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Refurbished PCs worth it?

by joe golfer
16 replies
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I'm thinking of getting a refurbished PC to dedicate to one project we are working on -- it's more of an experiment so spending a lot is not in the cards.

It seems like people like them on Amazon, but there are a reasonable number saying it is not the worth the hassle of broken DVD drawers, wrong RAM/Speed/HDD Size from what they ordered, Windows registration all f'd up, etc.

Have you ever ordered a refurbished Windoze PC off Amazon? Would you again?
  • Profile picture of the author Dan Riffle
    I haven't purchased a refurb from Amazon, but I have from eCost.com and NewEgg.com. I have never had a problem. I would buy a refurb from Amazon in a heartbeat, but they've never had the best price when I was in the market.

    EDIT: Scrap that. I just remembered that the computer I'm using right now is an Amazon refurb. However, it was from a third party vendor and not an Amazon warehouse.
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Dan brings up a good point. Most things on Amazon are probably sold by third parties, so BE CAREFUL! I would trust amazon, especially since they cover their stuff, but if you buy from a third party on amazon it is little better than buying from a stranger.

    And I HAVE heard of people buying used products, FROM AMAZON, and having lots of problems!

    ALSO, realize that used products may be out of spec. Even if they AREN'T out of spec, they may be too obsolete for current windows software.

    That said, if you don't mind potentially getting a lemon, you CAN get a newer refurbished system from amazon. Every now and then, it is a minor problem they fixed, or sabotage they fixed, or an aestethic or mandated change, and you end up getting effectively a new quality computer for a song. AGAIN, watch out, check out reviews, etc...

    I wanted to get a juicer, and looked at the la lane juicer. Apparently most are made to be low quality and appear inexpensive. I read several reviews that said a key mechanical piece is made out of a cheap plastic that cracks. That not only renders it worthless, but is dangerous. One poor guy tried to get a new one, a replacement, and then bought a used one that apparently was in good condition but that SAME part was broken! It just goes to show how a design flaw might never be fixed. I ended up paying $20 more for one with a GREAT reputation.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    I would NEVER order a computer online. I want to see it before I buy it but I have had several refurbs in the past and they have been adequate.
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  • Profile picture of the author socialentry
    You can go offline. You can get something super cheap and they usually have like 60 days warranties.

    Ask them to boot up to BIOS and check the specs there.
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  • Profile picture of the author umc
    Several people in my family have bought refurbs off of ebay (including myself) and none of us has had issues that I can remember. Ebay and Paypal are both helpful should an issue arise. I would buy one from there, or Amazon, newegg, tigerdirect, ect. with few concerns.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by umc View Post

      Several people in my family have bought refurbs off of ebay (including myself) and none of us has had issues that I can remember. Ebay and Paypal are both helpful should an issue arise. I would buy one from there, or Amazon, newegg, tigerdirect, ect. with few concerns.
      FORGET EBAY! They allow too many people to be too free with things, and you might as well go door to door on the street. There is too much that can go wrong,. just saying....

      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author Khemosabi
        Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

        FORGET EBAY! They allow too many people to be too free with things, and you might as well go door to door on the street. There is too much that can go wrong,. just saying....

        Steve
        That's not always true Steve. I think Ebay has done a better job cleaning up their vendors. I bought a refurbished monitor from Amazon and the thing went dead within a year. (I only needed it for a spare computer, so it wasn't a big deal).

        The company I bought the monitor from was horrible to me. Amazon, on the other hand, took great care of me because of the company's bad customer service.

        ~ Theresa
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        • Profile picture of the author seasoned
          Originally Posted by Khemosabi View Post

          That's not always true Steve. I think Ebay has done a better job cleaning up their vendors. I bought a refurbished monitor from Amazon and the thing went dead within a year. (I only needed it for a spare computer, so it wasn't a big deal).

          The company I bought the monitor from was horrible to me. Amazon, on the other hand, took great care of me because of the company's bad customer service.

          ~ Theresa
          Even a stranger on the street may give you a good deal. With AMAZON, I was simply saying that the stuff THEY offer is covered and, as you said yourself, they try to make things right even on stuff they simply process. I can't see ebay being that great, and people have said a lot of bad things about them.

