Is buying a refurbished product a bad thing?
Used is not always a bad thing
Have you ever purchased a used car? Do you buy things on the clearance rack at the store? Do you buy items when the packaging has been ripped or is open? I do.
I was recently considering purchasing two boxes of cereal that had open boxes. The inner packaging was still sealed. It looked like the bottoms of the boxes had not been properly glued shut at the factory.
There was probably nothing wrong with that cereal, just like there is nothing wrong with most products that are marked “remanufactured” or “refurbished”. I purchased a refurbished 22inch monitor a couple of years ago and it’s still working. I’ve had no trouble with it.
It’s been a while, so I can’t be completely sure, but I believe my laptop was a floor model.
A lot of times, when an item is marked “remanufactured” or “refurbished”, people automatically thing “USED”. Used has a negative connotation, most-like brought on by the perponderence of lemons in the used car market.
When it comes to saving money, “refurbished” or “remanufactured” products can be a BIG money saver.
Some reasons for a product being marked as such can be:
- The box came open at the factory, therefore the packaging did not pass quality control
- The box arrived at the destination open and was sent back
- Someone purchased the item, then returned it. Although the product may have been used, it was sent back to the factory and went through quality control and testing a second time.
Companies want their products to work when you recieve them. They don’t want to have to take a product back because it did not work. In fact, there may even be additional scrutiny in items that come back to the factory for that exact reason.
By the way, if this is a high-dollar purchase, you will most likely get the full manufacturers warranty on the product, even if it has been refurbished. Make sure and check into this before making your purchase.