Any disadvantages to buying Apple refurbished?
Are there any disadvantages to buying Apple refurbished computers? I intend to purchase a MBP C2D 2.33 GHz as soon as I am able, and at this point the savings of $300 is a compelling enough reason for me to purchase it from the refurbished Apple store.
The only disadvantage I've noticed is that I can't configure it. While I'd like the 160 GB hard drive, I will settle for the 120 GB for now, since that's standard issue on the refurbs. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing ($500 extra is a bit much for an extra 1 GB of RAM - even when I doubled my PC jr. RAM from 128k to 256k in 1984, it was only $250.)
Other than the non-configurability, are the computers clean, pristine, etc.? Do they give the appearance of having never been touched by human hands? It appears that they're boxed as if they're new; I appreciate that.
Reliability? Dependability? I assume it's equal to their new machines; otherwise, they wouldn't sell AppleCare plans for them (and I do intend to get one, of course.)
Other thoughts?
The only disadvantage I've noticed is that I can't configure it. While I'd like the 160 GB hard drive, I will settle for the 120 GB for now, since that's standard issue on the refurbs. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing ($500 extra is a bit much for an extra 1 GB of RAM - even when I doubled my PC jr. RAM from 128k to 256k in 1984, it was only $250.)
Other than the non-configurability, are the computers clean, pristine, etc.? Do they give the appearance of having never been touched by human hands? It appears that they're boxed as if they're new; I appreciate that.
Reliability? Dependability? I assume it's equal to their new machines; otherwise, they wouldn't sell AppleCare plans for them (and I do intend to get one, of course.)
Other thoughts?
Comments
They come in a plain brown box, is the only thing different - you don't get to admire the beautiful Apple external packaging (but the inside packaging is the same).
I know three people who have ordered a 15" MBP. One arrived with the stock HD and 2 Gig of RAM, the second had the stock RAM and a larger HD and the third was plain stock.
I've yet to see an Apple refurb item that didn't look absolutely brand-new and in the future it will be the route I take when upgrading my MBP.
Am I right in saying that there can be some cosmetic damage?
very doubtful, i'd return it if it did. i'm pretty sure they fix all cases, they aren't sending out a flawed item.
very doubtful, i'd return it if it did. i'm pretty sure they fix all cases, they aren't sending out a flawed item.
Looks like you wouldn't be able to return it...
10.2 The terms and conditions of the warranty provided in the hyperlink below or in your Apple Hardware box do not apply to minor cosmetic imperfections of the Refurbished Product such as scratches, marks, discolouration, etc., and no support is granted with regard to such cosmetic imperfection.
Looks like you wouldn't be able to return it...
10.2 The terms and conditions of the warranty provided in the hyperlink below or in your Apple Hardware box do not apply to minor cosmetic imperfections of the Refurbished Product such as scratches, marks, discolouration, etc., and no support is granted with regard to such cosmetic imperfection.
that's warranty service, you can still return it. might have a restocking fee.
i've yet to see a refurb with visible scratching/damage.
Am I right in saying that there can be some cosmetic damage?
As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I haven't seen a refurb item that didn't look brand new.
Looks like you wouldn't be able to return it...
10.2 The terms and conditions of the warranty provided in the hyperlink below or in your Apple Hardware box do not apply to minor cosmetic imperfections of the Refurbished Product such as scratches, marks, discolouration, etc., and no support is granted with regard to such cosmetic imperfection.
Heck, I bought my Powerbook-800 brand new knowing full well that all the paint was going to chip off the front - and it has, but the computer still works flawlessly. If I was concerned about what other people thought, I probably would have bought a Dell. A cosmetic flaw is not a concern of mine.
I'm sure Apple does its very best to correct any and all imperfections, but if one slips through, I doubt if you'll hear me complain about it. I'm buying a computer to use, not look at.
But Macs are so darned pretty, aren't they?
