Are Refurbished Mac Laptops any Good?

Mac laptops are amazing devices, especially if you typically work on graphics or videos. This is one of the reasons why these devices are much sought-after. Unfortunately, a brand new Mac laptop does require quite a significant amount of money. But if owning a Mac is a dream for you, there is a way you can own one without breaking your savings, buying a refurbished Mac laptop.

A refurbished MacBook costs significantly less than a brand new unit. However, you’ll need to understand that there are risks involved with purchasing a refurbished laptop so you need to know how and where to buy one. If you’re willing to take those risks, you could end up with a unit that’s almost the same as a brand new unit.

Where to Buy a Refurbished Mac

Macs are very popular so it won’t be difficult to search for refurbished MacBooks. However, it’s very important to choose the source of the listing or seller carefully. In fact, it is much better off if you bought a refurbished Mac from an Apple store, they do sell refurbished units, instead of your neighborhood computer shop or local listing site.

So you might wonder why you need to buy a refurbished unit from an Apple store? Simply because Apple is the maker of the product and refurbished units handled by their technicians or reconditioned into reusable units are assured to work perfectly fine. If you buy a reconditioned unit from some unknown source, there’s no way you can be sure that they did a good job refurbishing the Mac.

But what if there aren’t any Apple stores near you? Your best alternative would be to purchase the product from the Apple online store. The online store has a refurbished section where you can find Mac laptops, iPads, iPhones, and all sorts of refurbished Apple products. Other than the Apple online store, you could also search for certified Apple resellers that offer refurbished Macs. There are quite a number of certified resellers so you still have plenty of choices.

Why Should You Buy a Refurbished Mac Laptop?

Macs are considered to be high-end, sturdy, and reliable computers, even the earlier models. This is why even though it is a refurbished Mac, it still is valuable. Furthermore, when we say refurbished, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there was something wrong with the unit. Apple just made sure every part of the unit is in working condition before reselling it. In most cases, the units are perfectly working before they were reconditioned by Apple.

Here are some scenarios and reasons why you would want to get a refurbished Mac:

• Some buyers just wanted to see if a Mac perfectly suits their needs – There are instances wherein customers take advantage of the return window policy. They just want to decide, after testing a unit, if the hype precedes a mac laptop. If they find out that it is not a match they return the unit without any damage or problem.
• The unit was used in Apple’s own teaching programs – A refurbished unit could also have been used in one of Apple’s teaching programs. After the program, instead of stocking the unit in some back shelf, Apple decides to resell it as a used device, so they refurbished the unit and placed it on sale.
• Returned units that have been repaired and restored by Apple itself – Yes, there are also units that had problems which is why the original buyers returned the products. Since Apple does have a policy where they provide new replacements for defective units in a given time period, the unit was repaired, reconditioned, and sold as a refurbished device.
• Refurbished units are new models – Another reason why you would want to buy a refurbished Mac is that these units are not old models. Apple does not keep old models in their inventory. In fact, the entire Mac inventory is turned over every five days, which is why you won’t find old models being sold.
• Refurbished units are as good as new – Last but not the least, refurbished Apple laptops are almost the same as brand new units. In fact, if Apple didn’t mention that a unit was a refurb, you would probably have a hard time determining if you purchased a refurbished unit since Apple is meticulous.

Nevertheless, if a Mac was repaired and being sold as a refurbished unit, then you’re practically assured that the problem beforehand was fixed and that Apple technicians went through the product thoroughly to find any other possible defects. This means that there’s a high chance that the unit you’re going to buy is free of any issue.

How Much Can You Save When You Buy a Refurbished Mac?

The savings are different depending on where you want to purchase the product. But in most cases, refurbished Mac laptops cost between 10 to 20 percent cheaper than a regular one, That’s hundreds of dollars off on some Mac laptop models. Also, some certified resellers offer special discounts on refurbished Macs that you can certainly take advantage off for even bigger savings. Another tip for bigger savings is to shop around during special holidays or events like the Black Friday.

How to Ensure Your Refurbished Mac Lasts Longer

Saving a good amount of money on a refurbished Mac is a great deal in itself. However, if you’re able to make your Mac last longer than its projected unit lifetime, then you certainly got the best deal and fortunately, it’s not difficult to take care of a Mac. These are excellent available devices, apps, and software that you can rely on to make sure your unit is working top notch.

Regularly running a cleaning software like Outbyte macAries might help maintain your Mac’s condition by removing junk files. However, always make sure the software is appropriate for your needs and usage scenarios.

And a final tip, if something goes wrong with your Mac laptop, don’t hesitate to have it checked and repaired at a certified Apple repair center.