Buy Refurbished Apple Products for a Better (Cheaper) Price

iPads, iPhones, iPods and iMacs have started a "i-Frenzy" in the consumer electronics industry. The sleek brushed aluminium, minimalist design and touch intuitive is an object of desire for many youngsters. Only issue? The price of a brand new iPod Nano sells for $129 onwards.

For a fraction of the listed price, you can choose to purchase a refurbished Apple product with the same warranty coverage. Refurbished iProducts usually sell for 20% lesser than the listed price and you can buy them with a peace of mind from the online Apple store with same service standards.

A refurbished product is one that has been bought previously, but exchanged or returned either due to incompatibility, defects or malfunction. This is opposed to a brand new product that ships right out of a packaging that is untouched.

However, it is not a cause for concern as refurbished products will undergo the refurbishment process whereby the product is tested for malfunctioning and any damaged parts are replaced with brand new parts. The product is then cleaned up, dressed in a new housing, loaded clean OS (Operating System), and repackaged with new accessories and boxed up for shipping.

Pros

1. Price - You save about 20 - 30% off the regular listed price. What's not to love?
2. Warranty Covered - The 1 Year Apple Warranty covers refurbished products too.
3. Almost Brand New - After replacing faulty parts, fitting with new OS, housing and accessories, the refurbished product is almost as good as brand new.
4. More Assurance - The refurbished product has undergone strict inspections and works, which means the chances of receiving a faulty product is lesser than buying a brand new device.
5. Eligible for Extended Warranty - If you'd like more protection to safeguard your device, you can choose to purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan, which extends the warranty to 2 - 3 years (depending on product).

Cons

1. No Engraving Service - Refurbished products are not offered the free engraving service provided for new Apple products.
2. No Pretty Packaging - The refurbished product will be shipped in a nondescript average cardboard box as opposed to the sleek white boxes with colored pictures, although the contents remains the same.
3. Not Always in Stock - Fans of instant gratification may be disappointed that their desired product is not listed in the refurbished corner. However, Apple restocks them from time to time and by checking the website frequently you may just chance upon a gem.

After much debate on whether or not to purchase a refurbished Apple product, now's the time to test the waters yourself:

To determine if you'd like to purchase an iPod, iPad or Macbook brand new or the refurbished version, go to the Apple Store (or your local apple website) and browse. Take note of the price and details (color, model & make, specifications) of your desired product. Afterwards, proceed to Special Deals (aka Refurbished & Clearance Corner) and search for your product of choice for a detailed comparison.

From time to time, the 'Special Deals' corner also sells previous generation Apple products that are no longer listed on the website. If you would like to purchase an older model because of design or a lower price tag, you should check out this corner often as they restock frequently.

I am a fan of older generation iPods after purchasing my first Apple - an iPod Nano 2nd Gen and getting crushed by the sharp fall in pricing when the 3rd Gen Nano came out 3 months later. My personal tip is to sit on the up-trading of my iPod until when a new generation is (just) released, weigh the specifications and decide if I would go ahead with the (now) older generation, or if the new generation is worth the price.

Alternatively you can even sit on it for a couple more months until the new generation starts to make its appearance on the refurbished corner. When that happens you can easily top up about 50 bucks or less and get a 16GB refurbished as compared to a 8GB new iPod Touch. Call me cheap but I'd be one happy cheap!