I am looking to save the most money I can while not sacrificing much quality to get a replacement laptop. I have actually been researching laptops for a month now, and I am still on the fence about buying refurbished. I'm wondering if anyone here has bought a refurbished computer. Do you feel it was the same as having a new computer? Did you have a good or bad experience? And where did you purchase from? Thank you for your opinions and help!
Back when desktops were the thing and laptops weighed about 10 lbs, I used to go to a place that repaired old computers and sold refurbs and discounted software. To pay about $200 for a unit, monitor, keyboard/mouse and speakers was pretty awesome. I would probably use them today but they went out of business. My recommendation is to try a place like BestBuy or Amazon for refurbs. Or get a new ASUS (not Acer) laptop for less than $250. I've used this brand for the past few years and they don't disappoint...much.
I would only buy refurbished computers from a trusted dealer online, instead of places like Ebay or Amazon. That said in my opinion there are plenty of brand new computers selling cheaply online nowadays. iBUYPOWER offers great prices and high performance computers, and they ship to many places.
I'm not sure if this helps you at all, but one of my first PCs was a refurbished desktop, back when the practice was quite common, and I had no problems with it. That said, if you want to save money, eh, why not? I think you get warranty with refurbished stuff anyway, right? I was actually thinking about buying a refurbished Wii U..
I bought a refurbished desktop from Staples this past October and am perfectly happy with it. I get the same warranty as buying brand new - I wouldn't buy refurbished unless you get a good warranty. For $220, I got a terabyte drive, DVD burner and plenty of ports, etc. Much of the time, refurbished simply means it was returned to the store for some reason, not necessarily a good one. Once the box has been opened and the item removed, the stores can't sell it as new anymore.
The majority of these items haven't had anything done to them at all, they've just been returned for whatever reason. As they cannot be sold as new, they are checked over and repackaged. I've bought several refurbished items in the past, including a digital camera and I've never had any problems.
I had no idea that refurbished could mean nothing was possibly done to it. And I've never heard of iBUYPOWER, so I plan on checking that out too. I noticed that Woot.com sells refurbished products, and they are definitely a company I trust. Also, on Ebay, some manufacturers have accounts to sell refurbished products on there with warranties. With Ebay's guarantees, I would feel safe purchasing there. Jneanz, what is wrong with Acer? Sounds like they need to be avoided. I'm actually looking for a laptop for my boyfriend. Me, I got a new Dell last week How nice am I? lol
Refurbished means something different for each manufacturer, so you have to know what a given manufacturer does in "refurbishing" their machines and devices. For instance, Apple takes iPads, even lightly used ones, and gives them a new battery, fixes all hardware issues, and tacks on a new warranty. Other companies don't take the same steps and might do nothing at all. It depends on the manufacturer when you buy refurbished.
Good point on the procedure varying by manufacturer. It sounds like I shouldn't hesitate to buy a refurbished Apple product! I am a huge fan of Apple, so I'll keep that in mind when I go to upgrade my iPad in the near future.
Refurbished computers would depend on where you buy it. I've purchased one before and it served me actually but I got if directly from Dell so the quality was a bit to good for a refurbished one. Just be mindful where you purchase them as the quality would depend on it.
My current laptop that I've had for about 7 months now was refurbished. I was very lucky as the product had not been registered and when I called up the manufacturer they told me it was eligible for a full warranty! That is an uncommon occurrence though and honestly I would, in general, advise against going for refurbished electronics. There is a reason why the product ended up back at the manufacturer in the first place (assuming it was even delivered there and not refurbished by a store) and whatever problem landed it there might well crop up again. But if you're working with a store or online shop that offers some sort of lengthy enough extended warranty or you have friends or family who could help you fix any problems that may arise, you may want to go for it.
Wow, this is a seriously informative thread, so glad I stumbled across it! I wish I'd seen it when my MacBook packed up and I was running around like a headless chicken looking for an affordable replacement. I mean, I did end up getting one via eBay, but it would've been nice to know about all these alternatives. I suppose it'll be good information to have for future reference. Thank you all
It's not an approach that I've ever considered in the past. If it's a trusted reseller then I would certainly potentially think about it. If it's on sale online then I will pass. I just don't trust what might still be lurking behind.
I'm not totally sure I'd purchase a refurbished computer. I understand the want to have good quality without breaking your bank. But sometimes, you ended up losing even more money buying refurbished machines over and over again. But if you're going for refurbished Best Buy has a sister company online called "Cowboom". They sell refurbished things cheap and give you insurance as well as 3 year warranties on them.
I do not have any experience buying refurbished computer online. In my opinion I think I would rather buy PC in a computer store than online. Buying in pc shops gives you the assurance that your pc is free of damage plus you have the warranty card if ever there is a factory defect in your pc.
The last two laptops I have had including my current one were refurbished models that I bought online. My previous computer ran pretty well, in fact, it still runs, but it has Windows XP on it so it has its issues becuase this OS is now obsolete, which is the main reason I bought the one I currently have that has Windows 7 on it. Anyway, in buying the laptop I didn't just jump in and buy the cheapest model. I had certain things I wanted such as a higher OS then Windows XP. I also wanted a seller with a good reputation out on Amazon which was where I bought it. I looked at the seller how much selling they did out on the website, what previous customers had to say about them. If they had a whole lot of transactions along with a whole lot of postive feedback then I considered them and went with one who had a great reputation out there. This is the best advice I can give you in purchasing a refurbished laptop, know what you want in the lap top. Read the description carefully to find out if that model is giving you what you want, then find out what you can about the seller, to make sure they have a trusted reputation.
I have been told by friends who are in this kind of selling technology, and they said that refurbished doesn't mean there is thing wrong with the device, it only meant it was returned to the store, like some have mentioned above. With warranty and the option to return are also a good one to consider.
I had a bad experience doing this, even though the seller had a 99% positive rating. I purchased a refurbished laptop that said battery was guaranteed to hold charge. Maybe it did, if charged in a separate charging unit, but the connection from the power chord to the battery was loose and the battery could not be charged while I'm n the computer. Also, the chord easily fell out of the computer with only a slight touch, which shut the computer down because the battery was useless. I had to super glue the chord to keep that from happening and had no portability with this computer.
