Anyone ever bought manufacturer refurbished?

Seen a few laptops selling that are much cheaper and 'manufacturer refurbished', just wondered if they are much cheaper because there are likely to be problems, or just the old custom of people being put off because its not brand spanking new?

Anyone had any experiences?

 

Most likely there will be no functional problems. Sometimes the product has cosmetic defects or it could be perfectly new. If a user buys a laptop and returns it (after opening it or even without opening it), the manufacturer cannot sell it as new anymore and must check to make sure everything is ok. Refurbished laptops usually are as good as new ones at the expense of customizability.

 

Since you are on this forum, I guess you refer to Lenovo/Thinkpads.

As far as the Lenovo Outlet goes, there are four options:
1) New = canceled order and never shipped
2) Redistributed = order shipped and returned unopened
3) Refurbished = order shipped and returned opened; may have been powered up; laptop has been restored to factory condition (no word on “refurbished for cosmetic blemishes”
4) Scratch & Dent = same as above; laptop has been reconditioned and may have cosmetic blemishes (meaning, you may get a scratch or two, or more, I wouldn’t know; I guess they would replace a cracked screen or something big like that!)

sgogeta4 is correct – there is no customization possible in any of these.

Needless to say, New and Redistributed are theoretically and practically new. You have nothing to fear there. I was opting to get one of those but found nothing that would fit my specs (and price, compared to buying a new one from Lenovo directly; see below).

So, I ended up buying a refurbished x201 from the Lenovo Outlet 10 days ago; it was a good experience despite what I’ve read for the Outlet from other users/customers in the past (admittedly, though, Lenovo Outlet has made great improvements in their ordering/tracking system recently). I got a confirmation email the same day, the item shipped within 1 day (or 2) and arrived to me exactly 1 week later (2 days ago; free standard UPS).

I was pleasantly surprised by the cosmetic appearance of the laptop. The thing looks and feels like new. I am peaky, but I mean there is simply nothing that indicates prior use. It even smells new! The Ultrabase that came with it was still sealed. Functionally, it appears perfect as well. No problems at all. Per the description above and my personal experience, therefore, I think that MOST “refurbished” Lenovo laptops are laptops that have been powered on, maybe used for a couple of hours, and returned because the customer did not like them (e.g. did not like the matte screen on a Thinkpad, or they realized they ordered without a webcam, or with XP downgrade, or with a 32-bit system and 8GB of RAM! – there are many such examples out there in the Outlet).

Now, you need to follow Outlet’s stock for quite some time before you decide. They usually get laptops online by big batches, 100-200 or so. At that time you will more than likely be able to find something that fits your needs. Then they slowly sell out, with some promotions going on now and then (like the current 10% off). For instance, 1-2 months ago, there were ~200 or so X201 available but now there are only 5 or so. My guess is a new batch will arrive shortly. Be patient for a little while and you’ll have plenty of configurations to choose from.

Price: nice, but I think there are catches. I am pretty much convinced that the price Lenovo Outlet lists as “retail” is the price that the original customer paid for, and not the actual list price from Lenovo direct. I think anybody will reach the same conclusion if one compares prices among different configurations. That being said, the price the Outlet sells for is relative to what the original customer bought for. So, if you get across a laptop that was bought without any coupons or anything, chances are you’ll pay more or less the same as if you were to buy a new machine directly from Lenovo during a 10-15% off period (90% of the time Lenovo laptops carry these kinds of coupons). But if you come across a laptop that was bought by a Lenovo employee, with a 30-50% off, then you got yourself a sweet deal!

For example, I remember when I was looking for my x201, a refurbished X201 Tablet packed (i7-620, 500GB@7200, 8GB RAM, ultrabase, and all other extras) appeared on one day, selling for ~$1600! Configuring the same system from Lenovo at that time came out at ~$3000! Needless to say, it disappeared from the website within 1 hour or so. (I was tempted to buy it myself and resell it, by alas!).

I got my X201 with i5-540, 320GB@7200, 4GB RAM, camera, ultranav, fingerprint, BT, N6200 WLAN, Gobi GPS/3G, 6-cell, and Ultrabase w/ DVDRW for $997 (1059 w/ tax and free shipping), which is a decent deal in my book.

What I mean is this: be patient, check every other day, compare with new, and choose wisely!

It should not go without saying that all Outlet laptops come with 1 year warranty now.


I hope this info helps.

 

It certainly does. I was unaware of the warranty change.

To the OP - Lenovo has made major strides in their Outlet website; I'd guess that's to compete with Dell, whose Outlet is second-to-none in its sorting capabilities. It used to be that you had to look at every laptop one-by-one to ensure the specs. Now they have a degree of sorting criteria that makes it much, much easier.

 

I addition to the warranty being downgraded to one year, it is not upgradeable via normal means. You must buy an out of warranty upgrade, which is more expensive. I've bought Lenovo and Apple refurbed products. All seemed new to me.

 

Correct, Lenovo refers to them as "Post-Warranty Upgrades" which must be purchased within 30 days or less from the end of the initial one year warranty.

Just a comment though: in Lenovo Outlet terms, the 1-year warranty is an upgrade, not a downgrade! (used to be 90 days or so if I remember correctly). One year is fine by me, though, since most faults I've experienced occurred sooner rather than later (with intense, near everyday usage). Once the lappy goes into adulthood (after 6 months or so), I am not afraid of anything (well, at least until it becomes an elder, after 3 years!).

 

Lenovo doesn't stipulate a time frame for when you have to purchase the post warranty warranty. You can let it lapse for one year and still purchase it.

 

Lenovo Outlet does, though.
Lenovo Outlet - Customer Service

 

okay that is weird, because my friend had an outlet machine from USA, and the warranty has lapsed for one year now and it still got extended.

Since the outlet stipulates this rule, then it is best that you follow it, just in case.

 

Right- So, just as an example, check out a X201T that was forgotten in my internet history cache; I just came across it while “dusting”. It was (now it’s gone, of course) spec-ed more or less like the X201T mentioned above (i7, 500/8GB), without the ultrabase/DVDRW but with the SuperBright Outdoor screen, for $1577! (I sincerely love that screen and was considering getting the Tablet just for that!)- Notice the 8GB RAM on the 32-bit Windows, which I guess is the reason for returning it...who knows really.

And by the way, let me take this opportunity and say this: Always, but always take a screen shot or print to PDF the full specs of the machine you ordered. Has not happened to me, but some people report that they received different specs from what they ordered through the Outlet. Granted, this may not always mean you will receive less! Just for your peace of mind!

 

Update: The Outlet just got a new batch of 119 X201, starting from $830 or so. For whoever is interested... And they have 4 Superbright tablets, from $1800, though... (but one full-extra with SSD, 4GB RAM, and ultrabase sells for $1820, which is not bad...)

 

And I will be paying close to US$ 1400 for a new x201!!!!

 

that is how much it costs in Australia, so don't think too much about it.