Quote:
Originally Posted by graycyn
I've actually wondered a bit about what the so-called "inspection" process for refurb electronics consists of. Back six years or so ago, I bought a refurb digital camera on eBay directly from Olympus America. The auction description clearly stated that the refurb cameras were inspected and came with EVERYTHING in the box that a new camera did.
Um, no. My camera, when it arrived, had a bad scratch across the viewfinder, and was missing several accessory items from the box. I requested a replacement.
Next camera had a lens scratch and was missing several different accessory items from the box.
At which point, I decided that there was very likely NO inspection process going on whatsoever, because even if you missed the glass problems, any reasonable inspection process should not have missed all the missing accessories, which were promised to be present and therefore, should have been looked and accounted for. Especially when you already have a customer that's been disappointed once.
I requested my money back and proceded to KEH.com where I bought a used, like new camera of the same model for $50 less. It was pristine and still works today.
I've had a bit of trouble trusting refurbs since. Though I do know many who have bought refurbs with no trouble.
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It's possible some companies have more lax rules (or more lax employees) about declaring 'refurb' than others. In the case of say, Apple, I'd buy Refurb over New 100% of the time given the choice. With dozens of machines over the last 2 decades, I've had to repair new machines, but never refurbs. If there's no inspection process with that company/outlet, then yes, the odds are no better (and probably worse) than new or used. eBay refurbs make me wary since it's hard to tell if the refurbs are actually from the company or an authorized 3rd party. Sony and Apple both sell their own refurbs directly, which makes me a little more comfortable.
But assuming the company does inspect refurbs, your odds
will be better than the new unit lottery that's only been inspected by random sampling. I've never complained if a replacement unit was refurb for that reason.