You
are a student in require of a new computer. That old desktop you had for three
years is just too sluggish to keep up with the speed of progress. Therefore,
you are looking to purchase. You have got a little money, but you have your eye
on a pleasant laptop that costs more than your resources would normally allow.
You are about to resolve for a machine with a slower computer and a little less
memory, when you spot a listing on the manufacturer's Web site. It says "Refurbished Computers." Following the connection takes you to a page where you
see the machine you want its $400 less than a brand-new machine. You should be
able to get it with your next pay! However, wait, the listing says that it is
refurbished. What does that indicate?
That
depends on whom you ask. The electronics industry as an entire does not have an
official definition for what it means to be refurbished. To refurbish something
means that it has been changed or updated in some way, and in general, that is
true for electronics. Possibly an item had a bad route board, or the glass face
of a music player got injured and it's been replaced, but in some gear, a
refurbished item may have had its packaging damaged badly in the process of
getting it to the stock up. The item inside may be just well, but the retailer
may have determined to send it back for repackaging. Alternatively, it is
likely that the shipping box could be opened and retaped.
The one thing the label means with any confidence is that
a refurbished item cannot be sold as fresh. Because of that, and possibly
because of the uncertainty of the "refurbished" label, customers often
retire away from buying refurbished products, even when they may be completely
fine. So what should you do? You could get your computer now and use the additional
money for something else. On the other hand, will you just have to send the
machine back after you have had it for just a few days? The choice you make
just may have global cost.