Are there any disadvantages to buying Apple refurbished computers?
Hello,
Many people have had good experiences with refurbs. But, mine wasn't so great. It was an iMac G5 20-inch 2.0 GHz.
It arrived with a beat-up mouse (lots of marks and blemishes).
The front of the computer had a chip in it (about a quarter-inch in size). A chunk of plastic was actually missing. It was a pretty decent chip.
The computer's LCD screen had several heavy marks in it that required some effort to remove.
The cords were dirty like they been rubbed against something brown and paint or grease like.
The center ring on the foot (for the power cable to go through) was very dirty (required heavy scrubbing to remove the grime).
The mouse button stuck and wouldn't work frequently.
The Ethernet port didn't work when I turned it on for the first time. So, within the hour it was in the shop and a new logic-board was on order.
They got it back to me the following week with a replacement logic-board / main-board installed.
After a considerable amount of arguing, and being told that cosmetic damage (even if it was on the machine when it came out of the box) wasn't covered under warranty, the local service center finally ordered the replacement front bezel. About a month later that was installed for me. The only saving factor there was that it was in the shop right after coming out of the box, so the dealer knew I didn't have time to break it. But, it took a lot of arguing with Apple and the dealer to get it replaced. Their standard line was that cosmetic issues are not covered under warranty (even if it arrived with said cosmetic issue).
Then, I got the mouse replaced about two weeks after that.
Then, the LCD screen started developing dark spots and had lines going across it.
I got rid of it shortly after that.
In the end, I'd probably still buy a refurb again.
Why? Well... It saved me about $600 from the cost of the new machine at the time, and sadly that experience was better than my experience with a brand-new iMac G5 that I had purchased previously.
If the refurb saves you a reasonable amount of money, then I'd say go for it.
I hope this helps.
Are there any disadvantages to buying Apple refurbished computers? I intend to purchase a MBP C2D 2.33 GHz as soon as I am able, and at this point the savings of $300 is a compelling enough reason for me to purchase it from the refurbished Apple store.
The only disadvantage I've noticed is that I can't configure it. While I'd like the 160 GB hard drive, I will settle for the 120 GB for now, since that's standard issue on the refurbs. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing ($500 extra is a bit much for an extra 1 GB of RAM - even when I doubled my PC jr. RAM from 128k to 256k in 1984, it was only $250.)
Other than the non-configurability, are the computers clean, pristine, etc.? Do they give the appearance of having never been touched by human hands? It appears that they're boxed as if they're new; I appreciate that.
Reliability? Dependability? I assume it's equal to their new machines; otherwise, they wouldn't sell AppleCare plans for them (and I do intend to get one, of course.)
Other thoughts?
Three drawbacks: It comes in a regular brown cardboard box, not the super awesome shiny retail box, and two, sometimes they miss something. There is a very small dent just above the latch release on my MBP. Very hard to see. I can just take it in to the university computer shop though and they'll fix it for me. So no problem there. Anything bigger than that would have been caught I think.
The third drawback is that you don't get the overwhelming sense of Buyer's Remorse when they release a new model at the end of January/beginning of February.
I went with a Core Duo, due to my personal experience which has taught me never to have a laptop as my primary machine. They aren't expandable. So I got a 15"MBP for 1349, tons of software and hardware peripherals, and when the summer comes around and I have more time to fiddle with it, I'll pick up an 8 core Mac Pro. Tower for Power, Laptop for... um.. damn... can't think of a rhyme... You get the point. I'd recommend keeping the laptop as a satellite to your other machines, and keeping from blowing your wad on the hardware alone, unless you really NEED a machine that is up to the minute. Up to the minute today will be six months old in six months.
you don't get to be the first one that jizzed on it.
WTF. Funny but true. Ewww....
Are there any disadvantages to buying Apple refurbished computers? I intend to purchase a MBP C2D 2.33 GHz as soon as I am able, and at this point the savings of $300 is a compelling enough reason for me to purchase it from the refurbished Apple store.
