Sometimes people ask me questions that aren\u2019t exactly my area of specialty.\u00a0 While saving money by buying a refurbished or remanufactured product is technically about spending and personal finance, there is a lot of information that goes into such a decision that I have no way of knowing any better than you. With that being said, there are some common issues and concerns to watch out for when purchasing refurbished or remanufactured goods.<\/p>\n
The promise of refurbished goods, particularly electronics, is getting a \u201cgood as new\u201d product for a much lower price.\u00a0 The devil, of course, is in the details.\u00a0 The major concerns fall into two categories. The first is whether or not the refurbished product really IS as good as new.\u00a0 And the second, is in what way the service and support of the product will be different because it is refurbished.<\/p>\n
Many refurbished products come with a much shorter warranty than their new counterparts.\u00a0 This begs the question, \u201cIf the product is as good as new, then why won\u2019t you stand behind it with a warranty that is as good as the new one?\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer is, of course, that refurbished is NOT as good as new.\u00a0 The product has had whatever defect caused it to be returned fixed, but that doesn\u2019t mean it is new.\u00a0 The customer who owned it before might have had it two days, two weeks, or two months before returning it.\u00a0 That isn\u2019t new, it is used, and that is reflected in the shorter warranty.<\/p>\n
In order to determine whether or not that refurbished laptop, TV, or microwave is a good deal, you need to compare what you would get with a new purchase versus what you get with a refurbished purchase and then assign a value to the differences.<\/p>\n
For example, if a new product comes with a 3-year warranty, but the refurbished product only comes with a 30-day warranty, that is a significant difference, and so the discount to the new price should be substantial. For some products you can purchase a Square Trade warranty<\/a>, but be sure to add that to the cost when evaluating whether or not the price is a good deal.<\/p>\n On the other hand, the difference between a 12-month warranty and a 90-day warranty isn\u2019t really that big (8 months), so the discount doesn\u2019t have to be as big.<\/p>\n As a rule of thumb, the more likely the product is to need warranty service, the less likely a refurbished product is a good deal.\u00a0 Ironically, these are the products most often offered as refurbished because there is a large supply of them from people sending them in for service.<\/p>\n Keep your eyes open and make smart decisions.\u00a0 Don\u2019t just go for it because it sounds cheap.\u00a0 Make sure to look at all the angles and you\u2019ll come out ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes people ask me questions that aren\u2019t exactly my area of specialty.\u00a0 While saving money by buying a refurbished or remanufactured product is technically about spending and personal finance, there is a lot of information that goes into such a decision that I have no way of knowing any better than you. With that being said, there are some common issues and concerns to watch out for when purchasing refurbished or remanufactured goods. Is It Really A Good Price? The promise of refurbished goods, particularly electronics, is getting a \u201cgood as new\u201d product for a much lower price.\u00a0 The devil, of course, is in the details.\u00a0 The major concerns fall into two categories. The first is whether or not the refurbished product really IS as good as new.\u00a0 And the second, is in what way the service and support of the product will be different because it is refurbished. Many refurbished products come with a much shorter warranty than their new counterparts.\u00a0 This begs the question, \u201cIf the product is as good as new, then why won\u2019t you stand behind it with a warranty that is as good as the new one?\u201d The answer is, of course, that refurbished is … <\/p>\n