To buy refurbished or not?

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So here's the dilemma: I bought an item over the weekend and am now contemplating returning it because I noticed the exact same item on sale at a liquidator that is selling for about half the price. The cost difference we're talking about here is $15. I know it's not a lot of money, but my primary concern is reliability. The brand new item comes with a 1 year warranty while the refurb comes with a 90 day warranty.

The risk in purchasing the refurb is that after 90 days, the item might crap out on me and stop working, which at that point I'd have to look at replacing it. Whereas with the new item, I have a whole year of warranty. I think I'll stick with the new item despite it costing 100% more than the refurb.

My experience with refurbished products has been very mixed. Some items I've purchased in the past have crapped out on me within a few months, while others have lasted a very long time. What are your experiences with refurb products?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Perhaps you can purchase the refurb product with a warranty extending credit card. That way, you'll get 6 months instead of 3.

FT
http://www.MillionDollarJourney.com
January 10, 2007 at 7:03 AM
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