Is it safe to buy refurbished equipment? (Topic)

New gadgets from well-known manufacturers are expensive, and not everyone can afford them. But if in spite of everything you want to be the owner of branded goods, sellers of refurbished products will come to your aid. The article will tell you about what a remanufactured vehicle is and what you need to pay attention to when buying it.

Buying refurbished equipment is an opportunity to purchase a good quality product at a reduced price. Of course, skeptics will tell you that “new” and “like new” are not the same thing, and in most cases they will be right.

However, many remanufactured gadgets were not really used, so they can be called practically new. As explained by Kyle Vince, CEO of iFixit Repair Service, before they go back on sale, remanufactured equipment is checked by specialists as thoroughly as new ones, just off the conveyor belt. Refurbished items include not only cheap, popular gadgets, but also luxury appliances such as the MacBook Pro, Bose QC35 wireless headphones and the latest 4K TVs. But despite rigorous checks and guarantees, the issue of purchasing refurbished electronics must be approached with special attention.

Opened and Recovered - What's the Difference?

Both terms mean that the item was purchased but returned to the store for some reason. The opened product (open-box), most likely, has been switched on 1-2 times and is in excellent condition. The return to the store could have happened because the buyer was not satisfied with his characteristics. The reconditioned product was returned to the manufacturer due to a detected defect, was examined, repaired and received a quality certificate. There may be traces of use by the previous owner on its case and display, but otherwise it should work no worse than the new one. The seller must indicate all cosmetic defects in the product description.

Buy from reputable sellers

The more credible a company is, the more likely it is to get quality refurbished electronics. In other words, the product will be properly tested and the manufacturer will give a warranty on it. On the websites of Apple, Dell, HP, Amazon and Nikon, in the shopping section, you can find a special section with refurbished goods. Large retailers can be trusted too. BestBuy is a safe option from overseas stores. The service cooperates only with reliable manufacturers and those who have a branded repair center. Finding refurbished Apple devices is best started with JemJem: a trusted online reseller that provides a 90-day warranty on all refurbished products. NewEgg is an authorized distributor of Microsoft remanufactured equipment. GameStop is a trusted seller of pre-owned consoles.

No guarantee anywhere

It will take some time to check the functionality of the device after purchasing it. If a new defect is found, the goods will have to be returned, only no one will accept it without a valid warranty card. Apple offers one year of warranty service on all refurbished products purchased from authorized retailers or Apple's website. Exactly the same term is received by new products from Cupertinians.

Other manufacturers have their own rules, but the minimum warranty for a refurbished product is 30 days. Otherwise, you will not have enough time to test the device for defects.

Read our return policy

Warranty and return are two different things. The warranty obliges the manufacturer to repair the device and return it in working order or replace it if something happens to it through no fault of the buyer during the allotted period of time. Returns are an opportunity to send the goods to the seller and get money if you made the wrong choice.

Do not contact stores and sites that do not accept returns or only do so within 1-3 days from the date of purchase. The optimal time is about two weeks.

The Topic of Article: Is it safe to buy refurbished equipment?.
Author: Jake Pinkman