Refurbished vs New

[RodBsr]

Is it worth the savings to buy a refurbished monthly 4g prepaid phone rather than new? What are the pro's and con's of buying refurbished phones?

 

[colnago]

Well, if a phone was to have a problem, and only "1 problem", it would have been fixed for a refurb.

 

[chong67]

I would buy a new phone. Do you like other people stuff? Unless it is factory refurb, I would not touch it.

Buy it off ebay. Search under new. Look for seller with lots of feedback. Take your time or do snipping.

I pay with my cc which usually have extended warranty. I am not sure if this apply to buy new from owner.

You can always buy from Square Trade for ins.

I take care of my new phone well. No case or screen protector. Just use a home made cloth pouch. Then I use it for 10 mths (dont want it to hit the 12 mth) and sell it on ebay. Then I take they money n buy me another new phone.

Electronics is about the only thing I would pay some good money and I really enjoy it. I am not into fancy house, expensive cars or boats.

 

[Petrah]

I wouldn't purchase a refurb, but that's just me. If you do buy from Ebay, make sure the phone has never been activated. Once it's been activated by someone else then the warranty is toast (unless it's a refurb directly from the carrier). Too many issues with used phones to even post about. I recommend staying away from them.

 

[coco3133]

I like refurbs, cheap and sometimes better then new in my experience.

 

[RodBsr]

The refurbs I was considering were directly from T-mobile.

 

[walmart989]

Lots of refurbs are phones that were returned because the purchaser found a better deal, and returned the phone as f-ed up. Nothing wrong with the phone, but someone claimed there was. And on the other hand, lots of refurbs are phones that were all f-ed up. You try your luck and take your chances with it. Kind of like buying from Amazon, you usually get what you pay for.

 

[mogelijk]

Some tech articles will claim that refurbs are actually better than new. They argue that many of the phones had nothing wrong with them, as walmart989 mentioned, and were returned for other reasons. Additionally, the phones are repaired and tested before being sent back out. These articles claim that because of the testing that occurs on refurbished phones -- since they don't want the phones returned a second time -- failure rates are much lower on refurb phones than new phones.

 

[RodBsr]

Thanks Mogelijk... I just read an article like that last week.

Thanks everyone for their input. All of this helps.

 

[chong67]

Factory refurbish things I would consider. I always buy from Dell outlet.

I would not buy from a end user.

Would you buy a used car? They always heavily perfume it. To hide the bad smell. Same thing with bbq sauce to hide the real taste of meat.

 

[RodBsr]

It depends... I have bought used cars from people I knew well and I also knew how they took care of their car. THOSE cars worked out well for me and saved me money. So again it depends. There are always variables to consider.

But no... concerning a cell phone from someone I did not know... I would not buy that way. A dealer such as Dell or in the case of cell phones... directly from Tmo... I'd be willing to try that.

 

[tube517]

Buying used from Ebay or Amazon depends on how smart a shopper you are. Gotta watch out for the reviews of the sellers.

I've bought twice (used) on Ebay and once on Amazon and they worked out. All great ratings for the seller.

As far as refurbs, I would look for those first because they are cheaper and usually under a warranty. I never buy brand new anymore.

 

[SensationalRob]

I bought my sensation as a refurb and saved like $50....but know it only has a 90 day warranty not the year like a new one has....I got screwed.

 

[tube517]

You can get extended warranties or insurance even on refurbs

 

[new optimus]

I buy used most of the time, you just need to know what your looking at.
For example I bought a used galaxy s2 it was in good outside shape, and the guy I bought it from showed me it worked with his sim card. I have bought from ebay 2 used htc evo 4g's which also worked out well for me, had them for over a year, got 2 because didnt expect to win both bids.
I actually just sold both phones for more then I paid for them.

 

[eljefe0000]

i always buy used never had any problems. mainly because i know that the next best thing is right around the corner so i try buying low and selling fo a little profit or break even, i change phones all the time i get one and another maybe a month or two later besides technology is always changing so its best not to buy new because it will be replaced month down the line