Thinkpad Refurbished from lenovo outlet? good or bad idea?

refurbs are always a mixed bag and I usually avoid them on the consumer product side of things... but ive got great deals with next day on site support from dell on a couple things in the past... that actually made the refurb +warranty a better option than buying new.

So where do thinkpad refurbs fall on that spectrum... garbage to avoid or deals to be had?

 

When I've bought from the manufacture outlet, be it HP, Apple, Dell, Lenovo, it's pretty much the same as buying new, though sometimes you don't get the fancy packaging. Plus, you get a nice discount over new and a warranty. I believe Dell still includes on-site warranty with their E series Latitudes like new, but it is no longer NBD. If you're buying from a third party all bets are off.

 

Thinkpad "refurbished" and "new " (non CTO) gets sent from the same facility right? Because I had some Dells in the past that are shipped from a different place in the US compared to if you purchase new.


Remember a rep saying both refurb and new ship from Morrisville NC.

 

Does HP even sell refurbished units directly? I've only ever found HP refurbished at 3rd party outlets. I like HP but hate their insistence on putting screws under rubber feet. Its a blatant attempt to say... buy your overpriced upgrades from us. In the end it usually just sends me to another brand.

 

Yes, you can buy a refurbed notebook directly from HP. The ProBook in my sig was purchased from the HP Outlet. If you google HP Outlet, it takes you there and you can browse their notebooks via their price list. There are sometimes good deals. The odd part is you have to call them to order. You can't just add it to your cart and check out. I'd agree it's annoying, but HP is not the only one to put screws under rubber feet.

I've no idea if ready to order and refurbed ThinkPads come from the address, but it wouldn't surprise.