Should I buy refurbished?

[Just a bit outside]

Should I be buying refurbished electronics?   I need a new tv and as my kids are becoming teenagers I am getting many requests for tablets, phones, and laptops.  The refurbished price is obviously lower on these products but there has to be a tradeoff.  Could those of you with more knowledge please explain the pros and cons of buying refurbished electronics?  Also, are there some telltale signs to stay away from refurbished products?
 
Thanks.
 
If this should be moved to TBLtS please move.

 

[derekson]

It largely depends on who is doing the refurbishing and what kind of warranty they attach to it. Many attach only a cursory warranty.
 
Apple does a great job (I've never bought a refurbished product from them but I've gotten "white box replacements" that are refurbished and they've always been top notch. My sister bought a refurb MBP last year and it's been great) and offers the same warranty as new products (including the ability to buy AppleCare extended warranties). I've heard Microsoft does a similarly good job.
 
Generally I'm more confident about refurbished products handled by the original manufacturer rather than third parties.

 

[bohous]

To expand on what derekson said, look for "manufacturer refurbished". Sometimes if you are looking on eBay or 3rd party sellers on Amazon, Newegg etc. they will state "seller refurbished" and can be a crap shoot. Also check warranty. Apple refurbs come with standard 1yr warranty but most of the time I would say 90 days is standard. I have a 5 year old MBP I purchased as a refurb and have never had a problem. I use it daily.
 
edit to add that I have also had good luck with openbox electronics from places like BestBuy. 

 

[jayhoz]

It also depends on the product category.  I've bought refurb Rokus, Harmony Remotes, and tablets without hesitation.  I would be a little more hesitant on a TV since it could have been a floor model and I would never buy a refurb HDD.

 

[JGray38]

Working for smaller companies meant buying equipment on the cheap, so I've bought a ton of refurb. Manufacturer is generally better, though I find you see that in the cosmetics- they are generally cleaner and shiner than 3rd party. I've bought a laptop and a tower through Dell over the years that held up as if new, and recently got my 12 year old a laptop through HP that has been great.  I bought a bunch of 3rd party refurb Lenovos through Rakuten last year for work. Total crapshoot.  4 were perfectly fine- though couple were a bit dirty. One had a fan go bad right away, though I was able to fix it easily enough. The last one looked like it had a can of soda dumped on it, and when the fans kicked in it shot cat hair all over the place. It never seemed to run out of cat hair either- it was still coming out weeks later. So- it can be risky, but you can get some good deals- the cat hair Lenovo T420s cost something like $200.

 

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

FYI:  I've read that if a new product is taken out of the box or modified (even for the better, say a newer OS or bios, or to replace a known possibly defective part), the item cant be sold as new, and is often listed as refurbished.  IIRC Vizio had a known issue with a specific component on a particular model of their TVs a few years back, so they cracked the cases on the already assembled TVs, replaced the bad part with good, and had to sell them all off as refurbs, even tho they never even made it out of the warehouse and didnt have a single viewing minute on them.
 
As other have pointed out:  really depends on the category of the item, who did the refurb, what the refurb is for.  A TV would scare me UNLESS it was to replace a known defect, as per above.  It the item ever made it out of the store or out of the box, I'd be concerned. 
 
EDIT:  or keep an eye on the Amazon Warehouse.  Usually VG or better on electronics is like new, and when they want to clear out product, the prices are great.  The phones I've gotten from them have been pristine.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

For a personal purchase of an Apple product I always do refurb. In 10 years or so i've been doing it never had a problem. The devices are as good as new, if not even better since someone has inspected it and usually at a significant discount.

 

[Was (Not Wasdin)]

For a personal purchase of an Apple product I always do refurb. In 10 years or so i've been doing it never had a problem. The devices are as good as new, if not even better since someone has inspected it and usually at a significant discount.

 
 
Same here.  I have not purchased anything "new" from apple in years (other than phones), and have never had a problem.  Ipads are required at my kids' high school, and the refurbs have held up fine, from both a technology and durability standpoint.  

 

[Couperin47]

Lenovo refurbs of anything from their own site (even those listed as 'scratch & dent') show up with the same full warranty and features as their brand new equipment and look pristine.  The site also often has dumps of brand new 'overstock'. There is zero downside to purchasing here:
 
http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/
 
Lenovo dumps their stuff that can't be made to look this good to others.  Rakuten refurbs of Lenovo come from several sources, often have at least 6 month warranties and can be very good bargains. Newegg refurbs of Lenovo also represent several sources, usually with only 90 day warranties and can be very rough, generally to be avoided unless you're into long-shot gambling.

 

[Omar's Wacky Neighbor]

For a while there, I had good luck with Lenovo Outlet, mostly laptops.  Then I got a few lemons (one PC booted to the desktop out of the box, then immediately shut off and died forever; the other was an AIO touch screen that wasnt really a touch screen, but that's more a mis-labeling than a broken product), but they took both back NP.  Last two PCs I got from them were near mint and super cheap for what was inside.

 

[Alcohol&Overcalls]

For a while there, I had good luck with Lenovo Outlet, mostly laptops.  Then I got a few lemons (one PC booted to the desktop out of the box, then immediately shut off and died forever; the other was an AIO touch screen that wasnt really a touch screen, but that's more a mis-labeling than a broken product), but they took both back NP.  Last two PCs I got from them were near mint and super cheap for what was inside.

 
Yeah, my Lenovo Outlet purchases have been rock-solid, and those who have had bad experiences got great customer service.

 

[Nick Kaufman]

If it's apple, buy refurbished no hesitation. The casing is new and the battery is new, most parts are new in fact and the ones are used are ones that are used like the mobo shouldn't make a difference.

 

[locknload]

 
Yeah, my Lenovo Outlet purchases have been rock-solid, and those who have had bad experiences got great customer service.

 
 
I've bought about 10 machines from Lenovo Outlet.  I only had a problem with 1 with the other 9 being totally solid.  There was minimal amount of effort getting that 1 resolved.  When it was all added up I save a ton of money going this way.

 

[Just a bit outside]

Thanks all.  Sounds like I can be very comfortable with Apple and Lenovo but should stay away from TV's or third party goods.

 

[EricFeczko]

Thanks all.  Sounds like I can be very comfortable with Apple and Lenovo but should stay away from TV's or third party goods.

Pretty much. The best part is that Lenovos tend to be difficult to break. I've thrown my Yoga against concrete walls and it still works perfectly.

I wouldn't recommend trying it though...