Why Buying Refurbished iPads is a Great Idea

Why Buying Refurbished iPads is a Great Idea

The second hand market saw a flurry of activity for iPads recently, with people getting rid of the iPads and possibly upgrading. However, do take note of the second hand prices and Rachelp from Hardwarezone was kind enough to share the latest prices for refurbished iPads, as a guide to buyers and sellers. Unfortunately, the user received some flak from possible disgruntled sellers, who felt that it encouraged people to offer lower prices. There were some funny comments such as “Wat u are trying to do is mind playing game with ppl selling so u can get a cheap set” and the whole thing sort of exploded. Hilarious thread with the full summary here at Hardwarezone.

The point is it all comes down to economics. It’s a free market, and both buyers, sellers can dictate whatever price they want. The onus however, is on the seller. They have the risk of holding on to the product and prices for electronic goods are not luxury items. Longer they hold, means the value of the product would just head downwards. Apple’s presence in the refurbished market further exacerbate matters by setting a baseline reference price.

Refurbished sets from Apple are great, and the good thing is, prices are consistent and always get slashed after a new product launch. In fact, the best iPad Mini to buy now is the refurbished set. It comes with the same retina screen as the latest iPad Mini 3, same internal specifications, same camera. The only difference, new gold color and the fingerprint sensor, and about $200 cheaper.

Awesome deal if you are looking for an iPad Mini. Even for the iPad Air, the latest iPad Air is just an incremental update once again and getting a refurbished set can save you serious bucks.

Apple Certified Refurbished sets come with free shipping. You can use your credit card to earn extra points / rebates or pay via instalments if that’s your fancy. Yes, refurbished sets might have some internal failures previously, but they are repaired and Apple further test and certify all Apple refurbished products and also include a 1-year warranty. If you ever bought a second hand unit and it fails after a month or so, you would know how handy and generous this 1-year warranty is. Lastly, all refurbished iPad models also include a brand new battery and outer shell. So, no worries about getting refurbished sets with dings or scratches. In fact, it would look way better than any second hand sets.

Prices for refurbished iPads (with 12 months Apple warranty):

iPad Air:
Wifi only: 16GB = $468, 32GB = $538, 64GB = $608, 128GB = $728
Wifi, LTE: 16GB = $608, 32GB = $678, 64GB = $738, 128GB = $858

iPad Mini 2 (IPad Mini Retina):
Wifi only: 16GB = $348, 32GB = $418, 64GB = $488, 128GB = $608
Wifi, LTE: 16GB = $488, 32GB = $558, 64GB = $628, 128GB = $748

Savings for buying a refurbished iPad Mini 2 vs iPad Mini 3

Model iPad Mini 2 iPad Mini 3 Percentage
16GB-Wifi $348 $548 36.4%
64GB-Wifi $488 $688 29.1%
16GB-LTE $488 $728 33.0%
64GB-LTE $628 $868 27.6%

You can buy the refurbished iPads directly from Apple Store @ Special deals for iPad.

Almost the same applies for Macbooks, but they don’t offer the new battery and external shell. The conditions are slightly different, but it would still undergo similar rigorous refurbishment process by Apple. One redditor shared that his particular refurbished MacbookPro had a used battery with 12 previous charge cycles. It is likely that Apple has a limit on how high they’ll allow the charge count before replacing the battery when selling as a refurb. It’s still a better deal than second hands, who would probably push higher on the battery cycles. Don’t forget there’s the additional 1 year warranty as well. The link for refurbished Mac / Macbook is here.