PSA: Don't buy refurbished items.

[Arcadio]

Every time you buy a refurbished item, you are unwillingly sending a message to the manufacturer saying that it's OK for them to lower their standards of quality and reliability since there will always be a market for defective products.

The reason why I say this is because now I'm receiving more and more e-mails from major electronic chain stores offering refurbished items.

Don't support the refurbished item market.

That is all.

 

[thomsbrain]

And don't support those who push them. Fry's Electronics, I'm talking to you.

 

[FoBoT]

so, where should refurbs go?
landfill?

 

[Joemonkey]

Posting from my refurbished Dell laptop that was a killer deal...

 

[Arcadio]

so, where should refurbs go?
landfill?

Refurbs should be sent to developing countries in Africa and given away to the population.

 

[Aharami]

i prefer to save money

 

[darkxshade]

Refurbs should be sent to developing countries in Africa and given away to the population.

And would you like to offset the cost of that by paying more for new items?

 

[vi edit]

In my mind, buying refurbished sends a message that I'm willing to buy your product, but not at new cost. So maybe it says that their new stuff is too expensive?

 

[Tom]

I've bought at least a dozen refurb laptops, all work prefectly and most look new too.

 

[nerp]

I've had good success with refurb items. Often it's some product a dumbass bought, couldn't figure out, and returned under the assumption that it was 'broken' when it was not.

Support the refurb market.

 

[Arcadio]

And would you like to offset the cost of that by paying more for new items?

If it means that I'm contributing to the advancement of technology in poor countries, then yes.

 

[Gibson486]

the only bad refurb product i bought was my garmin nuvi. Then I found out that pretty much all garmins have bad batteries...so it's really a non issue after all.

 

[her209]

I bought my Dell Optiplex as a refurbished unit. The only time I'll buy refurb is if it carries the same warranty as a non-refurb one because you'll usually get a refurb one in the event of an exchange anyways.

 

[vi edit]

If it means that I'm contributing to the advancement of technology in poor countries, then yes.

No way. $99 laptops with hand crank batteries are going to be the second age of enlightenment for the 3rd world!

 

[69Mach1]

All the refurb stuff I've ever bought turned out to be crap. It's been a while, but I won't bite again. I must just be unlucky.

 

[F1N3ST]

Tigerdirect has a LOT of refurbs, never bought though.

 

[mmntech]

I've bought refurbs and they work great, but I definitely see where the OP is getting at. Most big ticket stuff you buy these days only last five to ten years tops if you're lucky. People would rather buy cheap than quality, so you get what you pay for. It's also the same reason customer service is so crappy these days.

 

[Tom]

If it means that I'm contributing to the advancement of technology in poor countries, then yes.

you know you could buy refurb items and ship them to poor countries yourself..

 

[Strk]

The only problem is a lot of products are also returned because the person couldn't figure it out, but now it's not new. And if the person returned it as defective, the retailer has to send it back to the vendor (or whatever the vendor does for that specific product).

 

[geno]

Refurb != defective

And the message is not that it is OK to sell defective items, they're all sold off at a discounted rate so obviously there's admission that the item is not as good as new.

 

[Dari]

Depends. Not all refurbs are equal. for example, I can return an unused but opened camera I received and that counts as a refurb. Or I can break it, return it and it still counts as a refurb.

 

[T9D]

....

 

[JS80]

You are a ri'tard.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

When I'm in the market for a new tech product I will check if there is a refurb market for that specific item. If there is a huge market for one or more manufacturers, I'll avoid that manufacturer entirely.

Case in point: HP Desktop PCs

Newegg = 11 models
Tigerdirect = 37 models
HP Business Outlet = Too many to count

I will not buy an HP desktop, period.

 

[Arcadio]

Refurb != defective

And the message is not that it is OK to sell defective items, they're all sold off at a discounted rate so obviously there's admission that the item is not as good as new.

Yeah, but when you start seeing more ads for refurbished items than for new items, you know they've gone too far. And like I said, it's the customers' fault for buying those items.