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Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
Question of the Day: Would You Buy a Refurbished Laptop?
Dealzmodo: Apple Drops iPod Touch Refurb Price To $199

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P3nnst8r
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
My financial life lives on Woot, so yes, I have bought refurbbed things before.
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benjello
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
Previous generation MacBook Pro's are a great deal right now. Plus, the last of the Matte Screen Soldiers.
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Kaiser-Machead
11/04/08

@benjello: It would be miraculous if the matte option is brought out for the next 17" pro
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RainyDayInterns
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
We buy used Apple laptops all the time. Actually, come to think of it, we have NEVER purchased a new Apple laptop :-)

The best deal was definitely a Pismo unit which we used for years. We finally had to sell it because OSX 10.5 could not be loaded on it. We sold it and for the same amount of money we bought it for and purchased a used 12" PowerBook. Our only regret is the 12" PowerBook is based on the Motorola CPU. We suspect the support for that chip is not long for this world.

One of these days, we may actually buy a new Apple laptop. However, it is hard to beat paying $300 for a piece of well designed, even if it is a bit old, piece of Apple gear.
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Kaiser-Machead
11/04/08

@RainyDayInterns: Apple still issues some security updates for Tiger. All things considered, I think that Tiger is still a good solid OS to use to this day, and I'm sure Leopard would work on it fine so long as it's a clean install rather than an upgrade.
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Digitallysick
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
It helps to lie at the apple store and go under education and say you to go to college for a discount
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Kaiser-Machead
11/04/08

@Digitallysick: Unless you get people who ask for ID, which is often.
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Earthslide
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
The refurbished MacBook Pros with the GLOSSY screens are selling like hotcakes. I leave work, get home, no more :( I hope they update the site with more. I thought everyone hated the Gloss?
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
11/04/08

@Earthslide: I love my glossy screen.
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
Many times the only thing wrong w/ a refurb item is that it had a bad/cracked/cold solder joint.
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
Yeah, I don't worry about used stuff. I can disinfect/spray it down if I feel I'm in danger of some sort of disease/bodily fluid I don't like. What I worry about is how poorly many people treat their own belongings, let alone something they don't plan on keeping.

I'd buy a scratch and dent PC that I'm going to shove under a desk somewhere. I'm not sure I'd buy a scratch and dent laptop if I didn't know exactly what was scratched/dented/cracked and where. Wouldn't want a screen hinge to snap off or something.
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discounteggroll
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
I buy and advocate refurbs all the time. However, there are certain companies [cough...sandisk] that slap a giant REFURBISHED badge on the product for all the world to see.

my latest refurb goose egg was for an Onkyo S3100 home theater system for $108 shipped (from onkyo) when they retail for $299+ new. I couldn't even tell it was a refurb (shipped in onkyo box, came with all cables, remote, etc and didn't even look like it was touched by human hands.

All in all, eggrolls are the only thing I will buy new (but obviously not at MSRP)
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SmartyPantsDance.
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
I am planning on buying one also :D

That white MacBook looks 100% sexier than the new one (Even though I have never seen the new one in the first person...yet)
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
11/04/08

@SmartyPantsDance.: It's nice... It's really, really nice.
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Kaiser-Machead
11/04/08

@SmartyPantsDance.: What ^that guy said. Lovely little doodads they are, and have way better build quality than the polycarbonate 'books.
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
11/04/08

@Kaiser-Machead's Cookie-Powered LEGO Machine: Yeah, basically since I made the switch from having a separate gaming-rig PC the build quality of a laptop is one of the first things I check when evaluating one. My MBP is nice, but I don't like the "give" in the wrist rest area, which tends to be even worse in other laptops I've used made of plastic. The one-piece models seem to take care of that problem outright.
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Kaiser-Machead
11/04/08

@Lite: Have you ever removed the key panel of the old MBP? This new book makes it look extremely flimsy when you check the components on their own.
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
11/04/08

@Kaiser-Machead's Cookie-Powered LEGO Machine: Yep. Several times. Twice for HD upgrades, and once to replace the DVD Rom drive... 23 screws, a lot of swearing, and a good deal of sweating.

I'm honestly convinced that my DVD drive died because it acts as a structural component of the wrist rests.
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Kaiser-Machead
11/04/08

@Lite: Actually, that's pretty much how it is. The problem with these systems is that their thin form factor but flexible outer shells cause a lot of stress on the biggest internals. The Macbook has a nasty habit of scratching discs if you move it around because the entire case flexes and causes the uberthin optical drive to do the same. It's a huge design flaw that's finally gone. Whew
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
Some people have lower computing needs than others. I like that my laptop is both portable in weight, has decent battery life, and can still play games fairly decently.
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SaudaminiTydeus
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
I'll give you the A-numbah-one reason right here why there's more stigma on buying a 'used' laptop. What are the odds that someone has just whacked off then had their hands all over that laptop of theirs? I'd say that's about 2000% percent more likely than someone rubbing one out immediately before touching their steering wheel.
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
11/04/08

@SaudaminiTydeus: Apparently you haven't had nearly enough road head.
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OMG! Ponies!
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
Refurbs also tend to go through an additional round of inspections. There is a slight difference between refurb and remanufactured.

Remanufactured tends to mean that there was something defective and the problem part(s) were swapped out with brand new parts. Refurb tends to just be a customer return.

I have no problem with refurb and scratch-and-dent. A few years back, I got a $1000 Sony receiver for $400 as a scratch-and-dent. The customer had returned it with the complaint "there was a scratch on the bottom". In other words, buyer's remorse. I saved a bundle and enjoy 7:1 sound.
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Kaiser-Machead
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
I always check out the refurb aisle on Apple's website to see what kind of deals they're offering, but this time around I'll just be taking advantage of my ACD discount, which takes a considerable amount off of the price of a new Macbook Pro.

But overall it's sweet. You basically get what is essentially a brand-spanking new computer in a slightly less glamorous box. My uncle recently bought a Mac Pro refurbished, and he paid a few hundred less for a machine that was indistinguishable from the one in the regular black MP packaging, with the same warranty. I don't check other refurbs from other manufacturers however, so I'm not too in tune with how the arrangement is for them, but if they're direct from the company, they should be every bit as worth it.
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theblackdog_FeelingRandom
11/04/08

In reply to Why You Should Buy a Refurbished Laptop
Basically, this implies that many of us are buying more laptop than we really need.

Hard to do that when you buy a netbook because you realize that's all you need ;-)
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
11/04/08

@theblackdog: Sorry, I still need a DVD drive.
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daftrok
11/04/08

@Lite:

RANDOM FACT 1273: Owned DVDs can be ripped onto a USB flash drive and you can rent DVDs online and watch them online.
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
11/04/08

@daftrok: So, I'm supposed to take an hour or two per disc to rip each DVD I own (Keep in mind I own well over 600 DVDs)from one lossy format (MPEG2) into another lossy format (mpeg4, or whatever codec I choose) just so I can then copy them to a thumb drive? Where as I can take my DVD's out of their cases, and slip them into a travel sleeve that I own in about an hour.

Streamed movies are fine when you have a good connection, but when you're on the road at a hotel w/ a Satellite based (DirecWay, etc) internet connection that is shared not so great. Not to mention those times I spend in a plane flying about, and typically do not have an internet connection available.

Not to mention that I receive data in DVD format often, which requires me to transfer it either to another medium first w/ a secondary machine, or...

I appreciate your attempt at snarkily trying to humble me with random trivial facts without you knowing about my specific situation.
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