WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.120 Apple doesn't really do sales, and when they do, the savings are kind of unappealing. 00:00:10.120 --> 00:00:15.280 But where they do offer a discount is in the Apple certified refurbished store, and it 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:19.080 seems like for the most part, people swear by it. 00:00:19.080 --> 00:00:24.880 So I want to buy a Mac and iOS device to see if these great deals come with any sort of 00:00:24.880 --> 00:00:39.240 refurbished risks. They did. 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:44.080 If you're wondering where to find the refurbished store, scroll all the way to the bottom of 00:00:44.080 --> 00:00:47.160 the Apple store website or the app. 00:00:47.160 --> 00:00:55.040 Not every region has a refurbished store, though. It's missing in Mexico, Mozambique, Moldova, Malaysia, along with some larger nations that 00:00:55.040 --> 00:01:00.600 don't start with M, like India. Apple claims that the devices you get are like new. 00:01:00.600 --> 00:01:05.760 They undergo a full cleaning, full functional testing, and anything that's broken is replaced 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:12.440 with Apple genuine parts. iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad undergo an even more thorough refurbishment process, 00:01:12.440 --> 00:01:15.640 getting a brand new battery and outer shell too. 00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:20.320 Then they are all repackaged into white boxes with Apple certified refurbished written on 00:01:20.320 --> 00:01:27.200 them to warn remind you. In terms of the sale, they're treated just like any new devices, with the same one-year 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:31.680 warranty, AppleCare Plus option, delivery, and return policies. 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:37.480 So by all accounts, these are grade A fully backed products, maybe with some extra distance 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:42.640 between you and the factory. If you're okay with that, here's how much you can save. 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:48.080 With Macs, the discount is 15% off the retail price at the time they were last sold. 00:01:48.080 --> 00:01:55.480 And with iOS devices, the discounts are bigger. My calculations vary between 13 and 33%, depending on the model. 00:01:55.480 --> 00:02:01.680 It looks like some of these iPads have a little bit of depreciation factor in, which is nice. 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:06.320 What this ultimately means, though, is that the best deals for Macs are with the latest 00:02:06.320 --> 00:02:11.200 models, so that would probably be something with Apple Silicon or an Intel model still 00:02:11.200 --> 00:02:16.720 in production. I suggest researching what Mac you want to buy first, then stopping in at the refurbished 00:02:16.720 --> 00:02:21.720 store to see if it's available there. You might, or might not, find what you're looking for. 00:02:21.720 --> 00:02:26.320 But the research phase should keep you from ending up with a bad deal, like I did in my 00:02:26.320 --> 00:02:33.080 last video. From my research, all I need is a base M1 MacBook Air, since I'm just writing and surfing 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:38.320 the web. I also wouldn't mind snagging an iPad mini if I can get one for a good price. 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:47.040 I swear I saw a gold MacBook in here yesterday. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:53.560 And now it doesn't look like there is any. There's some colored iMacs, those are nice. 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:57.360 There isn't ephemeral nature to the refurbished store to be aware of. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:01.360 With something as in-demand as the MacBook Air, it can be here one minute and gone the 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:04.880 next. It might not show up for a day or a couple of weeks. 00:03:04.880 --> 00:03:09.440 It really depends. You'll have to weigh your patience and urgency with the savings. 00:03:09.440 --> 00:03:15.400 Urgency can be really expensive. If you want to set up a notification, refurbtracker.com is a pretty great site. 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:20.240 Now one interesting thing I've noticed is that when the listing shows the original price 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:24.160 and how much you save, that's a default base skew. 00:03:24.160 --> 00:03:29.240 If it just shows a price, that means it's been customized with more RAM or storage. 00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:36.840 The discount is still the same though. So that MacBook Air I want is $850 in here. 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:40.840 Now how does that compare to the prices elsewhere? 00:03:40.840 --> 00:03:47.040 Rarely, some retail sales prices drop down to or below refurbished pricing. 00:03:47.040 --> 00:03:50.440 But the best deals are fleeting, so it's serendipity. 00:03:50.440 --> 00:03:54.680 On the used market, there are MacBooks at an equivalent price and since it'd be a private 00:03:54.680 --> 00:04:01.760 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 00:04:01.760 --> 00:04:06.400 the device condition isn't fully guaranteed plus you can return it. 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:10.840 With the iPad, it's a little bit of a different story because there are some older models 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:14.960 in the refurbish store at prices much higher than a used model. 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:20.800 But then again, they have a new battery which costs minimum $100 to replace if you're unlucky 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:27.920 and don't forget the new chassis. Okay, so the MacBook I want isn't in here. 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:32.320 So do I buy something else or do I just wait? 00:04:32.320 --> 00:04:39.160 Oh, look! 00:04:39.160 --> 00:04:45.080 There are MacBook Airs in here! Ah, but only in silver and space grey. 00:04:45.080 --> 00:04:50.680 I really wanted a gold one. So I guess I'll just get a silver one. 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:53.680 You can't always get what you want in the Apple refurbish store. 00:04:53.680 --> 00:05:01.000 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 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:05.520 those colors. So here's a last generation model for only $340. 00:05:05.520 --> 00:05:09.240 Let's see. Okay, gold out of stock. 