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Remind me why people buy new as opposed to refurbished!?!?

MST

MST

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 3, 2007
426
0
Surrey, UK
My refurb'd 20" alu iMac arrived this afternoon having only ordered it yesterday and after unboxing it I was absolutely astounded at how good its cosmetic condition was; I didn't expect it to be all beat up but not quite as good as it is, in fact the only visible signs of wear on the whole unit are on the bottom of the stand [where you'd expect them].

I decided to go for a refurb after getting the bug and buying a brand new SR MacBook in November then reading the glowing reports that refurbs seem to receive, and right now I can't see me ever going back to buying brand new.
 
Refurbs from Apple are excellent but at the end of the day, it is down to choice. Some people prefer opening up a new machine. There also isn't always the particular model someone is looking for in the refurb section.

Lastly, students get huge hardware discount which makes it a bit silly to buy the refurb in some cases where the difference is very small. However, when there is a good deal on a refurb, then it is an excellent option.

David.
 
Built to order. You can't get built to order options through the refurb store. So if there is a special configuration you want you have to buy new.

Also, if you buy new you can often get it that day instead of waiting for it to ship.
 
Another thing on refurb is you can still buy the extended warranty. In three years I am ready to upgrade anyways. I will be buying the refurb 2.8 Exteme iMac 24" from Apple Store.
 
My friend also got a refurb (Macbook) and I wasn't able to tell the difference between new/used. Another reason my next Mac will be a refurb.
 
I got my new 24" imac yesterday, also a refurb. Man, I am so glad I got this computer! My husband exclaimed he couldn't tell it wasn't brand new. We were trying to figure out why the person who had it before returned it. Their loss, my gain. I am really glad I saved money, too!

I'm grateful to this site, because otherwise I wouldn't have known how high quality Apple refurbs are.
 
A lot of folks don't know about refurbs (or what the word even means). Others can't stand the idea of using a machine that was once returned. Others want BTO options, etc. Personally, I'd never buy anything other than refurbished computers; it's better than any student discount you'll ever see.
 
Because with my HE discount i can actually buy a new machine for often cheaper then refurb or a few pounds more i.e MBP. Also the apple care only costs me approx. £57 for MB and £48 for my BTO imac 2.8. I have purchased refurb's before and have no problem doing so again.
 
This thread just sealed the deal for me in getting a refurbished iMac (aluminum flavor, 20 inch, 2.4 GHz). I've had my current desktop for 3 years now and can't stand how loud it gets. Plus, all those wires. Now, just need to first sell my desktop and I'll be in business... Most likely I'll be making the purchase in March at the latest.

Do the refurbished iMac's come in the original box? Or in some standard brown cardboard box?
 
dbam987 said:
This thread just sealed the deal for me in getting a refurbished iMac (aluminum flavor, 20 inch, 2.4 GHz). I've had my current desktop for 3 years now and can't stand how loud it gets. Plus, all those wires. Now, just need to first sell my desktop and I'll be in business... Most likely I'll be making the purchase in March at the latest.

Do the refurbished iMac's come in the original box? Or in some standard brown cardboard box?
Click to expand...

You've just made my night by saying that! No the refurbs come very well packaged in a brown cardboard box specific to the model, let us know when you order it.
 
BTO.
Education Discounts.
And for now, there were a lot of reported problems w/ early revision iMacs. Maybe true, maybe not but buying new for now might give a sense of added secutity because of a possible phobia of getting a problem, early revision refurb iMac.
 
MST said:
You've just made my night by saying that! No the refurbs come very well packaged in a brown cardboard box specific to the model, let us know when you order it.
Click to expand...

My only hope is that it stays available on the refurbished page... :eek:
 
dbam987 said:
My only hope is that it stays available on the refurbished page... :eek:
Click to expand...

It was by chance that I happened to check the UK refurb store when I got to the office in the early hours yesterday and they had a 20" in stock, they'd been out of stock for a couple of weeks in fact there hadn't been any iMacs in the store for quite a while, just keep checking I guess.
 
Well many likely don't know about refurbs. And for awhile Apple actually limited when you could buy refurbs.
 
How long is the power cable for the iMac? Does it have a giant power brick that I have to deal with? Or is that built in the unit itself?
 
davidjearly said:
Er, no it is not. Higher Education discount in the UK frequently beats the prices of what is available in the refurb section.
Click to expand...

Haha, talking about the US Apple Store. Macbooks dip to 750, Macbook Pros to 1500; the student discount is fixed at 1000 for Macbooks and something equally small for the Pros. :D
 
Whats the reason why the iMac 20'' 2.16Ghz (white version) is higher in cost that the iMac Aluminum 20'' 2.0Ghzversion on Apples refurbished page? Its showing the white one costing about $50 (USD) more... could it be just the fact that it's faster by 0.16 Ghz??
 
If nobody bought the new ones, there wouldn't be any refurbs you know :rolleyes:. Personally, I'm very tempted to buy a last gen Mac Pro, now that they've gotten cheaper in the refurb section. If only I had that $2000 sitting around. And maybe an ACD...
 
When I first posted this thread the question I had in my mind was rhetorical - even I as a refurbished owner in the "honeymoon period" can see the merits of buying a brand new unit and am sure that I will again. That said it's good to see other member's points of view, the single biggest selling point for me has to be the testing refurbished units undergo and the fact that they still come with a 1 year warranty, coupled with the cosmetic condition I think it's an option that everyone looking to buy a Mac should consider.

If you can find it in the refurb store and save money then I say go for it, but if it's not available [yet] e.g. MacBook Air, or you can save more money with an edu discount then by all means don't; it's a bit of a no brainer really.
 
Sometimes a repaired machine doesn't quite live up to the "repaired and refurbished" name.

Those nagging little glitches that only crop up now and then, but got the machine DOAd.

---

Happens every now and then, but it can also happen with new machines.

So it all depends on the luck of the draw.

The last refurb I got was scuffed, and the CDs looked like they were used for a round of floor hockey at the refurb center.

And they wanted to charge for a new set of CDs.

But I asked the simple question, "Can I DOA the machine, because all it does is flash a question mark on the screen (after I wiped the drive), and the destroyed CDs don't seem to work?"
 
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