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Nvidia iMacs now available as refurbs!
- Thread starter panzer06
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Yeah, Apple is always tight-lipped with everything. They don't even tell you what updates do. Vague descriptions are as helpful as no description.
Well there is a top of line iMac (w/ 130) that is $350 off from retail price, and there are the 13 or 1499 machines only a $100 difference, so hmmm I wonder what was done there... Clearly more extensive work was done on the more expensive model.
They dust it off.
I think they just fix any cosmetic issues, reformat the HD and give you a new keyboard/mouse. Oh, and they do a wonderful job applying screen covers so it looks like new when you get it. Unfortunately, I've received 2 bad 24" 2.8's in a row now (display issues), so I'm kind of less enthusiastic about the refurb process than I used to be.
I think they just fix any cosmetic issues, reformat the HD and give you a new keyboard/mouse. Oh, and they do a wonderful job applying screen covers so it looks like new when you get it. Unfortunately, I've received 2 bad 24" 2.8's in a row now (display issues), so I'm kind of less enthusiastic about the refurb process than I used to be.
Well I hope they've repaired whatever mechanical issue that got it returned in the first place too.
I imagine most times they do, but not always apparently. They may not even notice it or agree it's a problem, as in the screen issues. So while the original owner returns it as unacceptable, it just gets cleaned up and goes right back out again in the hopes that the next buyer won't be so picky I guess. At least I believe that's what happened in my cases.
The *best* case would be if something was obviously broken and then repaired. Then it's good as new. In that case a refurb is a great deal.
I wouldn't worry at all. Once you get a good one it's a keeper. Enjoy!
Yes. The second one had a 3 inch semi-circular bleed of greenish light in the middle bottom edge. A little backlight bleed is acceptable, but this was all in one place and looked bad.
They have already offered to send another or refund me. I haven't decided what I want to do yet. I may just give up on the 24" refurb option and stick with the 20".
Thanks for the reply. Here is my question. Do you suspect, taking into account the often extremely non-critical public-at-large (as opposed to here) that these two iMacs you purchased were returned for the specific monitor issues and simply were not checked before being "refurbished"?
To put it another way, are refurbished more likely in your view - albeit conditioned just by your experience of two iMacs - to have things wrong with them say on the monitor level? I am just seeing and reading in various threads so much which flies in contradiction of Apple's reconditioning policy.
I can see myself trying one reconditioned and if that has issues, going for one clearance and if that has issues then go into the Apple Store and not leave until I get one to my satisfaction (albeit the lower end 24" with the integrated Nvidia graphics)
You bring up an important point, and one I have also thought about. I believe it is reasonable to assume that refurbs will in general be of slightly lesser quality than new for the following reasons.
Here is my thinking. Let's consider just the case of displays for example. All LCD displays have some imperfections, and every one is a little different. Some imperfections are more noticeable than others. All units sold meet Apple's quality standard which allows a few minor imperfections of course.
Most people won't care about minor display imperfections, but discriminating users will return their units until they get one that meets their higher standards. Since these units originally met Apple's standards of quality, the slight imperfections will not get "fixed" by the refurb process. The unit just gets cleaned up and sold again. The end result is that the percentage of units with noticeable defects is higher in the class of refurbs than it is in the class of new. So you have a higher probability of buying a minor defect if you buy refurbished.
rjp,
That was a well-thought-out reply. It makes me wonder whether I should just go directly for the clearance models or if I am willing to go through the throes of disappointment and returning, not that I am going to avoid that with a clearance model.
That was a well-thought-out reply. It makes me wonder whether I should just go directly for the clearance models or if I am willing to go through the throes of disappointment and returning, not that I am going to avoid that with a clearance model.
^they will show up again; things appear and disappear in the refurb store constantly.
rjp- many people here find the opposite to be true- that the refurb macs, by virtue of being checked twice, in essence, that the incidence of minor defects is lessened.
rjp- many people here find the opposite to be true- that the refurb macs, by virtue of being checked twice, in essence, that the incidence of minor defects is lessened.
I would assume that this means that the new iMacs a plagued with problems? I probably won't buy a new iMac any time soon.... at least until all issues are known to be solved.
SG
SG
I would assume that this means that the new iMacs a plagued with problems? I probably won't buy a new iMac any time soon.... at least until all issues are known to be solved.
SG
Good point, must be a lot of returns to cause so many refurbs of a current model to become available so soon. I can only imagine how many 4850-based iMacs will show up!
Cheers,
I read that too, but I reject this line of thinking because it just doesn't make sense.
I believe this thinking applies to major defects, but not to minor ones. What I am talking about here with my imac screens are definitely what I would characterize as minor defects. Most people would not even notice them, but to others a visible display imperfection is not acceptable. It all depends on the user.
If you think about this it really makes good solid sense. No two units are identical, and every computer has some minor quirks: the fan might be a little noisy in one, there might be a vibration in another, one might have a little more backlight bleed or a few dead pixels, etc. These are quality deviations, but not defects. These meet Apple's quality standards (which are actually quite high compared to others). It is possible that some of these issues might get flagged the second time through QA, but if they're really not considered defects why would they be fixed? Think about it.
For the vast majority of consumers these minor imperfections will not be a problem. For more discriminating users where this would be a problem Apple allows exchanges for another machine. Based on this it stands to reason that the pool of computers sold as refurbs should have more minor imperfections since essentially it has already been "picked through".
This does not mean I think refurbs are not a good buy. On the contrary. I think Apple products are excellent, and their refurbs are just slightly below excellent, but still better than anything else out there by far. I mean let's be honest, this imac is one incredible machine. And buying a refurb you can save 200-300 dollars, and still you have the option of exchanging it if you get one with issues you can't live with. But if you want perfect, you may need to consider buying new. Still this is no guarantee.
New machine offered as replacement.
Well I just heard back from Apple. They are offering to give me a brand new 24" imac as a replacement for my second refurb.
They say I can have either the 2008 2.8 or the 2009 2.66 at my option. The 2009 can hold more RAM and has a larger HD, but in general it is slower both in CPU and GPU, so I'm not sure which to take.
I am really happy with Apple customer service about now.
Thoughts on which to take?
Well I just heard back from Apple. They are offering to give me a brand new 24" imac as a replacement for my second refurb.
They say I can have either the 2008 2.8 or the 2009 2.66 at my option. The 2009 can hold more RAM and has a larger HD, but in general it is slower both in CPU and GPU, so I'm not sure which to take.
I am really happy with Apple customer service about now.
Thoughts on which to take?