Why I buy refurbished tech and you should too

Hi, I’m Tarus, and I’m a “tech-aholic”.

I love mobile tech — phones, tablets, wearables. if it has to do with mobile, I’m all over it. The newest flagship phones are starting to be released, and I’m wide-eyed yet again, hoping to get my hands on the latest and greatest.

With new devices being released all the time, it can be exhausting and extremely expensive to keep up. We are getting to that time of year when it seems like there are new devices being released weekly and we just saw the HTC One (M8) and Samsung Galaxy S5 launch to great fanfare that are expensive on-contract , but off-contract, the prices are through the roof.

This leads me to the question I’ve been pondering: Why is there such a stigma around buying refurbished hardware? I frequent several forums and deal sites and when there is a post about a sale on a refurbished phone or tablet, there is usually a massive number of people making negative comments about the item. I read things like, “I thought this was a good deal until I saw that it was a refurb.” Comments like this really grind my gears.

I think that some people have had bad experiences with refurbished products and it left a sour taste in their mouth. They spew their negativity all over the Internet, and pretty soon, every refurbished product sale has a gang of angry villagers with torches and pitchforks in hand just waiting to vilify the perfectly acceptable products available for purchase.

When I’m in the market for my next Android device, I will check for refurbished deals first. I’ll scour deal sites like Slickdeals and Woot. I’ll look at Amazon, Walmart, Cowboom, and Newegg.  Plus, I‘ll even take advantage of Ebay, utilizing reputable sellers to purchase refurbished products.

Personally, I’ve had a really good experience with buying refurbished products, and when purchasing items I need. There are a few reasons why I chose a refurb first, such as:

• Items can usually be had for a fraction of the cost compared to buying brand new.
• Items usually look brand new with little to no signs of use.
• Most refurbished items are store demos, returns, overstocks, or cancelled orders.
• The manufacturer warranty still applies in most cases.
• You can purchase an extended warranty for piece of mind if you’d like.
• Returns are offered on most items.

Now, I am not saying that your experience will be perfect, as I’ve even purchased a smashed, refurbished TV from a certain big box retailer, which I was able to return. Nevertheless, you should highly consider buying refurbished devices if you’re looking to save money and get a deal. Please don’t worry about what others say on the Internet because for every negative commenter, there are a hundred others smiling, kicking back and enjoying their “refurbs”.