Should You Buy a Refurbished Laptop?

However, with a low budget, the options are fewer. Brand new products like the Apple MacBook Pro cost a fortune and with a low budget, they are simply not in your range; unless you go for the inexpensive refurbished laptop option.

You will be amazed to know the amount of discount you can get on Apple, Dell, HP, and other laptop brands, if you go for models from their refurbished line. The global electronics market involves the sale of a range of products which can be broadly classified as new, used, and refurbished goods.

The market for refurbished electronic items, ranging from smartphones to computer peripherals is huge and largely untapped. Refurbished ones shouldn't be directly classified into the category of used laptops.

Manufacturers mass produce thousands of products every day, in their processing lines. One out of a thousand products, depending on the error margins allowed by the manufacturing process, tends to be manufactured with certain defects. Such products tend to get sold and when the user finds out, they are returned to the manufacturer.

In some cases, these defective products are separated by the manufacturer before sale, through quality checks and sent back to the assembly line for repair.

What does a manufacturer like Apple Computers do with this lot of slightly used, but defective products? They fix them. The defects are removed through repair and part replacement, and they are put back on sale as refurbished laptops.

They are 'formerly defective' laptops, which have now been restored to normal functioning and put back for sale at discounted prices, but with same warranty as brand new products. The last point needs to be noted.

Why should you consider buying a refurbished computer? Firstly, the fact that most of these laptops are sold at more than 20% discounted price, is one reason why you should consider this option.

Secondly, the fact that manufacturers provide warranty on these products, despite their 'used' status, makes them safer investments, as in case of breakdown, you can get them replaced and repaired. This reduces the degree of risk involved.

The first thing that you need to look out for is whether the refurbished product is being sold by the manufacturer. Buying refurbished electronic items like laptops from third parties that do not use original spare parts for repair of the product, is not recommended. Go ahead, only if the refurbished products come from the manufacturer directly.

Secondly, check out the warranty offered and only consider the deal, if it's same as that offered for brand new products. Find out the degree of discount you receive, compared to a brand new product. These are the three important points that should be considered.

Buying refurbished laptops from manufacturers like Dell, HP, and Apple is definitely a good idea. The discounted cost is the single most important factor that should convince anybody about the soundness of going for such laptops.