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:13.160 Silver likewise. More storage. Nope. 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:16.720 Alright, so space grey, 64 gigabytes it is. 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:20.600 Okay, I guess we're done. You know what? 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:23.960 Before I check out, I'm just going to go back and refresh the MacBooks. 00:05:23.960 --> 00:05:27.560 Let's see what happens. It's here! 00:05:27.560 --> 00:05:30.560 There's a gold one! Yes! Okay, let's fix this up and buy. 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:33.680 It's a real Campbell. Perfect. 00:05:42.320 --> 00:05:46.840 Well, it doesn't look any different from any one. 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:55.320 There's like a tiny mark on the keyboard or something. Wait, uh oh. 00:05:55.320 --> 00:05:58.320 What? That's interesting. You think it was a demo? 00:05:58.320 --> 00:06:01.320 Not a demo device. Demo registration. 00:06:01.320 --> 00:06:05.040 Oh no, what have I done? 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:07.520 Let's unbox the iPad. 00:06:11.520 --> 00:06:16.240 Yeah, this looks great. It's pristine. This isn't going into demo mode. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:21.200 Honestly, this and this are a good buy, though I had to really figure out what's going on 00:06:21.200 --> 00:06:24.480 with the whole demo mode thing, so. 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:29.040 Let me use these for a couple of days and see how they fare. 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:33.320 When a Mac is in demo mode, it's in demo mode. 00:06:33.320 --> 00:06:37.720 You can't just format the hard drive and reinstall macOS, because if you do, it just 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:42.400 goes back into demo mode again. So I had to call Apple customer support. 00:06:42.400 --> 00:06:47.240 Thank you for contacting Apple support. Clearly, this is something that doesn't happen that often. 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:51.400 They have never come across this. I know, it's really strange, yeah. 00:06:51.400 --> 00:06:56.120 After an hour of re-reinstalling macOS, I was told to exchange it for another unit. 00:06:56.120 --> 00:07:05.480 Oh, let's get you up to a senior advisor who has not seen too much information on this. 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:08.840 On the other hand, the iPad mini works great. 00:07:08.840 --> 00:07:13.160 It's frankly impossible to tell that this is a refurbished model. 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:16.440 It connects to the pencil flawlessly. 00:07:16.440 --> 00:07:19.960 It's portable, light, fast, enjoyable to use. 00:07:19.960 --> 00:07:25.120 And according to my reading on coconut battery, this has a brand new battery and was made 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:30.240 in December. I wonder if Apple resets the manufactured date on refurbished iOS devices, because the 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:35.720 new iPad mini came out in September, and this is the outgoing model. 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:44.600 No matter. At $340, you can save $160 compared to a brand new generation model, which, if you're in 00:07:44.600 --> 00:07:49.400 a pinch, is pretty good. Okay, so I guess I'm going to be running Mac-less for... 00:07:49.400 --> 00:07:57.400 Hey! It's arrived! 00:07:57.400 --> 00:08:00.400 We're in! 00:08:00.400 --> 00:08:04.640 It's the desktop! A success! That's great! 00:08:04.640 --> 00:08:10.160 Like the iPad, I really wouldn't be able to tell that this MacBook Air is refurbished 00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:13.880 from using it. The panel is bright and clear. 00:08:13.880 --> 00:08:19.640 The SSD's smart info shows that it was virtually unused before I got it, and likewise the battery. 00:08:19.640 --> 00:08:22.960 Though it appears that it might have degraded ever so slightly. 00:08:22.960 --> 00:08:28.720 So for $850, this is a great new laptop. 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:34.960 Still, I had to spend an hour on the phone and wait a week for the replacement, so despite 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:40.120 my hopes, there's a little risk to Apple's certified refurbished store, too. 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:45.520 It's not a big risk, like your device falling apart or looking strangely off, but it's there 00:08:45.520 --> 00:08:50.800 alright. That being said, the demo mode issue is probably quite rare, considering I couldn't find 00:08:50.800 --> 00:08:54.240 any information, forum posts, etc. about it online. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:58.440 Maybe just don't tempt fate when the gold MacBook you wanted appears out of thin air. 00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:07.760 So is the risk of having to spend that time worth the 15% savings, or in my case $150? 00:09:07.760 --> 00:09:13.320 For someone as cheap as me, yes, but for those of an instant gratification disposition or 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:17.100 running a business in need of a Mac right now, maybe not. 00:09:17.100 --> 00:09:21.880 But after asking a handful of our Twitter followers, many replied saying that they exclusively 00:09:21.880 --> 00:09:27.480 buy off the refurbished store. Most all responded that they were happy with their purchase, except for one. 00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:31.560 What I've discovered here is that the results vary by product. 00:09:31.560 --> 00:09:36.400 For instance, I wouldn't buy an iPad Pro from anywhere but the refurbished store. 00:09:36.400 --> 00:09:44.840 You can get an upgraded iPad Pro with the A12Z chip from 2020 for $690, $60 less than 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:47.920 an equivalent iPad Air. That's pretty compelling. 00:09:47.920 --> 00:09:56.000 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 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:02.120 laptop because trust me, a couple of years with one of those would be far more inconvenient 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:07.320 than an hour on the phone. Thanks for exchanging this Mac Address for one that's not broken. 00:10:07.320 --> 00:10:12.480 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? 00:10:12.480 --> 00:10:16.360 Now, if you yourself have bought a refurbished Mac, tell us how good a deal you're able 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:18.960 to snag. Or if it was just full of snags.