Apple doesn't really do sales, and when they do, the savings are kind of unappealing.
But where they do offer a discount is in the Apple certified refurbished store, and it
seems like for the most part, people swear by it.
So I want to buy a Mac and iOS device to see if these great deals come with any sort of
refurbished risks. They did.
If you're wondering where to find the refurbished store, scroll all the way to the bottom of
the Apple store website or the app.
Not every region has a refurbished store, though. It's missing in Mexico, Mozambique, Moldova, Malaysia, along with some larger nations that
don't start with M, like India. Apple claims that the devices you get are like new.
They undergo a full cleaning, full functional testing, and anything that's broken is replaced
with Apple genuine parts. iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad undergo an even more thorough refurbishment process,
getting a brand new battery and outer shell too.
Then they are all repackaged into white boxes with Apple certified refurbished written on
them to warn remind you. In terms of the sale, they're treated just like any new devices, with the same one-year
warranty, AppleCare Plus option, delivery, and return policies.
So by all accounts, these are grade A fully backed products, maybe with some extra distance
between you and the factory. If you're okay with that, here's how much you can save.
With Macs, the discount is 15% off the retail price at the time they were last sold.
And with iOS devices, the discounts are bigger. My calculations vary between 13 and 33%, depending on the model.
It looks like some of these iPads have a little bit of depreciation factor in, which is nice.
What this ultimately means, though, is that the best deals for Macs are with the latest
models, so that would probably be something with Apple Silicon or an Intel model still
in production. I suggest researching what Mac you want to buy first, then stopping in at the refurbished
store to see if it's available there. You might, or might not, find what you're looking for.
But the research phase should keep you from ending up with a bad deal, like I did in my
last video. From my research, all I need is a base M1 MacBook Air, since I'm just writing and surfing
the web. I also wouldn't mind snagging an iPad mini if I can get one for a good price.
I swear I saw a gold MacBook in here yesterday.
And now it doesn't look like there is any. There's some colored iMacs, those are nice.
There isn't ephemeral nature to the refurbished store to be aware of.
With something as in-demand as the MacBook Air, it can be here one minute and gone the
next. It might not show up for a day or a couple of weeks.
It really depends. You'll have to weigh your patience and urgency with the savings.
Urgency can be really expensive. If you want to set up a notification, refurbtracker.com is a pretty great site.
Now one interesting thing I've noticed is that when the listing shows the original price
and how much you save, that's a default base skew.
If it just shows a price, that means it's been customized with more RAM or storage.
The discount is still the same though. So that MacBook Air I want is $850 in here.
Now how does that compare to the prices elsewhere?
Rarely, some retail sales prices drop down to or below refurbished pricing.
But the best deals are fleeting, so it's serendipity.
On the used market, there are MacBooks at an equivalent price and since it'd be a private
sale you save on sales tax. On the flip side, you also will have to meet up with a stranger in a different town and
the device condition isn't fully guaranteed plus you can return it.
With the iPad, it's a little bit of a different story because there are some older models
in the refurbish store at prices much higher than a used model.
But then again, they have a new battery which costs minimum $100 to replace if you're unlucky
and don't forget the new chassis. Okay, so the MacBook I want isn't in here.
So do I buy something else or do I just wait?
Oh, look!
There are MacBook Airs in here! Ah, but only in silver and space grey.
I really wanted a gold one. So I guess I'll just get a silver one.
You can't always get what you want in the Apple refurbish store.
Alright, let's find that iPad mini. Now, a brand new one would set me back $500 but I don't need all that technology and all
those colors. So here's a last generation model for only $340.
Let's see. Okay, gold out of stock.
Silver likewise. More storage. Nope.
Alright, so space grey, 64 gigabytes it is.
Okay, I guess we're done. You know what?
Before I check out, I'm just going to go back and refresh the MacBooks.
Let's see what happens. It's here!
There's a gold one! Yes! Okay, let's fix this up and buy.
It's a real Campbell. Perfect.
Well, it doesn't look any different from any one.
There's like a tiny mark on the keyboard or something. Wait, uh oh.
What? That's interesting. You think it was a demo?
Not a demo device. Demo registration.
Oh no, what have I done?
Let's unbox the iPad.
Yeah, this looks great. It's pristine. This isn't going into demo mode.
Honestly, this and this are a good buy, though I had to really figure out what's going on
with the whole demo mode thing, so.
Let me use these for a couple of days and see how they fare.
When a Mac is in demo mode, it's in demo mode.
You can't just format the hard drive and reinstall macOS, because if you do, it just
goes back into demo mode again. So I had to call Apple customer support.
Thank you for contacting Apple support. Clearly, this is something that doesn't happen that often.
They have never come across this. I know, it's really strange, yeah.
After an hour of re-reinstalling macOS, I was told to exchange it for another unit.
Oh, let's get you up to a senior advisor who has not seen too much information on this.
On the other hand, the iPad mini works great.
It's frankly impossible to tell that this is a refurbished model.
It connects to the pencil flawlessly.
It's portable, light, fast, enjoyable to use.
And according to my reading on coconut battery, this has a brand new battery and was made
in December. I wonder if Apple resets the manufactured date on refurbished iOS devices, because the
new iPad mini came out in September, and this is the outgoing model.
No matter. At $340, you can save $160 compared to a brand new generation model, which, if you're in
a pinch, is pretty good. Okay, so I guess I'm going to be running Mac-less for...
Hey! It's arrived!
We're in!
It's the desktop! A success! That's great!
Like the iPad, I really wouldn't be able to tell that this MacBook Air is refurbished
from using it. The panel is bright and clear.
The SSD's smart info shows that it was virtually unused before I got it, and likewise the battery.
Though it appears that it might have degraded ever so slightly.
So for $850, this is a great new laptop.
Still, I had to spend an hour on the phone and wait a week for the replacement, so despite
my hopes, there's a little risk to Apple's certified refurbished store, too.
It's not a big risk, like your device falling apart or looking strangely off, but it's there
alright. That being said, the demo mode issue is probably quite rare, considering I couldn't find
any information, forum posts, etc. about it online.
Maybe just don't tempt fate when the gold MacBook you wanted appears out of thin air.
So is the risk of having to spend that time worth the 15% savings, or in my case $150?
For someone as cheap as me, yes, but for those of an instant gratification disposition or
running a business in need of a Mac right now, maybe not.
But after asking a handful of our Twitter followers, many replied saying that they exclusively
buy off the refurbished store. Most all responded that they were happy with their purchase, except for one.
What I've discovered here is that the results vary by product.
For instance, I wouldn't buy an iPad Pro from anywhere but the refurbished store.
You can get an upgraded iPad Pro with the A12Z chip from 2020 for $690, $60 less than
an equivalent iPad Air. That's pretty compelling.
As for Macs, they're still good deals too. With this being only $850, it's harder to resign yourself into buying a cheap Windows
laptop because trust me, a couple of years with one of those would be far more inconvenient
than an hour on the phone. Thanks for exchanging this Mac Address for one that's not broken.
If you want to get a Mac on sale, give this video a like. And if you're fine paying full price, why not subscribe?
Now, if you yourself have bought a refurbished Mac, tell us how good a deal you're able
to snag. Or if it was just full of snags.