You can save a lot of money if you overcome the stigma of buying refurbished product. As you may know, refurbished products were returned to the manufacturer usually because they had some defect, were repaired and are now being sold by a fraction of the price. Well, guess what, some of this products were never defective to begin with, they were simply returned for various reasons, so it is like buying used but with the added bonus that refurbished products are thoroughly tested before they are put on the shelves again. I've been buying refurbished for a long time and I have no regrets, all my products worked great out of the box and you are able to get some amazing deals, plus the re sale value is almost the same if you eventually decide to get rid of your device.
I'm glad that you have a good experience with refurbished computer products. We never patronize refurbished computer equipment and devices even if the price is very cheap because the fact that it is refurbished means it had a defect in its life. And if it did then it can happen again. We have been following the standards in our office that only brand new computer and devices are worth to buy no matter if expensive. That would save you from the trouble of having your unit repaired.
I am not a fan of buying refurbished items. Refurbished items come with defects, thus, even though it costs less when you buy it, later you will have to spend a lot of money fixing it. Having said that I sometimes buy refurbished items when I don't have budget to buy a new item.
I was a bit skeptic at first in terms of buying refurbished items, particularly computers. But then there was a time that I need a computer because of work and ran out of budget so I tried to buy a refurbished computer. Fortunately, I didn't regret it because it was good actually and it costs cheaper than buying ones at the mall. Yes there are some refurbished items that might be defective and later on you'll spend more money than what you've actually saved just to fix it. However, there are also good ones which is a great deal so I guess it's just a matter of getting a good deal like warranties and stuffs before purchasing refurbished items.
I much prefer buying refurbished when I can get it from a trusted source, such as Amazon. Most items that are manufactured do not go through a thorough testing process, and that is why many of them are returned as defective. However, when they are refurbished, then every little thing in them is checked, not just the defective part, and any other problems that might become defects later can be fixed right then. Plus the price is just so much cheaper, you can have extra money to buy other things that you need or want when you are getting something at less than half price, and with the same warranty as a new one. We bought a coffee maker that sold for $60 new on Amazon, and they had the refurbished one for about $25, and it works just as good as a new one. We have had it over 2 years now, and no problems. So, yes, refurbished is awesome ! !
I think that a lot of people are sceptical about buying refurbished devices as they see the word refurbished and think used or second hand. As the OP says though, a lot of the time the devices are in perfect working order and have just been sent back because the original customer didn't want the product and so sent it back. The device can't then be sold as brand new again so will come under the refurbished banner. Any item these days that I think about buying, I nearly always check to see if there is a refurbished option available instead, and I've even found that with a lot of sites, even though they might not advertise the refurbished items, if you ask then they will be more than happy to send you some of that stock instead.
I just bought a used/refurbished Jawbone UP24 fitness tracker, and saved a bunch of money. I had wanted one of these fitness trackers for over a year now, but they just cost more than I could afford, and I couldn't get one. Then, Jawbone came out with a newer model, which lowered the price for the older models, and when I found one that had been returned, it was only about $17 instead of around the $100+ that they were originally. It works perfectly, and is just exactly what i wanted it to be. I think that probably someone had opened it and it didn't fit right, or they didn't like the color, and they sent it back. That meant that the tracker could not be sold as a new one, since Amazon didn't know what had happened to it with the first owner, so the checked everything out, and sold it as used/refurbished.
Maybe I'm being a bit naive but most companies that sell refurbished goods are going to make sure that they work just as well as the brand new items. While the word 'refurbished' at the front of a product does put people off, If we bought those products we'd find that they are just as good as the brand new ones as that seller will want to keep a good reputation. In the past I've also been able to save a lot of money by buying goods that are un-boxed or come without instruction manuals as well, so that's something else we can look out for. Just because a box or the packaging is damaged, doesn't automatically mean that the product inside it is also damaged we need to remember.
I never bought any refurbished products till now. I am a little bit skeptical about product quality and performance. When it comes to electronic gadgets and machines it would be a big NO for me. Electronic goods are quite unpredictable and if it is refurbished that means there are some, may be minor, defects in it. But I am OK to buy things like furniture, books etc. if it comes with a very good deal and from a reliable source.
I imagine that we are all thinking the same when it comes to buying refurbished goods, are they actually going to be any good! While they are obviously going to be a lot cheaper, if they aren't going to last us as long as new items then we have to look at just how much we're spending on them as it could be false economy. There's no point in buying something that is only going to last a couple of month, no matter how much we're saving!
