David Pogue on Refurbished Computers

[bhurley]

Great informative video here from David Pogue of the New York Times explaining how buying refurbished computers and other electronics is a good idea:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=835562809&play=1

Bottom line: contrary to popular opinion, refurbished does NOT mean "used." These are new items that were returned either unopened or unused; they have the same warrantees. You can save big bucks in many cases, especially on smaller items such as iPods.

Other important tip: buy these directly from the manufacturer (such as the Lenovo website), that way you're sure you're really buying refurbished and not used.

[basketb]

I think this guy put too much information in that 3 minutes clip and thereby oversimplifies many things.
Case in point, saying "refurbished does not mean used". Here's what it says on Lenovo's own outlet (emphasis added by me):

Refurbished Outlet notebooks meet the following criteria:
Notebook was returned with the factory seal broken.
Customer may or may not have turned on notebook.
Customer may have used notebook.

Also, saying refurbished items come with the same warranty as new ones is not (always) true. Since he mentioned sonystyle.com, here's a quote from their outlet (again, emphasis added by me):

What kind of warranty do I get?

Factory-Certified Refurbished Products come with a 90-day limited warranty covering parts and labor.

Whereas new products usually come with a 1 year warranty.

Having said this, it is my personal opinion that buying refurbished makes sense sometimes but the buyer needs to be aware of the risks (even when buying from the manufacturer directly).

[ajkula66]

Oh please...buy a "refurbished" unit on eBay and then let's talk about the word not meaning "used"...

Term "refurbished" is one of the most widely abused terms around...because different people ascribe different meanings to it. Lenovo is at least being honest with their definition...

[bhurley]

Oh please...buy a "refurbished" unit on eBay and then let's talk about the word not meaning "used"...

That's why I wrote in my original post that you should buy refurbished products only from the manufacturer not from third parties.

But in fact basketb is right, and refurbished can in some cases mean used. Lenovo makes a distinction between "closed box" products and "refurbished" products, whereas others don't. The "closed box" products are those that are returned unopened or the order never shipped.

I still think buying refurbished from the manufacturer is a good deal, since they are tested to original factory specs and come with a limiited warranty. Sure there's a risk, but for the money you save it may be worth taking.