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Why do they still say "original price $1299" for the 20" Cinema display. Sure, the original, original price, but who cares about that! It should say, for reference, what the _current_ price is! That's always annoyed me. And finally I've said something about it. And curiously, I don't feel any better.

"Before we put a pre-owned Mac, iPod, or Apple TV up for sale in the Apple Outlet, it undergoes a rigorous refurbishment process to make sure it's up to Apple's tough quality standards."

If Apple has tough quality standards, why did it get returned in the first place?

I just love marketing-speak...

Yea, I like Lexus "pre-owned" status, like the cars have just barely been broken in & are now ready for you to buy!

I've bought several Apple refurbs with no problems. Glad they finally cleaned up the look of it!

Art

"If Apple has tough quality standards, why did it get returned in the first place?"

Really, you can't think of a single reason? Try harder.

An interesting change, but after having the most rotten customer service experience in recent memory buying "refurbished" equipment from Apple, I can't recommend that anyone ever take them up on these offers.

I am a long-time Apple user, and supporter, but my first and only experience using their online store, specifically their refurbished goods was a nightmare without parallel.

Ironically, unless you are willing to spend a couple of hours hanging on the phone line to Apple, there is no way to even inform them that you have had a bad experience so it's likely they are not even aware of how unhappy some of their customers are.

@ PETER

Just because a consumer returned a product, does not mean something was wrong with it. It could be that they got the wrong color iPod ( you would be surprised even thou the picture on the outside of the box reflects the color), the wrong specs for a machine, or they find that they just don't like or need it.

Peter,

Unfortunately, even the best quality control cannot guarantee a product won't fail after the fact. It could work perfectly for a month and then have a motherboard malfunction.

I rate companies by HOW they handle a product gone defective. Every company's going to have defects, the question is how do they treat the customer when it does happen.

How much do you want to bet that Peter = Peterson?

My first Mac was a Mini I bought from the refurb section. They can't be that thoroughly checked out though, because 2 days later the fan took off at warp speed and the computer would not boot.
I was going to Des Moines (the closest Apple store) so I took it to the Apple store there. The so-called "genius" said he could not find out what was wrong with it and did not have the equipment to diagnose the problem. I later found an Apple repair facility in my home town, and the technican called a half-hour later and said the logic board was dead. Apple air shipped the part and I got the computer back in two days. It's been running like a champ ever since.

I purchased 2 video iPods and 1 shuffle that were all refurbished and have had great success with the products. I looked at the items as temporary until Apple delivers new iPod models.

I bought a refurbished iBook a while back. The trackpad died about 8-9 months after I got it, but that was covered under the warranty and was handled well by Apple. I'd definitely buy refurbed product again.

Speaking of refurbs:

Did you ever fart so hard you ended up in another zip code?

Yes I did Steve...it wasn't pretty....

I just got a refurbed 4GB iPod Nano and it's really nice. I couldn't tell that it had ever been touched. It came in a little brown carton and you can't get free engraving, but it was $50 cheaper. That's a heck of a savings. Works for me.

I heard today on CNN that there is a hostile tack over of Apple by ToysRUs!

The black man on the corner that sold it to me said Applecare was available for another case of Colt 45.

I see the link for the new Apple store but I don't know how to get on the internet first, let alone go to the Apple store....

All companies thoroughly check out returned and refurbished items and fixes things that are wrong with them. It is impossible to prevent things from going bad in the future. Just because it is refurbished, does not mean that there will not be anymore problems. Apple cannot control if a fan or logic board suddenly goes bad after it is purchased. All they can do is repair the problem.

I bought a refurb iBook last year for my daughter. It's been a perfect machine. Highly recommend refurbs.