Do you buy refurbs?
I've bought maybe 10 refurb items over the years, always electronics. But I have to say I only had luck with maybe 4 out of the 10 working right. Is there anything you stay away from when it's a refurb?
I have not had any issue with refurbs to my recollection. I'm using a HDD I purchased refurbed from Woot more than 2 years ago. My touchpad is fine and so is my Scooba. I consider a factory refurb to be like new, and expect it to function that way.
I would not really go for a non-factory refurbished item however. That is rolling the dice for sure.
Ditto. Factory refurb with a factory backed warranty, that's fine. 3rd party refurb with a limited warranty ... it better be a darn good deal inclusive of a SquareTrade warranty for me to consider.
It depends - I'll be much more cautious from now on since my last refurb from Woot! (a 32 GB iPod Touch) was extremely poorly refurbished and died within a week. Fortunately for me Apple customer support took pity on me when I told them how much I paid for the device and replaced it free of charge.
I have bought refurb'ed HDDs from Woot! and still use them today with no problems (Seagate FTW).
I'll stick to low ticket refurbs, but yes, I buy them.
Yeah, why not? The hope is that the factory has re-furbished it better than when it was brand new because they've had time to work out the kinks. Wouldn't go for a non-factory re-furb though. I'd say that if you made a habit of purchasing re-furbs, you'd end up saving more in the long even if you get a couple duds.
There are cases where 'factory refurbished' means they checked it, put it through a set of standards, and, if it meets that set, it gets a sticker. Nothing else is done. So, if it's a case of overheating or just shutting down after an hour, it won't be detected. Buy it cheap, but make sure the warranty's a good one.
All comes down to the warranty. If it's good enough (i.e., basically what you'd be getting with a new product, or close enough) then refub status usually isn't an issue for me.
The third-party refurb stuff I typically stay away from as well. I don't think I've ever seen one with a warranty that's up to my spec from a company trustworthy enough to know you're going to get a professionally refurbished product with appropriate parts.
I've pruchased about a dozen refurb'd items and had zero problems. All were Factory-refurbrished" or "remanufactured" items and came with some form of warranty, generally 90-180 days, and in a few cases, the same warranty as a new item.
I love refurbs. Generally undetectable differences to new products at much lower prices. I do tend to try to avoid refurbs of things people use with their bodies a lot, but even then I'll buy a refurbished mouse or gamepad - as long as it's clean. Probably not headphones or something like that though.
I bought a Shark vacum refurb~and have had no problems at all.
I bought an Ipod speaker system for a Christmas gift. To be honest, I was surprised when it arrived. The item looked new, and was in the original packaging. I would do it again if the price was good.
Yes, my computer is a refurb.
That said, Squaretrade's warranty offerings for refurbs are more expensive and for a shorter period of time than offered for new which is a bit aggravating.
I buy refurbs pretty regularly and usually I don't have a complaint about them vs new.
Yes, I've got lots of refurbs. Only one comes to mind that didn't work and I didn't get it through Woot!
I have had great luck with refurbs. They were all factory ones I believe but I've purchased at least 15 refurbs from woot and not a one has given me a problem.
My friend got her 1st try at refurb (laptop) through Tiger Direct and it had to go back. She's sworn them off for good.
I've bought a number of refurbs via woot. Fingers crossed, no problems so far!
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