[Budley007]

I was reading in another thread about refurbished replacements for defective "new" electronics. Within the vast realm of my experience with warrantees, I've never had to return a unit that was a refurbushed replacement, nor have I ever had a problem with a purchased refurb. Conversely, I HAVE had to exchange a few "new" units via Best Buy or Circuit City, (bad lot?). It's been the same with photography equipment as well.

It would be natural to expect a brand new replacement for something so recently purchased, but I've come to the conclusion that provided the cosmetics are mint/near-mint, I've been inclined to look on refurbishments with a favorable eye. I've also spent literally thousands of dollars purchasing refurbishments and "seconds" in the past with excellent results.

Is it the general concensus with you folks here at Head-Fi that refurbishments as a rule are something to be endorsed or avoided?

 

[Audiofiler]

I buy refurbs occasionally, depends on the product..

 

[Audiofiler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Budley007 I was reading in another thread about refurbished replacements for defective "new" electronics. Within the vast realm of my experience with warrantees, I've never had to return a unit that was a refurbushed replacement, nor have I ever had a problem with a purchased refurb. Conversely, I HAVE had to exchange a few "new" units via Best Buy or Circuit City, (bad lot?). It's been the same with photography equipment as well. It would be natural to expect a brand new replacement for something so recently purchased, but I've come to the conclusion that provided the cosmetics are mint/near-mint, I've been inclined to look on refurbishments with a favorable eye. I've also spent literally thousands of dollars purchasing refurbishments and "seconds" in the past with excellent results. Is it the general concensus with you folks here at Head-Fi that refurbishments as a rule are something to be endorsed or avoided?

It sounds like you answer your own question

Refurbs sometimes carry the same warranty as new products, sometimes not..
A lot of times there can be small imperfections either cosmetically or internally, or bear a defect that is unknown, or not covered in the engineering design. There is always a risk in purchasing new gear from the factory too, so is a chance both ways. It comes down to if you are happy with the price you pay, and the product that you get I guess..

 

[NiceCans]

For me it depends on the type of item. Some items I really want new, while others it makes little difference other than value and service life where the refurb often has the uppee-hand.

I have had great luck with refurbs myself: Rio Karma, Samsung laser printer, heck I've even gone for a refurbished hard drive because the 'price was right' (and it was only for portable use, not critical storage).

You can look at it like this: the refurbs have already been tested-in-use, have revealed their 'weakest link', and it has already been replaced. The odds of additional failure may now be lower than for a brand-new item which has not gone through as thorough of a 'testing' regimen. In some cases you may even be lucky enough to find that the component part which caused your failure has been a common fault and you may receive a component which has been upgraded since original manufacture.

 

[nabwong]

My IBM T40 was supposedly refurb. Has lasted me 3 years so far. Not a scratch on it when i got it. It depends on your luck i guess.

 

[cmirza]

Refurbs are very relative. The refurbished iPods i've bought (3 so far) have all been identical to new iPods. Some refurbished Dell Latitude laptops i've bought off ebay were obviously used and looked as though little had been done to them (weren't even very clean).

 

[DobsOnly]

I've had good luck with refurbs. Often thats what I shop for. Great price's and normally get a decent warranty if not full manufacturer warranty. Yamaha Amp 5 years, HD600's, Karma, Olympus Camera etc......

 

[Meyvn]

My rule for refurbished is: generally good, but I would try to avoid refurbs with the original batteries, as I want the full life out of my products in that respect. Unless the savings is so significant I could afford a new battery and still save enough money.