Refurbished Electronics
What You Need To Know Before Buying
If you knew that you could get an electronic product you really wanted at a very good price, which performed at the same standard and quality as if it were new, would you be interested in purchasing it? If your answer to this question is ‘yes’, then you should consider buying refurbished products.
Refurbished electronics are items which are returned to the factory or manufacturer to correct a defect whether it is in the product itself or in its packaging. There may be nothing wrong with the product itself. In fact, a customer may buy an item which he has opened and decided to return unused within the warranty period.
A study conducted in the USA found that of the $13.8 billion spent annually in the USA on assessing, repairing, reboxing, restocking and reselling returned merchandise, 20% of the costs was for goods with which no trouble was found. Another 9% was spent on reboxing and repackaging the items without any repairs whatsoever being made. This suggests that about one-third of the refurbished goods have no fault. Other studies show that up to 83% of refurbished products are not damaged.
One of the advantages of refurbished electronics is that they can cost up to 80% less than new products. This makes them very attractive to persons who are sensitive to prices or who wish to save as much as possible on their purchases. Whilst refurbished items cannot be described as new on the basis of consumer laws, the value that can be received from buying products that will function as good as new is a great incentive to consider purchasing refurbished merchandise.
With electronics, it is always a good idea to have a warranty. The warranty on refurbished items will be less than that for new items. To solve this problem, a consumer may buy an extended warranty for their refurbished items. This is another advantage of refurbished electronics as the total cost including the warranty will still be below that of a new item.
Refurbished may also mean factory re-certified. Factory re-certified means that the product has been tested by the factory and certified to be without functional defects. Usually a sixty to ninety day warranty is given by the manufacturer for factory re-certified products. Bear in mind that not all refurbishing is undertaken by the manufacturer. It is more desirable to have a product which has been refurbished by the manufacturer than by a retailer or some other point in the distribution chain.
There are many advantages to buying refurbished electronics. The market for electronics is impacted by rapidly changing product styles. In fact, consumers will change their products not because they are defective but rather because they are bored with the current style and would like to have new items. It is very difficult to keep up with the trend if new electronic items are being introduced all the time. This desire for newer models has fed the refurbished electronics market with perfectly functional products which can be bought for a fraction of the price of new items. It has proven a win-win for consumers who are willing to buy refurbished merchandise.
