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Thanks for watching TechWiki. Click the subscribe button, then enable notifications with the bell icon, so you won't miss any future videos.

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When you hear the word refurbished,

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do you think of a great opportunity to save money, or a collection of secondhand junk that's been dropped, spilled upon, or generally mistreated?

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Also, we always tackle the tough questions around here. Is it even possible to just furbish something?

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Oh, I guess it is.

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Anyway, these refurbished goods are a common sight in pretty much every major gadget store.

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But what exactly does that term mean?

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Well, a good number of these items are returns from regular customers that could be for any number of reasons.

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Maybe it was a smart speaker that creepily cackled at them while they were trying to sleep, or a toaster oven that someone simply had

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second thoughts about because they decided to go on a keto diet. Other refurbs may have been damaged,

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not necessarily by

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consumers, but maybe in shipping when they were originally sent to a retailer or warehouse.

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And finally, what about demo or floor models? Even once they aren't the latest and greatest anymore,

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they are usually fully functional, and many stores decide to flip them for a few bucks.

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The bottom line is that when you buy refurbished,

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you don't know where that product has been. Kind of like a stray dog or a random Tinder date.

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But that doesn't necessarily mean that

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your chances of getting a lemon have to be higher.

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You see, oftentimes, new electronics come right off an assembly line, get packaged up, and are shipped out.

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And in most cases, this is fine.

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But sometimes, that brand new shiny that you just bought might not have had a careful inspection before it was sent to you.

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By contrast, when a unit marked for refurbishment is being prepared for sale by a reputable dealer,

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somebody has to say,

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they have to specifically examine it for functional or aesthetic defects,

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determine if it can be repaired, and

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test it so that they know that it won't generate a costly and time-consuming return.

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And keep in mind that fixing up a product doesn't usually mean that it was actually mangled by the previous owner.

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It is so expensive and complicated to repair modern electronics that anything beyond a

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scratch on the screen that won't

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affect performance, or an easy replacement of a defective component or accessory, is beyond the capabilities of a typical retailer to deal with anyway.

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Of course, that doesn't mean that refurbished products are always going to be pristine. In the case of expensive items,

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it is possible for more advanced reworking of parts or products to be done.

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So you usually see this either if you buy directly from large-scale manufacturers,

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or from a very small shop that

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specializes in repairing items that others have written off.

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Just make sure in either case that you are checking the warranty terms carefully.

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Some manufacturers or stores will warrant refurbished items that they sell for up to a year,

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giving you similar peace of mind to a new item.

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Others though might offer only a month, or even as little as a week, and it is common for there to be no

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recourse beyond that time if something goes wrong.

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So that's where,

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factory-certified refurbished items come in. This term, or something similar,

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usually means that regardless of the warranty being offered, that at least the

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refurbishing process was handled by the company itself, or an authorized third party,

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to meet a certain standard of quality. Dell and Apple, for example, are notable for trying to restore these

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certified products to as close to a like-new state as possible.

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Now of course for certain kinds of

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electronics, like-new isn't really possible once an item has been used.

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So we would recommend avoiding certain things, like hard drives or SSDs, or

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certain types of TVs and monitors that only have a limited lifespan. Those are not worth saving a few bucks over,

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even if you burn the last of your dough on like a

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refurbished car.

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