Have you ever shopped around online and found a great price on something, only to click on it and discover that it is labeled “refurbished”? Many people avoid refurbished products due to the label, but it they can often be great deals, especially on electronics items.
Image by david roessli via Flickr
Refurbished does not always mean “rebuilt” or “repaired”. A common misconception is that faulty items are returned to the retailer by the customer, and then they are repaired and resold. This might sometimes be the case, but most companies don’t spend the time or money on expensive repairs just to resell the item at a low cost.
Sometimes a particular component of a product line has been found to be defective. When this happens, the defective part is replaced and the item is as good as new. These items can be resold because they will work perfectly well.
In other cases, an item may have slight cosmetic damage that does not affect the way it works. If the item is not in “mint” condition, retailers label it refurbished and resell it. Usually, most refurbished items have simply been opened. Many are customer returns or even display models that have hardly been used. Because they are no longer “new”, they are labeled refurbished even though no repairs are necessary.
Always check the return policy or warranty before purchasing: the deep discount may restrict returns. Never spend more than you feel comfortable with if you are not confident that you can repair an item yourself, or if you feel you may need to return it for any reason.
