Buying refurbished products, particularly electronics, sounds a little sketchy. It might bring to mind con artists or salesmen trying to trick you to make a quick buck. However, refurbished doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with the product. It usually just means that it has been changed from the original so that it can’t be sold as new anymore. This might mean some old parts had to be replaced, the packaging is damaged, or simply that someone returned it to the store. And there are a number of reasons why buying refurbished may work better for you than always buying new.
First and foremost, refurbished electronics are cheaper so they’ll save you money. And while it’s perfectly understandable to be wary of being ripped off by electronic stores, there’s a very small chance of that. For example, if the electronic was a return, only 5% of those products are actually defective. In fact, businesses report that these returned products are usually in excellent condition and may only be considered refurbished because they are open box electronics, simply meaning that they have previously been out of their packaging. They just can’t pass them off as new anymore, so they offer a reduced cost. Nothing has to be wrong with them to be considered refurbished. Surveys show that more than 80% of consumers that have already purchased refurbished products are satisfied with the quality of the product and the price they paid for it. This means that the odds of you getting a great deal are completely in your favor.
Buying refurbished electronics is nothing new, and most people who have already tried it are more than satisfied. An estimated 75% of consumers have stated they are planning to buy refurbished electronics, and more than 90% have already bought something refurbished within the last three years. There are even people who have started making a business tactic from this idea. Think about how many times you’ve considered buying something on Amazon used because it was cheaper. It’s the same idea. And it’s how a lot of liquidator warehouses have come to exist, simply stocking up on products like these to store and resell them when they can.
And not only is this an economical practice, but it’s environmentally friendly as well. Buying refurbished reduces the risk of those discarded products ending up in a landfill because they weren’t sold. This goes for anything from laptops and toys to sometimes even your bigger kitchen appliances. That’s another reason liquidator warehouses are important, they keep a lot of the stock themselves to make sure it doesn’t end up in the garbage with electronics that actually aren’t working.
If you think you might want to look into some refurbished electronics or even other products, there’s always a selection online or in store. Or if you want to find a liquidator warehouse in your area, you might be able to find a good deal from them as well.