          I got my juicer today. I slipped up, and it blew a GFI, and seemed to stop working, even AFTER I fixed the GFI. I was worried about it and thought SHOOT, it only lasted a few minutes. (I need a crying emoticon!). Anyway, I must have slipped up or something. There is a kind of handle/clamp on the machine, and I think that has a kind of deadmans switch on it. I must have opened it up to check the inside BEFORE I realized the GFI was tripped, and that disabled the device. Once I realized that, it worked FINE! And it looks like a quality device. Anyway, I was always thinking HEY, AMAZON can/will cover this. Of course it IS a new device, but that is a nice reassurance to have.

          Still, if EBAY works for you, GREAT!

          Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author umc
        Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

        FORGET EBAY! They allow too many people to be too free with things, and you might as well go door to door on the street. There is too much that can go wrong,. just saying....

        Steve
        Lol, you're a bit emotional and hyperbolic,no? The reality seems to be that the buyer on ebay has far more power than does the seller. They set things up that way a while back to instill even greater confidence in the buying public. I've purchased three items on Amazon that I've had to send back recently because they were defective, some fulfilled by Amazon and some from other parties. I've bought things locally and had problems with them too. There is no guarantee, um, well actually on ebay there is a guarantee, but I digress.
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        • Profile picture of the author seasoned
          Originally Posted by umc View Post

          Lol, you're a bit emotional and hyperbolic,no? The reality seems to be that the buyer on ebay has far more power than does the seller. They set things up that way a while back to instill even greater confidence in the buying public. I've purchased three items on Amazon that I've had to send back recently because they were defective, some fulfilled by Amazon and some from other parties. I've bought things locally and had problems with them too. There is no guarantee, um, well actually on ebay there is a guarantee, but I digress.
          OK, just an opinion based on what I have heard from others, etc... HECK, have you seen the impression of many about paypal(an ebay company)? And yeah, amazon has guarantees also.

          I started out by saying that I would PREFER NEW, or COMPANY refurbished. I guess you would disagree with me THERE also. That is your prerogative, c'est la vie.

          Steve
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          • Profile picture of the author lanfear63
            Refurb, why? you can get a basic workhorse brand new tower pc with windows for 250 bucks or so. Try Walmart or tigerdirect.com
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          • Profile picture of the author umc
            Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

            OK, just an opinion based on what I have heard from others, etc... HECK, have you seen the impression of many about paypal(an ebay company)? And yeah, amazon has guarantees also.

            I started out by saying that I would PREFER NEW, or COMPANY refurbished. I guess you would disagree with me THERE also. That is your prerogative, c'est la vie.

            Steve
            Nope, I'd actually agree with you on buying new versus refurb. I'll always buy new if possible. Heck, I've actually refurbed laptops in the past for a company that employed me many years ago, but you can't beat new.

            Oh, and I believe that I recently heard that ebay and Paypal have split. Just thought it was interesting, not that it really matters to the conversation that much. I've never had an issue with Paypal, though I know some that have. Heck, I've even bought and sold cars on ebay, and even got a refund on one car that I purchased. They've always taken care of me.

            Still, like you said, I'd buy new if possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author rhinocl
    I like to buy refurbished computers from local individuals or computer shops. That way I can test them. The advantage of a shop is that if you miss something (such as a battery that won't take a charge) they will often take care of it for free if you find the issue within 2 weeks.

    As far as older systems go, I'm still happy with Windows XP. As they said in Lord of the Rings, "The day may come..(when good nessecary software won't run on it)..but today is not that day."
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  • Profile picture of the author socialentry
    Paypal sucks

    Their fraud department is not helpful at all.
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  • Profile picture of the author Khemosabi
    Hi Joe

    I have two refurbished computers and they're doing great! The company I bought from is discountcomputerdepot off of ebay. They have great customer service!!

    The other companies suggested above are great as well, just giving you another option. Ebay seems a little less expensive than some of the ones on Amazon.

    Hope that helped!

    ~ Theresa
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    I wouldn't buy one from Amazon or eBay, especially a refurbished computer. I do, however, have a beautiful refurbished Dell Precision Workstation I bought from a local computer repair shop. Love it. Love it more at about a third of what I would have paid for a comparable desktop model. I've made a couple of upgrades when I started messing around with video.
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