Refurbished from Apple?

[Colleen27]

Has anyone bought a refurbished iPod/iPad/iPhone from Apple.com? Would you recommend it?

I'm looking at an iPod Touch for my 10yo DD's Christmas gift and know I want 32gb capacity, so refurbished is much more in line with what we usually budget for the kids' big gifts than buying new. But I'm not 100% confident about buying refurbished, even from Apple directly. I'd love to hear experiences, good and bad, to help me make up my mind!

 

[jrmasm]

It' still pretty new but my dd has had no problems with the refurb Touch she got from Apple last month. Waaaayy cheaper going that route.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

DH and I have been using refurbished iPhones for several years now! No issues and looked brand-spakin' new when we got them. DH has had a few refurbished iPods and all looked like new.

 

[kerplop]

Several people I work with have bought refurbed Macbooks and they have had absolutely no problems with them.

 

[Missyrose]

The nice thing about Apple refurbished products is that they test them about a billion times more than anything you bought new. So there ends up being very few problems with any of them.

Totally safe and totally worth it!

 

[Plumeria9]

I am writing to you on my refurbished Macbook - the black one. I bought it almost 3 years ago. I bought the Apple Care on amazon.com for about $50 less than thru Apple. The Apple Care has been great, I would highly recommend it w/ any Apple product. The price varies w/ the product, and you can buy it someplace else other than the Apple Store.

 

[justthe6ofus]

My husband owns his own business - relying 100% on his laptop - and they only buy refurbs. My MacBook is a refurb and our iPhones are both refurbs. No problems. So yep, I'd recommend it!

 

[CarlisleMom]

I bought dd9 a refurbished Ipod Nano for christmas 2010. We have had no problems. Bought DH a Ipod classic about 3 years ago, again no problem. This is the way we plan on going for all future purchases.

Could always got to squaretrade or apple to buy extended coverage if you are nervous.

 

[kristenrice]

I bought a refurbed iPod Classic (a 30GB one) back in 2006. That thing has been through everything and still works like the day I received it. For some reason, it is starting to "split" at the top...the front is pulling apart from the back, revealing the "guts". I dropped it into the toilet not too long ago (CLEAN toilet!) and fished it out. It wouldn't turn on and so, of course, I wrote it off as deceased. Well, about two days later, it had dried out so I tried to turn it on...WORKED PERFECT! I bought a silicone case from iFrogz and that has alleviated the "splitting" problem at the top. I still use it every day and I love it. I will never buy a new one again as I am sold on the quality of the refurbs!

 

[maxiesmom]

I got my niece a refurbed Ipod for Christmas last year. The thing works perfectly.And she is not the easiest on her electronics either.

 

[Eljay]

My and my husbands first iPhones were refurbs and they were perfect. At the time we bought them from AT&T, we were told that they had the same warranty as a brand new one, so we thought, what the heck! Just be sure to ask about the warranty.

 

[DaniB]

I would purchase the 32 GB refurb than an 8 GB. I will be when I save up for my own 4th gen.

My DD12 saved & purchased new an 8GB. She keeps wanting to add new tv shows, games, music - along with taking videos & photos - and *always* has to remove content. It's just NOT large enough to hold everything she wants.

 

[dhardawa]

I have purchased a ton of refurbished Apple products. The best part is, they come with a full 1 year warranty. I had one iPod Touch that had broken speakers when I received it. I called Apple on Monday to report it and they had me go print out a page online and told me to take just the iPod and the paper to a UPS store the next day. On Tuesday, I went to the UPS store where they filled out some other paperwork, boxed, and overnighted the iPod to Apple at Apple's expense. Wednesday morning, I received an email saying Apple had received it. Wednesday afternoon, I received another email saying they would be replacing it. Thursday afternoon, a brand new iPod was delivered. Wow! I couldn't have asked for better customer service. I was completely blown away.

 

[LattNJ]

I bought 2 refurbished Ipod nanos directly from the Apple site last Christmas. I checked the section that had the refurbished ipods every so often and waited until there were 2 of the same model in the colors I wanted and purchased them. They are packaged like the new ones with ear phones and charger and everything, but in small writing it does say it is refurbished on the box. My kids were 2 excited to notice it though. We've never had a problem with them so far, 8 months later.

 

[starwood]

Does apple sell refurbished iphones for verizon? DS is currently upset with me because we both had droids we couldn't upgrade until April. He has had multiple replacement phones and we went to Verizon because he was again having problems. They said I was due for an early upgrade so I got an iphone and gave him my droid. He is not happy because he wanted the iphone. Verizon has pre-owned iphones on their website but they are sold out.

Actually - never mind. I just checked the apple site and it requires a new 2 year activation or you need to be due for a new phone.

 

[granmanh603]

Got a referb I touch from Apple last Nov for myself...love it...no problem, like new... got the Square Trade Waranty too as an extended warenty..Apple had 1 year same a new ones.. trying to talk my husband into a referb I pad

 

[bigbabyblues]

We have 2 refurbished iPods, we got them both for Christmas 2009 and they're still working fine. I would not hesitate to buy another one from them. I did buy DH's iPod Touch new last year because I waited until 3 days before Christmas to buy it.

 

[Meagansmom]

Just an fyi....I do know that when you purchase a brand new Ipod touch and we also puchased the warranty, if something goes wrong, you will send it in and you will receive a refurbished unit. I don't think this is right, but this is what happens. So sometimes buying new isn't the best thing. Our refurbished have lasted longer than the new ones. Knock on wood!

 

[kisaacs]

I'll only buy refurb from Apple. They stand behind their refurbs as if they're new. We've had this computer for almost 3 years now and saved a bundle buying it refurb. Highly recommend it!

Kristen

 

[daughtersrus]

Like others have said, I've never had a problem with any of the refurbished ipods that I've purchased from Apple. Over the years, I think it's been at least 6 with the first one being over 5 years ago. All are still going strong.