who here buys returns,refurbs?

[calaveraOC]

I'm planning on buying a Klipsch 2.1 promedia very soon and found out open-boxes sell for less than half of retail price.

150ish brand new vs. 50~70ish for open box or used

is it safe to buy them? how does exchange or returns work with open boxes?

[thideras]

I would not buy open box/returned. There is a reason they returned it, either it is damaged or not as good as they thought.

I do buy refurbs though only if they have a warranty.

[Knacko]

Returns aren't all bad. A friend of mine bought a returned set of z-5500's for ~$150 from Futureshop. He hasn't had a problem with them so far (about a year old).

Most decent retailers will have at least a 30 day return on open box/refurb.

[shadin]

As long as there's a decent return policy like was mentioned, go for it. I've bought tons of open box/refurb equipment over the years and never had an issue. Electronics are always a gamble, I've had open box items never die yet and brand new items give up after a week.

[GameSinewPCs]

Electronics are always a gamble, I've had open box items never die yet and brand new items give up after a week.

^^second that^^

I purchased an "open box" 21" Samsung television about 9 years ago and it hasn't given me a single problem. Yet for the amount of brand name brand new electronic parts that i go through each day, i tend to find a large % of them to be deffective. Roughly 5%. As long as theres a comfortable warranty with it or it's a reputable seller there shouldn't be a problem with the device or returning the device if deffective.