Comments on: Certified Refurbished Macs One Way to Help Weather the Economic Storm

By: Alam

Alam — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:45:23 +0000

Refurbished laptops in general have to be tested thoroughly and the tests and checks are done manually. So it makes sense that a refurbished laptop would last and not break or play up. Also i think Apple have excellent customer service and excellent warranties should anything go wrong. so going refurbished is the way to go.

By: Charles

Charles — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:43:50 +0000

I bought an ACR iMac 20″ 6 months ago and it has worked perfectly. Just purchased an ACR Macbook Pro 15.4″ notebook and after a week, so far it too has been flawless in performance and appearance. Both of these refurbs were purchased from the Apple Store online, and both were shipped via FedEx. I paid extra for the 2 day shipping for the Macbook and it arrived in exactly 2 days from date of order.

By: David

David — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:18:01 +0000

Great Article! It just made me decide on a purchase on the Apple Refurbished Store… I wasn’t sure at first but I got myself a New 17 MacBook Pro.

From what I just red, it seems like I took a good decision!

By: Gerry

Gerry — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:14:44 +0000

Good to see the mostly positive comments regarding refurbished laptops. Having run the return operations of a large computer reseller I can tell you that many product returns that ultimately become “refurbished” units are actually new products that are ‘open box” and have never had power applied. Buying refurbished products from a trusted source can be a money saving way to aquire a product with features you wouldn’t normall be able to justify.

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:29:02 +0000

I never trust low prices. I prefer to pay more but get a guarantee that the thing I buy is the best possible and it’s quality is the highest.
Refurbs are for those who have a good understanding and able to take risks. Not for common consumers.

By: Newton Poetry — Refurb Macs make sense in down economy

Newton Poetry — Refurb Macs make sense in down economy — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:35:21 +0000

[...] Moore at The Apple Blog explains how Apple’s refurb system works, and why buying fixed-up Macs makes economic sense. His advice is to check Apple’s refubish [...]

By: KenC

KenC — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:28 +0000

I always buy Apple refurbs. Right now, there’s that MBA for $999 that is extremely tempting. I’ve got a 64GB SSD PATA drive that would fit. Essentially, what cost $3000 a year ago, can be had now for $1150, as a refurb.

By: Mikey Twit

Mikey Twit — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:04:12 +0000

I’m on a ACR black MacBook that is now 2 years old and has never given me a problem. It was my first ACR purchase. From there I bought a ACR white 1gen nano for the wife and an ACR Apple TV. When the Apple TV gave me a problem(wouldn’t update past 2.0) Apple replaced it no problem. I definitely recommend Apple ACR. I mean it’s the same warranty as brand new, so what have you got to lose?

By: kpsnyder

kpsnyder — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:48:01 +0000

I must say that the two 20″ Intel iMac’s and one Intel 17″ MBP I have helped friends and family purchase are all doing quite well to this day. All units arrived in such pristine condition I can’t possibly believe they were ever sold. If there’s any better way to get quality Apple hardware at a reasonable price, I’d certainly like to know.

By: Hayweed

Hayweed — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:12:16 +0000

I must have bought at least 3 macpros, 7 aluminium imacs, 3 airports, 4 apple tvs, 10 ipods, 2 macbooks, as well as older models and have only had 2 problems out of 40 or so purchases. My macpro’s fan would not stop running so they gave me a brand new one from the local apple store. One imac came with a russian keyboard and they overnighted me a brand new one the next day. I recommend acr to everyone and plan to buy a new macbook that way shortly. Just waiting for a 2nd generation macbook air at the right price.

I once bought pcs refurbished from HP and the keyboards were so gross and disgusting that I would never buy from them again. Now that macs can run windows, no reason to ever buy hp unless it is a new printer.

By: Eideard

Eideard — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:00:52 +0000

An additional – often frugal – means of acquiring newer Macs comes from dealing with an Apple retailer who takes trade-ins.

I’m not posting to plug the folks I always deal with; but, one of the reasons they’ve acquired my loyalty and a significant chunk of our family’s Apple business is that we’ve always gotten a very fair sum for the gear traded-in on new product.

I went from a 20″ iMac to a 24″ iMac almost a year after the original purchase for only a quite low 3-figure$ upgrade. Good enough for me.

By: Luca

Luca — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:18:41 +0000

I’ve actually purchased a black 2.2 C2D macbook which came in perfect condition for £660 instead of £950 for a black 2.4 C2D macbook. Excellent condition and no cosmetic damage at all. No problems. Feel brand new. My sister also bought a white macbook for i believe £520… Absolute bargain for any macbook by my book. Again no problems. I always recommend the refurbished apple items if you want a slightly cheaper alternative to the normal apple store.

By: Gazoobee

Gazoobee — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:27:18 +0000

I have only purchased one refurbished product from Apple, and while I don’t feel I was completely ripped off, I was severely disappointed both with the product and the service. It was a 23″ ACD that I bought and it arrived with a stuck pixel which (on reflection) was probably a likely thing to expect since anyone with any “pull” with Apple would return such a beast in a heartbeat. I suspect that a lot of Apple’s refurbished screens are perfectly good screens that have been returned due to the unavoidable pixel problems that all screens have.

The really bad part though was the shipping and packaging. They insisted on UPS, which is one of the worst ways to ship anything outside of the USA. I had to take a day off work to stay home and wait for it, and when it arrived it was in a plain cardboard box as mentioned in the article. I don’t know if they changed it, but at the time I ordered it the website gave the definite *impression* (even if technically it stayed mute on the subject), that original packaging would be used.

The box was half crushed, with ripped corners and the screen and associated parts just jumbled inside amidst a bunch of dark grey foam blocks arrayed in no particular order. scratches on the metal body, deep, deep scratches on the power supply, and some kind of sticky blue junk smeared on the side of the power adapter.

Sure I got a deal, but in the end it was maybe 10% cheaper but then again I lost a days pay waiting for it and have to stare at that broken pixel. Never again.

By: Rory Francis

Rory Francis — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:14:23 +0000

My first generation Intel MBP and iMac were ARC purchases and both have been stellar.