run it through as many intensive paces as you can before that time runs out.

In my case, I only buy from stores that have a good reputation for honoring their return policy.

Agreed, you have to be an informed buyer and know when a bargain, is a bargain.

A very good caveat. But again, you have to weigh the reputation of the seller to avoid these headaches. And also keep in mind that some products are sealed internally, so at least you have some indication of what to be cautious of.

 

Just my time working in an electronics retail store

Actually I would almost never buy a "clearance" or open box one UNLESS I was allowed to benchmark and stress test it for a few hours.

Of course if my income allowed me to buy brand new technology I honestly would. Refurbished would be okay as long as it has the 1 year manufacturers warranty like Dell. I would totally steer clear of 3rd part refurbishers. Most of the time they just reimage said machines and go out and sell it.