Comments

jaydeeee wrote on 2/27/2006, 2:39 PM
refurbished chair, toaster...etc. = OK

refurbished hard drive, motherboard, etc. = NEVER

*fact is, you can't be SURE exactly what was refurb'd when all's said and done.

in fact ...
Maxtor = never (IMO)
Chienworks wrote on 2/27/2006, 2:46 PM
Necessity has dicated that i use a couple of refurbished drives. I will never willingly do so again. I would much rather pay the same price for a smaller new drive. The refurbished drives i got outlasted the warranty period, which was 6 months. They didn't last much longer than that.

And i agree that Maxtor is to be avoided. I've never had one last more than a couple years.
Jay_Mitchell wrote on 2/27/2006, 2:53 PM
According to Seagate, more than 90% of hard drives that get returned to them, are found to have no problems at all.



riredale wrote on 2/27/2006, 3:53 PM
I guess that's the question I would have. Does "refurb" mean that something was wrong and they fixed it, or just that the box was opened and they can't sell it as new any more?

I have returned lots of things to Fry's that were perfectly fine, and I felt badly doing so because it meant they had to stick one of those "returned" labels on the outside. Even in one instance where I never took off the shrinkwrap, they said they had to cut the shrinkwrap off, open the box for inspection, and then reseal it and use a "returned" sticker.
Former user wrote on 2/27/2006, 4:15 PM
I have bought some refurb drives and they are still working. As long as they are refurbed and warranted by the manufacturer, I feel pretty safe. (Mine were Seagate by the way).

I would NOT purchase a drive that was just a return.

Dave T2
johnmeyer wrote on 2/27/2006, 5:18 PM
Can't speak to current practices, but refurbs at most companies used to have to go back to the manufacturing line where they were tested, inspected, and if necessary, re-built the same way as when they were new. Most any manufacturing line has to be able to accommodate re-work as part of the normal manufacturing process (not every widget goes from the beginning to the end of the manufacturing process without something getting screwed up and requiring re-work). Thus, if done correctly, a re-worked item should be identical to a new item.

Of course if it never goes back to the manufacturing floor, then you might end up with something that is intermittent, etc. The flip side of that scenario, however, has already been mentioned, namely that most returned items are in fact perfectly functional and are the "victim" of either cockpit error, consumer dissatisfaction with some particular feature, or just buyer's remorse.
Steve Mann wrote on 2/28/2006, 12:10 AM
I once returned a laptop PC to Fry's because after buying it, we decided to get the more expensive unit with a DVD-RW drive. The first box was unopened, still had the Sony seal on it. You guessed it, they had to open it and make sure it booted up before they would take it back.

The tech checking out the laptop explained to me that they have seen some pretty good fake seals on boxes of bricks.

In their defense, however, they have never refused me a refund for other returns.