The only disadvantage I've noticed is that I can't configure it. While I'd like the 160 GB hard drive, I will settle for the 120 GB for now, since that's standard issue on the refurbs. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing ($500 extra is a bit much for an extra 1 GB of RAM - even when I doubled my PC jr. RAM from 128k to 256k in 1984, it was only $250.)
Other than the non-configurability, are the computers clean, pristine, etc.? Do they give the appearance of having never been touched by human hands? It appears that they're boxed as if they're new; I appreciate that.
Reliability? Dependability? I assume it's equal to their new machines; otherwise, they wouldn't sell AppleCare plans for them (and I do intend to get one, of course.)
Other thoughts?
Here in the Southern Hemisphere I was eyeing some refurbs, there were some good iMac deals coming through. Due to my obsession with dead pixels though, I decided to go eBay with a MacBook Core[1]Duo in my city metro area. Now, the guy had promised no dead pixels, but I could upon pickup see 1 dead pixel and two small white spots. At that point I could have called off the deal because in eBay response he had confirmed no dead pixels.
If I had bought a refurb Mac and was unhappy with the conditions, Apple Australia hits you with a nice 15% restocking fee upon refund and you have to pay about $20-30(?) for shipping the box back to them.
So those were my fears with the refurb deal. In the end, speaking to the guy that was selling the MacBook on eBay, I decided to let the dead pixel go since it was really quite hard to see unless you've done web/ graphic design/ pixel-pushing and you spot all these things. The price was good, he had 2gb RAM in the machine, and he had changed the palmrest (discoloration issue admitted by Apple) and the battery had only 66 cycles used so far (the battery was changed for some reason).
The guy used to work for AppleAustralia HQ and is now working for an Apple reseller. He was a bit lackadaisical about things but he was kinda a tech guy not a obsessive enthusiast/ perfectionist designer type Mac person.
No major cosmetic issues (since I am very used to the iBook surface now...) ... And soon (hopefully) perhaps towards the end of next week AppleCare will replace my LCD, the engineer said he would do it upon me pointing out the dead pixel and two white spots... (!!)
The only thing is the fan noise, but after running the "yes>/dev/null"* test on the black MacBookCore2Duo at my local mall, the MacBooks do have a slight hum at 5% to 30% CPU usage, and a bit louder on 50%-65% on Rosetta or Parallels use or both, for a small hot dualcore notebook that's the way it is. The upper surface of the MacBook is generally not too hot. I got some cool feet** and it does well. At 80%+ both cores loaded the fan spins up to desktop-level fan noise, but meh, that's if I was doing a hard run of h.264 or xvid encoding.
* http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/maco...ycpu/index.php
** http://www.cableyoyo.com/coolfeethome.html
Ok, so does anyone know if the refurbs will come with 10.5 when it launches? I noticed all the hardware on there now comes w/ 10.4, but I guess they all shipped that way. The older models only include iLife '05, so my odds aren't looking good.
I was thinking of waiting till Leopard comes out to get a new laptop (refurb probably) but just realized I might be waiting for nothing...
Thought I'll hijack this post rather than start a new one...
Ok, so does anyone know if the refurbs will come with 10.5 when it launches? I noticed all the hardware on there now comes w/ 10.4, but I guess they all shipped that way. The older models only include iLife '05, so my odds aren't looking good.
I was thinking of waiting till Leopard comes out to get a new laptop (refurb probably) but just realized I might be waiting for nothing...
You would have to wait to get a refurb that originally shipped with 10.5
You would have to wait to get a refurb that originally shipped with 10.5
Knowing that many of these units are the units used at MacExpo (and other tradeshows) by the Apple booths and other vendors they let use them at these shows, and in Apple stores? I and many of the members of our users group have purchased these - ALL trouble free
Like the man once said "Everyone drives a used car" - why buy new, when used will do!
Skip