What are your thoughts on refurbished motherboards or refurbished hardware in general?

[mellondust]

I am considering buying a referbished motherboard from newegg. It is half the cost of a new one and I figure if it works just the same why not. Is there anything I need to be aware of when buying refurbished hardware? What are your experiences with this?

 

[amdskip]

They aren't necessarily refurbs, just customer returns. I've had pretty good luck buying refurbed motherboards from newegg.

 

[Trevelyan]

After getting burned several times by NewEgg motherboards refurbs, I stear clear... to me, it's not worth saving $20 should any problems arise....

 

[Athlon4all]

Honestly I don't know. My last mobo purchase was a refub Shuttle AK31A. The first one I got would lock up at random and I ended up concluding that it was the mobo. So I returned it, and I have been happily chugging along for several months on the new one they sent back. So, its a risk yes, but, If you make sure that there's no problems within the first month you will be ok (cause you can return it 30days after @ newegg)

 

[woodie1]

Depends on the warranty. If it is easy to return something then I may do it. I am on my second refurbished monitor and am very pleased with the savings.

 

[Don66]

Bought 2 refurbished motherboards from newegg and haven't had any bad experiences with them.
My friend also bought 1 and no problems there either.
I would buy another.

 

[Dogsbody]

I don't think that you can go wrong as long as you have 30 days to return it. I've purchased a couple of refurbished monitors and been very happy with them. For the most parts I go with new units though unless there is a really big price difference and a good return policy.

 

[WobbleWobble]

I bought a refurbished HP laptop from Futureshop last X-mas and it was a total lemon. The battery only lasted about 30 minutes and the backlight intermittently fails. I'm glad I bought the 3 year extended warranty (normally 30-days for refurbished computers) and they realize that the backlight is now dead so they have to find another refurbished backlight for me or replace my system with a new one.

I'm hoping for the new one =)

But overall, I'm curious about refurbished parts in general too. Netlink (NCIX.com) also has a refurished products section, although they're not that much cheaper than the product when it's new.

 

[DonaldC]

I will buy refurbished if I know the vendor/manufacturer is trustworthy when it comes to warranty problems.

 

[dkozloski]

Refurbished can mean anything from dusting it off to a comlete overhaul. Caveat emptor.

 

[GR8Madmax]

Are you sure Newegg refurb return policy is 30-days? I thought it was 15 days from the date purchased.