Refurbished Equipment

JESTERJESTER Registered Users Posts: 369 Major grins
edited January 3, 2007 in Accessories
Do any of you have experience in purchasing refurbished equipment from the manufacturer. Would you recommend it. I am thinking of buying from BHPhoto whom I have purchased a lot of equipment from. They seem pretty reputable but I have never purchased anything refurbished.

Comments

  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,187 moderator
    edited January 1, 2007
    The label "refurbished" has no industry wide meaning, so there's no single answer to your question.

    If the item is "refurbished", allows considerable savings over "new" and still has an acceptable warrantee, then I am usually not against purchasing a "refurb" from a reputable dealer. B and H is among the most reputable of dealers, and I personally give that an extra value in my purchase decisions.

    On the other hand, if there is not much savings over "new", or if the warranty is considerably less than new, I usually go ahead with the "new" item instead.

    In the end, I measure risk, and possible remediation, against savings, and then just make the decision based on a rather "gut" feeling about whether the item is "worth" purchase at full price or not.

    ziggy53
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • JusticeiroJusticeiro Registered Users Posts: 1,177 Major grins
    edited January 1, 2007
    I bought my epson scanner refurbished- it was much cheaper, had the exact same warranty, and looked brand new when it arrived. As long as the product is under warranty, I'd buy it. I plan on buying a refurb iMac in a few weeks.
    Cave ab homine unius libri
  • Red BullRed Bull Registered Users Posts: 719 Major grins
    edited January 1, 2007
    I purchased my 100mm macro lens refurbished, and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between it and a brand new lens. Here are photos of it. It's as mint as any brand new lens!

    http://redbull.smugmug.com/gallery/2294908

    It came with a 6 month warranty instead of a 1 year.
    -Steven

    http://redbull.smugmug.com

    "Money can't buy happiness...But it can buy expensive posessions that make other people envious, and that feels just as good.":D

    Canon 20D, Canon 50 1.8 II, Canon 70-200 f/4L, Canon 17-40 f/4 L, Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro, Canon 430ex.
  • claudermilkclaudermilk Registered Users Posts: 2,756 Major grins
    edited January 2, 2007
    Check up on what refurb means. Typically it's a unit that failed QC, went through repairs in the factory & has to be sold as such. I bought an HP refurb PC years ago (it's a P II 300MHz--that's how old) & it's been running as my web server for the past 5 years and is still going strong.
    Chris
    http://www.chrislaudermilkphoto.com/
  • JESTERJESTER Registered Users Posts: 369 Major grins
    edited January 3, 2007
    Jester
    Thanks Everyone. I appreciate your responses. wings.gif I believe I will try a refurbished model. It is about $60.00 cheaper ($300 original)
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