what does refurbished really mean?

[dolph]

i see deals for refurb everything, it seems. but what's actually involved in the refurb process? how is a monitor or motherboard refurbished? i'm very wary of buying a refurb part, because i have no idea how it differs from a new retail one. any thoughts?

 

[Viper GTS]

It's pretty simple, really.

The product has been returned to the manufacturer for whatever reason. They repair it, check it for cosmetic defects, then re-package/re-sell it to re-coup some of their money.

Viper GTS

 

[Nefrodite]

sometimes outsourced u might get lucky, u might not

 

[benliong]

I think most of the time these refurbished products are just things that people returned because they changed their mind.

Nowadays it's generally a lot harder to return products that are in perfect working conditions though....

 

[MC]

"Refurbished" sometimes have different difinitions from sites to sites.

 

[Tripleshot]

If it's re-furbed, then is a new one furbed?

 

[Thegonagle]

It means some stoner plugged it in, kind of tested it, wiped it down, said it was good, and put it in a box, all while a supervisor is yelling, "get those pieces per hour up, number 28!"

 

[vi edit]

With Dell, it usually means that somebody just sent the machine back because it came with the wrong O/S or shipped with the wrong parts. Most of their refurb stuff indeed is "LIKE NEW".

 

[apoppin]

re·fur·bish Pronunciation Key (r-fûrbsh)
To make clean, bright, or fresh again; renovate.

You hoped it meant to make "new". Now you know.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
It's pretty simple, really. The product has been returned to the manufacturer for whatever reason. They repair it, check it for cosmetic defects, then re-package/re-sell it to re-coup some of their money. Viper GTS

hahahaha! Sounds like you never bought a refurbished mobo from newegg.

Refurbished from them means old/used/never tested/who knows, it was returned to us/.....this is the truth.

 

[Salvador]

In the case of justdeals, it's just throw it back in the box and resell it. Refurbed should mean to test it and then fix whatever is wrong to bring it back to factory condition.

Sal

 

[xirtam]

Refurbished reminds me of the hamburgers we used to "accidentally" drop on the floor and then pick up and serve if nobody saw it. Well, not *we*, because I was working the counter the whole time, and our grill team didn't always know I was looking.

 

[Spac3d]

Originally posted by: xirtam
Refurbished reminds me of the hamburgers we used to "accidentally" drop on the floor and then pick up and serve if nobody saw it. Well, not *we*, because I was working the counter the whole time, and our grill team didn't always know I was looking.

:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q Where was this? :Q:Q:Q:Q

Spac3d

 

[J0hnny]

Refurbished means garbage =)

depending on where you buy it from that is.....

 

[DaveSimmons]

It means they pack a Furby in the box

Sometimes you give up most of your warranty on a refurb, for example 30 days instead of a year. If I were choosing between a laptop refurb at $1,000 with 30-day warranty vs. $1,100 new with 1-year I'd probably pay the extra $100.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Spac3d

Originally posted by: xirtam
Refurbished reminds me of the hamburgers we used to "accidentally" drop on the floor and then pick up and serve if nobody saw it. Well, not *we*, because I was working the counter the whole time, and our grill team didn't always know I was looking.

:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q:Q Where was this? :Q:Q:Q:Q

Spac3d

Where? . . . ALL fast food restaurants - especially the night shift.

 

[eleutheria]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
It means they pack a Furby in the box

LMAO! That is the funniest thing I have read all day. Thanks Dave.

 

[glenn1]

Refurbished means garbage =)

Close, but no cigar. Refurbished means "we couldn't figure out how to fix it, maybe you can." Something which is garbage or otherwise known to be dead is normally identified by the keyword "untested."

 

[bubbadu]

Someone elses problem

-Bubbadu

 

[Miramonti]

It used to be standard that refurbished items were returns to the manufacturers which were then tested and fixed and put out on the market.

Someone tho realized how costly this is and how much of a pain in the arse it is, so they ingeniously decided to skip the testing and fixing phase and just put them back on the market.

This innovative practice seems to have caught on quite well in the tech sector.