Refurbished gear: Good or bad?
(Credit:
Apple)
From time to time I'll post deals on refurbished/recertified items, which are sold at a discount because they didn't meet a manufacturer's quality standards or were returned (for one reason or another) and can't be sold as new. What do you think of these deals? Have you had good luck buying refurb gear, or did you end up regretting it? I'd love to hear your stories--and so would your fellow Cheapskate readers.
I'll kick things off with one of my own. Last year, Mrs. Cheapskate needed an LCD TV with a built-in DVD player. I found a great deal on a 20-inch refurbished model. When it arrived, however, we discovered that the stand had broken clean off the base of the TV as a result of shockingly poor packaging. To the vendor's credit, they picked up the busted set and shipped a replacement with a minimum of fuss.
The replacement's packaging was equally atrocious (seriously, the TV was wrapped in a single layer of bubble wrap inside the box, nothing more), but it appeared to be intact. Most importantly, it worked.
In fact, it worked for 15 days, at which point the built-in DVD player refused to play any more DVDs (leaving my poor wife scrambling during a business presentation). And, naturally, the vendor's return policy for refurbished items expired after--you guessed it--14 days. I thought they'd cut me a break, but no, they sent me to the manufacturer for repairs (bad vendor, bad!).
Yeah, I made a few mistakes along the way (the big one: buying a TV with a built-in DVD player. Those things always break), but it's the only bad experience I've had with refurb gear. How about you? Hit the comments page and share your own tales of woe (or satisfaction).
Rick Broida, a technology writer for nearly 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he oversees BNET's Business Hacks. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers. Follow Rick on Twitter at cheapskateblog. 
http://www.buy.com/prod/sandisk-sansa-e250-2gb-mp3-player-fm-tuner-fm-on-the-fly-recording/q/loc/111/205562657.html
It was only $39.99 with FREE shipping. Sounded like a good deal. I was also able to get a 1gb microSD for it for $8.95 from Buy.com as well as a leather case for it for $11.81.
Total came to about $60. Not bad for a 3gb mp3 / video player with a case. I bought it yesterday and it already shipped, just waiting for it to arrive now. What do you think Mr. Cheapskate?
I have bought several refurb gear over the years (chop saws, nail guns, vcr ...), and as long as you stick with a well respected brand name i think you should be ok. I would not be suprised to find out that some manufactures actually sell perfectly good equipment as refurb. even when it is not just to keep their certified retailers happy and to make sure that they dont dilute their brand. In addition it allows the reseller to act as a simple warehouse by refusing to handle any "DOA" issues. i.e. Buy.com [I dont mind trying to save, and have bought into taking some risk along the way, who knows if it actually save significant money in the long run, but i like working the system to find a way to get my way if i do eventually get a lemon product.
But my experience with brick and mortar has been miserable. I buy new in the box, even if it is a great discount. Too many people return crap and the stores resell it. It is a cheap disposable item, I will risk it but not for large items
I got the notebook for about 35% less than its original price and the TV - a 2004 model - was less than 50% of the 2005 model! (The current year's model - which had the additional feature of a headphone jack on the front of the TV - was then $3200)
Bought a refurb LCD a while ago and it was wayyyy too dim. Sent it back. Bought a refurb Gallo speaker set - omg the suckage - had to replace em with some brand new Klipsch ones.
If I have to time to spend and if the refurb has a reasonable return/money back policy, I may go that route again. Heck, even with brand new items, I don't buy anything on the web unless it has a reasonable return/exchange/money back policy.
I had excellent luck in the nineties with a refurbished Hewlett Packard Pavilion. (Back in 1996, people actually spelled out "Hewlett Packard" instead of "HP," which to us old timer geeks could lead to confusion with "hit points.") It survived with upgrades for three years as my main computer and another five as my mother's. Most computers bought brand new haven't had the same track record.
But, I would not recoomend refurbished OEM parts. I built a computer with a "may have been refurbished" OEM motherboard, and it had compatibility problems with four different brands of memory, including Corsair. Note that a lot of the memory was itself OEM, so I first blamed the memory, until premium, well-respected non-OEM RAM had problems, too. Granted, this was in the days of Windows 98, which didn't help matters. But, around 2002 or so, my computer was having major problems all the time.
I'll consider refurbished hardware from reputable brands, but I'll avoid OEM parts like the plague. It's the difference between a "Certified pre-owned Lexus" and a used car.
The printers were two Samsung lasers. One was for me and one for an organization I belong to. Both have worked fine for over a year. I am still using the original toner cartridge in mine. It was supposed to be a starter cartridge. I am still using it almost two years later.
I would not buy a refurbished hard drive, LCD, or plasma display, though. Or an electric toothbrush ;)
I've only bought refurbs directly from the company, however, never from a retailer.
I guess refurb products depend on who buys what and when. Some work out, and some unfortunately don't.
I guess refurb products depend on who buys what and when. Some work out, and some unfortunately don't.
I have purchased 2 HP refurb computers from COSTCO.com and have no trouble with either one. The first purchase is over 2 years old and the other HP is just over a year old.
Both were excellent deals with lots of "bells and whistles" for the money!
On a brighter note, that cheapo set that quit? Costco took it back for a full refund.
- by mitygrog October 13, 2009 9:42 PM PDT
- I purchased a refurbed Sanyo 20" TV with digital tuner from Ubid.com a while back and had it shipped direct to a friend as a gift. The set plays well and no problems with shipping. Total price with shipping charge was $98 if I'm remember correctly.
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