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Refurb'ed 27" iMacs showing up!
- Thread starter agr5
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wow! amazing news... i was in the market for the high end 21.5" but now that the 27" refurbs are available i will most definitely be taking that route instead. Is this a good idea? These computers are a lot of money and i dont want a computer that comes with scratches and **** all over it? it needs to look brand new. I dont have experience buyin refurb from apple. so here are some quick questions..
Are the refurbs pretty much identical to brand new?
What are the pros and cons to buying a refurb?
Should i buy a 27" refurb or a brand new high end 21.5"?
THANKS
Are the refurbs pretty much identical to brand new?
What are the pros and cons to buying a refurb?
Should i buy a 27" refurb or a brand new high end 21.5"?
THANKS
It will look brand new. And if it doesn't, Apple would replace it, I'm sure. To my knowledge, at least for iPods, iPhones, etc., Apple replaces all external casing with new parts. Check around the forums - you'll find plenty of people who recommend Apple refurbs. And while I haven't bought a refurb Mac myself, I have bought/used refurb iPods and iPhones and all have been as good as new, save for the lower price!
EDIT: Oh, refurbs come in plain boxes. Just FYI, in case the box is worth hundreds of dollars to you...
It will look brand new. And if it doesn't, Apple would replace it, I'm sure. To my knowledge, at least for iPods, iPhones, etc., Apple replaces all external casing with new parts. Check around the forums - you'll find plenty of people who recommend Apple refurbs. And while I haven't bought a refurb Mac myself, I have bought/used refurb iPods and iPhones and all have been as good as new, save for the lower price!
EDIT: Oh, refurbs come in plain boxes. Just FYI, in case the box is worth hundreds of dollars to you...
But it comes with all the necessary parts right? Just not packaged as new...
Ive bought several refurbs. I'm happy with all of them. Only one had an issue and apple promptly replaced it.
They come with all the pieces and are even reshrinkwrapped
They come with all the pieces and are even reshrinkwrapped
I have also purchased several Apple refurbs over the years. I have never been disappointed. Every refurb looked and smelled like new--even the fingerprints had been cleaned off.
The paperwork, disk(s), keyboard and mouse all looked literally new, still sealed in factory packaging. (In this day of H1N1, that's not something to sneeze at.)
The (generic brown, yet fully-padded) boxes were clearly labeled as refurb, and I believe the manufacturing labels on the computers were also labeled as refurb. When it comes time to resell (as I have done so many times), you should inform the buyer.
Some refurb buyers have reported unexpected upgrades, i.e. the actual machine shipped may possibly contain extra RAM. I have never been fortunate enough to experience this phenomenon.
Warranty is identical to a new unit and refurbs are also eligible for AppleCare. In my opinion, refurb units have probably been tested and examined much more thoroughly than virgin units--thus may be less likely to exhibit problems.
In conclusion, I would strongly endorse purchasing a refurb unit. Use the money you save to buy AppleCare and some (non-MS) software.
The paperwork, disk(s), keyboard and mouse all looked literally new, still sealed in factory packaging. (In this day of H1N1, that's not something to sneeze at.)
The (generic brown, yet fully-padded) boxes were clearly labeled as refurb, and I believe the manufacturing labels on the computers were also labeled as refurb. When it comes time to resell (as I have done so many times), you should inform the buyer.
Some refurb buyers have reported unexpected upgrades, i.e. the actual machine shipped may possibly contain extra RAM. I have never been fortunate enough to experience this phenomenon.
Warranty is identical to a new unit and refurbs are also eligible for AppleCare. In my opinion, refurb units have probably been tested and examined much more thoroughly than virgin units--thus may be less likely to exhibit problems.
In conclusion, I would strongly endorse purchasing a refurb unit. Use the money you save to buy AppleCare and some (non-MS) software.
Refurbs are great. I just bought my girlfriend a refurbished white MB 2.13 for xmas. Comes with everything, except the box that you get when you buy one new in a store (big deal!). I saved almost $400! I opened it up and the thing smells new, no scratches or fingerprints except for the trackpad button which had some rub marks on it. But nothing worth crying about!
I will definately be buying a refurb 27!
I will definately be buying a refurb 27!
WOW this seems like the way to go. Thanks for all the responses. The total is around $1650 and that includes next day shipping (want to make sure to have it by christmas) and $130 for tax because i live in ca. Definately worth it!
Is that the 3.06 27"?
If you dont want it by Xmas, its $1579AR. no tax to CA
http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=10682041
The funny thing is that these might have less problems (flickering, tinge, HDD noise) than a new iMac. After all, they have to make sure the iMac actually works properly when they repair it and put it up for refurb! Shame there isn't an i7 up there or I would cancel my order for a new one and just get a refurb.
Give it time, they will start showing up. I'm waiting on the i5 to become available. My last 3 refurbs have run flawlessly.
[OFFTOPIC]
Well I just googled it and it looks like expert opinion varies on H1N1--probably due to a dearth of willing volunteers. (Should we sign you up?)
Generally, infective agents live on non-porous surfaces (remain infectious) for between a couple of minutes and a couple of days. (Depends on surface and agent.)[/OFFTOPIC]
I contend that, given a choice, most folks prefer non-contaminated keyboards and mice despite any proof of infectivity.
Also, the comment was intended as humor. "Nothing to sneeze at." Get it? Oh, nevermind.
I will be buying this refurb probably in February. hopefully the i5 goes on refurb by then though.
I took the same route. I was looking for a "new" iMac to replace my ancient Day One 20" CoreDuo from 2006. I considered a brand new 27" - but decided the better value right now was a refurb 24". Got it yesterday and couldn't be more blown away with its size and speed. You'd never know it wasn't a brand new machine.
But more on-topic, yeah, the refurb 27" was hard to resist, but I didn't think it provided the same value as the 24". I've seen the 27s in the store a couple of times, but they never last long.
When I was waiting/watching, I bookmarked the iMac page and checked it often. http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/imac
I'm leaning more towards a refurb 24" as well, did yours have 4 gigs of ram or 2? And were there any marks or any indication of it being used?
No marks, no indication of any prior use. No dead pixels on the gorgeous display. Aside from the refurb packaging, you wouldn't know it wasn't brand new.
I went for the 2.66/4GB/640GB option, again for the perceived value. These can take up to 8 gigs of RAM, so there's an (limited) upgrade path in the future when the price of two 4GB ram modules falls into the reasonable range.
I went for the 2.66/4GB/640GB option, again for the perceived value. These can take up to 8 gigs of RAM, so there's an (limited) upgrade path in the future when the price of two 4GB ram modules falls into the reasonable range.