Anybody purchased a Mac Refurb?? Opinions?

nick270881

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Hi all. I am shortly going to be getting a Macbook, and was looking at the refurb section on Apples website. The stateside websited seem to rave about them but I was wondering if the uk ones are as good.

My brother can get me university discount which would mean that a new one would come out pretty close to the price of the refurb.

Rumours suggest that refurb ones are more reliable but the thought of chavvy kids messing about with them in a previous life make me have doubts (have you been into an apple store - I feel sorry for the sales people, whenever I have tried to buy anything it's been impossible to get to a machine or item to check out my prospective purchase/get advice for all the bored kids etc mssing about)

Anyway, any suggestions welcome.

Nick
 
Hi Nick,

I am not sure about the refurb units but if you can get the student discount and this means you get a new Intel based Mac I would go for that option. I've just moved to Mac and bought myself a MacBookPro 15inch and am very happy with it so far.

Good luck
 
AFAIK the refurbs have been through Apple's tech team for checking/reformatting etc ... most people (I know or on forums) that have bought refurb seem to have been very happy ...

Jon
 
Hi

I bought a 15" Macbook pro (typing on it now) from the refurb store and have been 100% happy with it. It came in a brown box instead of the usual packaging. The only fault I could see was the strip above the keyboard was slightly raised in one place. Upon further investigation one of the screws from underneath was fractionly too long. A little snip later and it was as good as new.

Can't say the same for it now after my 2 1/2 year old has knocked it on the floor a couple of times. A few scrathches but very durable machines. Still love it :thumbsup:

Ty
 
It's a very small gamble, but if you do change your mind you can sell it used on ebay and get a full price new one.

Often you will get a product that either brand new overstock, or did not need any actual refurbishing. (Mail order regulations mean that for the first week, customers can return purchases without giving any reason). Apple does not want new product offered at a discount, and adjusting stock at model changes under the "refurbished" label appears to be a way they deal with this.

Apple UK has also for many years sent products really in need of refurbishment to Cancom UK:

http://www.cancomuk.com/Refurbs/

I don't know for sure, but I suspect packaging is the only thing that might be wrong with a "refurb" from the Apple store.
 
If you can get HE discount then I'd go for a new one, if not though, I always hear good things about the refurbs, and sometimes people even getting extra RAM or harddrive space from what was advertised.
 
I bought a 12" Powerbook from the refurb site, came next day on standard shipping. Came in the brown box as Tykent said earlier, the machine looked brand new, not a mark on it, the only thing that looked slightly second hand was the power adaptor as that didnt have the plastic wrapping around it that the brand new ones have.

I have owned the Powerbook over a year now and have since installed a 100Gb 5400rpm HD and upped the RAM to 1.25Gb, it is still going strong and gets used everyday. I love it!
 
I bought a 12" Powerbook from the refurb site, came next day on standard shipping. Came in the brown box as Tykent said earlier, the machine looked brand new, not a mark on it, the only thing that looked slightly second hand was the power adaptor as that didnt have the plastic wrapping around it that the brand new ones have.

I have owned the Powerbook over a year now and have since installed a 100Gb 5400rpm HD and upped the RAM to 1.25Gb, it is still going strong and gets used everyday. I love it!

I bought my last-model PBook G4 15" refurb just over a year ago. It cost me £950 vs. £1400 list. It was exactly as new, except for the brown box and one smudge in the manual. It even had that "new" smell.

I recommend refurbs every chance I get.

Just one thing: quite often the prices at the Refurb Store don't make much sense, so it's worth waiting a few days until they sort them out.
 
When I was looking for my Powerbook the 1.5Ghz models were available, but then when I went to order a couple of days later they were all sold out, so I went for the 1.33Ghz model, only for them to bring back the 1.5Ghz ones a day later. I thought about sending it back but then I could have ended up with a scratched one, as mine was prestine I kept it. I have the Powermac G5 for any heavy duty work anyway.

Refurbs are definately a good purchase though!
 
If you can buy new for the same price through the higher ed store, which at todays prices you can since the refurbs are crap offers at the moment, then what is the point in even considering a refurb.

Its like deciding whether to buy a bag of opened maltesers but not eaten or a sealed new bag for the same price.
 
I got my Macbook through the refurb store - it was advertised and priced as an 2ghz Intel core duo - but on delivery the processer turned out to be a core 2 duo. I wasn't complaining.

As said before, everything in the (brown) box was new and am very happy.

If you can get a education discount then why wait for the refurb you want - buy it now!
 
i've always bought refurbs, and all (6 i think) of them have been faultless. i'd never buy a new one, even if i was loaded, theres no point paying more for something when you don't need to!
 
I guess the point that is being made is that if the educational discounts on a brand new mac are about the same as a refurb mac - wouldn't one prefer to know that their new pride and joy was 'untouched' by anyone else ?

Jon
 
i always buy refurbed macs for work etc and always been happy with them. However when it comes to my own i always buy brand new, if you can afford it why not splash out.
 
This G5 imac i'm using is a refurb and has been flawless . It came well boxed with a brand new keyboard and mouse . One year of warranty was nice too. Would do it again as i saved about 40% of retail price for a slightly older ( 9 months old ) machine .
 
I am supposed to be receiving my iMAC G5 today if not then should be tomorrow. Cant wait, have not gone throught the refurb route as I managed to get a private deal of £500 for the 20" screen. I have heard good things and cant wait!
 
Just to add to the mix, I've bought a ton of things refurb and more than half of the time I get more Ram or a bigger HD. I only ever buy new when I do my annual laptop purchase in the states when it's a heck of a saving.

Not sure about UK retail, but in the US retail shops ask for 'refresh' stock (not refurb), they usually sell the machines that people have returned on the 7 day rule for 20% or so off which is cheaper than online.
 
Do apple stores have referb units for sale in the UK or can you only get them via the website?
 
Only through the website - AFAIK apple stores send their returns there for refurbing/checking and resselling ...

Jon
 
i have just ordered a refurb mbp 2.16 and hopefully it will be with me tomorrow. i'll report back when i recieve it
 
On a slightly different note, has anyone on here bought a refurb ipod from the apple site?

I was looking at a 30gb black one for £129. Very cheap but what should I expect for that price? - prestine ipod, brown box combo?
 
Does anyone know if the prices quotes on the site are set in stone?

The units I am looking at only seem to be discounted by 14%, thats not a bad price I just want to see if they will do any better. Are Apple like say Dell with their net prices i.e. you call them up and they will lower their net price if you ask them?

Also I know the units sold as refurbs are in working order but do they have many scatches or marks? Is there a way to find out what the cosmetic damage is of each unit?
 
Hi all,

I took delivery of a refurb MacBook Pro on wednesday and the only difference, other than cost, from a new one is that the documentation was slightly bent in onw corner, looks new, smells new, perfect in every way. Except I've can't access my Wee-Fee (how it's pronounced in France and it makes me laugh ;) ), but that's another story.

Cool, and good luck. Recommended.

Dickster
 
Hi people

i have had both ipods and an imac from the refurb store, both are excellent had no problems with either and wouldnt buy one from anywhere else now. the ipod and imac that i have had have both been in brand spanking new condition

plus you still get a 1yr warranty on their products :clap:
 

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