I have seen a lot of refurbished PC's and even the odd monitor recently posted on Ozbargain and other web sites. So what does refurbished mean?
Plug it in…tick.
Working…tick
Format hard drive and Reload operating system….tick
Wipe off dust…tick
Is it any more involved than that? Because if that is all isn't device just second hand and seller is misleading buyer? Exception here is for Laptop where battery may have been replaced but I have only read battery is a percentage of new.
I understand what the meaning of refurbished is without looking up free dictionary. I do not understand your point. Or is your point is that it is not refurbished as per definition just checked and second hand.
There's no hard and fast rule as to what can be considered refurbished. They check if the hardware works fine and if it does, they give it a cleanup with some alcohol wipes to remove the dirt and grime and then sell it.
If the hardware is faulty they swap some parts around (CMOS battery, a new HDD or a new power supply) and then sell it. They won't go into detail into what is done, but you might just get some basic information about what kind of condition it's in (A-grade, B-grade, C-grade et cetera)
ymmv post to post - best to check each listing directly and ask the seller if you're worried or have a certain level of expectation. Never assume.
So you dont know either. Worried or expectation were words that never entered or were implied in the question. By definition if it's refurbished something had been renewed.
So you dont know either.
Well for a start - what seller are you even banging on about????
There there…no need to be narky. If you read the question correctly I was not banging on about anything, just asking a question. If you embrace the misleading marketing term refurbished power to you.
Different sellers have varying definitions of what “refurbished” constitutes. Anywhere from Apple replacing shells and batteries in devices to a bulk-office kit seller’s just a wipe down and reformat hard drive.
You’ll need to check each sellers condition grading and hope they stick to it.
it is essentially 2nd hand with a grade of the quality A, B etc but the big benefit is it usually comes with 'some kind of warranty' so you know you are less likely to get a dud, and if you do as a consumer you have some protection
opposed to buying something off gumtree/market place and it might not work properly or you just get straight up scammed out of your money for a product that is nothing like described.
Refurbished means check the parts are working fine and sell as is if they do, usually with a warranty attached. Exactly the same Apple does with a refurbished phone, if it works fine then what do you expect them to do besides wipe the fingerprints off it?
A good refurbish will run it through a standard set of tests, check RAM, drives, battery, display, etc. But since there's no legal definition of refurbished it means each individual seller can do whatever they want.
That’s not at all what Apple does with their refurbished iPhones.
You're right, they replace the battery and case on phones and stick it in a new box.
From experience they give it a clean and check and stick an SSD in it. :)
I wish that was the case all the time. Bought a "refurbished" laptop of eBay. It was filthy. Oily smudges on keyboard and screen, weird sweet and sour smell, keyboard had flakey bits in it.
This was cheaper by $50 from other sellers… but still. I would have thought it would at least be cleaned up a bit.
Minus the CMOS battery being dead (strange for a 4 year old laptop), everything else about it is great.
Arrr the simple minds of people who down vote. Most did not even get the question although some totally got it. So if device stated refurbished seller should state what actually is refurbished otherwise it is a checked second hand device with warranty.
Originally, it meant "made like new", like when say a restaurant is refurbished by painting, new furniture etc, new kitchen fittings.
So for a mobile phone, it meant a new case and battery.
Now, as OP observes, it just means the seller is a bullshit artist.
If you see "Factory refurbished", it may possibly still mean something.
Ebay has some definitions that sellers should follow, including a 1-year warranty.
https://pages.ebay.com.au/refurbished-program/
Same deal with real estate. Once a "villa" was an upper-class country home. Now it is a tiny home unit on an overcrowded block.
past tense: refurbished; past participle: refurbished
renovate and redecorate (something, especially a building).
"the premises have been completely refurbished in our corporate style"