What exactly is a refurbished iPod?

satchmosatchmo
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
It's now available for $299 at various places.

How is it different from a brand new one?



Is it just one that was returned or was there something defective and was repaired?

Or is it demos from various Apple shows?



Very tempting, but I'll still wait till after MWNY to see if Apple drops it's prices.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    tacojohntacojohn Posts: 980member
    I just got a refurb iPod and I must say- I can't really tell the difference between my refurb and my friends new 10 gig- his box has a different person on the outside- but thats all- everything was just like when you buy it new- I ordered it from apple's special deals section and I am very happy- listening to it right now in fact....



    I love my little iPod.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    jet powersjet powers Posts: 288member
    [quote]Originally posted by satchmo:

    <strong>It's now available for $299 at various places.

    How is it different from a brand new one?



    Is it just one that was returned or was there something defective and was repaired?

    Or is it demos from various Apple shows?



    Very tempting, but I'll still wait till after MWNY to see if Apple drops it's prices.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Probably any or all of the above.



    Jet
  • Reply 3 of 5
    serranoserrano Posts: 1,806member
    usually if something was repaired it is listed as 'used', really though refurbished could apply to anything not new in box.
  • Reply 4 of 5
    maskermasker Posts: 451member
    My buddy at Ingram Micro says "usually it's a single component repair.. i.e. the iPod's had some screens with "colors" showing in some of the LCD's.



    The screens were replaced, and voila--refurb.. Also, sometimes people muckup either firmware or hard drives within warranty periods and a little HD wipe and a firmware reset and you have a refurb.



    Refurbed = SOld, repaired and factory tested.



    Used = Sold and as is.



    MSKR
  • Reply 5 of 5
    cyko95cyko95 Posts: 391member
    I used to work retail for quite some time, and a lot of the refurbished items we resold were due to someone coming in an buying an item and then returning it due to not wanting it anymore or realizing they couldn't afford it. To get the store to refund the item, they would say that something didn't work on it and they wanted their money back. That in turn means that the store cannot resell the item as "new" but has to send it back to the manufacturer for either a credit, which would be where a lot of manufacturer refurbs come in, or it would be sent back to the chain that sent it in for repair at a cheaper price and then they would sell it as a "hot item", "refurb", or whatever. The kicker is when a refurb item goes to "repair", if the defect cannot be found they just start replacing parts. Then they monitor the performance to make sure the "problem" is still gone. Most brand new items don't even get that attention. But this isn't the case for ALL refurbs of course.
Sign In or Register to comment.