Have you ever bought "open box" ? Were you happy you did?

I bought a refurbished video game console for my son. We purchased directly from the manufacturer’s website, after being assured by several reliable sources that the company has a refurbished goods department of legendary quality. We have a 1-year warranty and saved $60, and all I sacrificed was a colourful box (ours had plain white packaging) and a trip to a big box store on Black Friday.

I have searched that console high and low for signs of damage and can’t find anything, so props to Nintendo.

Yes, I and my friends and family have done this many times over the decades. The item was sometimes the last one they had of that model. Whether it was or not, usually it was offered for less than the usual price (sometimes quite a bit less).

In nearly all cases, there was no problem.

In some cases, there have been problems with the item, but that’s been rare, and I can only remember maybe a couple of times when that turned out to be a problem, and that was because the store had an evil return policy (may have been Circuit City) so I had to choose between living with the problem or getting a store credit at a store I now was upset with, which didn’t have what I really wanted.

My advice would be:

* Mostly it works out and you get some money off, or the last one of a model that’s sold out.

* Since the box is already open, ask to inspect it yourself and try it out in the store.

* Ask what their return policy is in the case you have any problems with it. If something’s wrong or you aren’t happy, what will happen to get it replaced or to get a refund? Make sure you’re happy with their answer and the way they answer you.

* Ask yourself if you need to have the least risk of having a hassle. If it’s very important not to have to waste time in case something’s wrong, weigh that against the discount offered. Essentially you are getting a discount in exchange for a small additional chance that you’ll need to return it or have it replaced or repaired.

* If it’s an expensive item, you might want to check online product reviews to see what experiences others have had. How often have people found a problem, and how do they describe the return/repair policy.

I bought a laptop from Dell at great savings. It has been working perfectly for 3 years.

I have bought two factory refurbished computers which had a same warranty as new. I was happy with both of them. Saved a few hundred dollars each.

Never have, never plan to. A few bucks savings isn’t worth it to me.

There is a huge difference between purchasing directly from the manufacturer / original retailer and a third party.

I used to get a catalog that featured all ‘factory reconditioned’ items. I ordered an electric typewriter. It had a huge, glaring defect. Sent it back. Got another that had a common-use feature that was inoperable. Sent it back. When I had to send the third one back, I took a refund. Clearly I was getting returns that had not been serviced.

I bought a reconditioned vacuum at a discount store and returned it when it didn’t work properly.

I bought a vacuum at Big Lots and, while it worked okay, the on switch sparked every time I turned it on.

I know 3 people locally that tried buying ‘store returns’ in bulk and re-selling them. Things like a deep fat fryer that “heats just fine!” Yup. Just not hot enough to fry.

If the item came with full warranty and if the seller offered no-questions-asked refund and if the item was ½ price or less, I might try it again.

If they stopped making matte screen TVs a year ago, that box may have been open mighty long.

I agree with @ibstubro it makes ALL the difference whether you buy from the manufacturer/original retailer and a third party.

@ibstubro

I do appreciate your efforts to prevent me from making a costly mistake. I really do.

But it’s not the pawnshop guy I’m trusting. I’m trusting the manufacturer of the TV.

I had originally written more but it disappeared into the ether and I’m just too tired right now.

I’m not going there today, as planned, because I’ve got a Dr. Appt. And tomorrow is the dentist so I’ve got time for more hmwk.

This is a good article from Consumer Reports. And I need to find out from this guy in more detail if these TVS truly are all Open Box or if they’re refurbished. Big difference.

If he offers a 30 day return policy then I’d feel much better about this. CR reports that the failure rate for TVS is around 5% that’s a risk I can live with.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2008/10/open-box-electronics-items-another-shopping-option-to-consider/index.htm

I have a friend who regularly cannot help themself from these deals. I have a printer that worked great, and a laptop which did not. It is a risk that works out well when viewing my friend’s overall average.