Difference between "used" and "refurbished"

[Hyp81]

Thanks very much for the advice. I greatly appreciate all of it! I just got my NES and Sega out of storage about a month ago and I've been having a blast. Did a search for passwords on one of my NES games and stumbled across a whole community of "retro gamers" I never knew existed! I thought I was the only odd-ball who had kept all my old systems and games and still played them.

[flamepanther]

Thanks very much for the advice. I greatly appreciate all of it! I just got my NES and Sega out of storage about a month ago and I've been having a blast. Did a search for passwords on one of my NES games and stumbled across a whole community of "retro gamers" I never knew existed! I thought I was the only odd-ball who had kept all my old systems and games and still played them.

Welcome to the fold, bro!

[BoringSupreez]

As Is = Broken, destroyed, dirty, in absolutely horrid condition, and I refuse to give you your money back when you realize it.

That's code for "it's broken, sucka! NO REFUNDS!"

I have had plenty of fine experiences with as-is stuff. As-is doesn't necessarily mean broken. Sometimes, the seller either doesn't have the ability to test it, and just doesn't want to sell it with a guarantee if he can't prove it works. My Soundblaster 16 sound card and Sega CD were both as-is, and they work fine. I'll admit though, there are some cruddy sellers who will sell stuff they know is broken as-is just so they don't have to mark the price down as much, but it's not always that way. And remember, even if something is sold as-is, if it comes to you with significant damage not mentioned in the auction, you can get a refund on the merit that the seller failed to accurately describe the item. Ie, you buy an Xbox as-is, and it shows up without a disc drive.

[CRTGAMER]

Refurbish to me means nothing unless from the Authorized Service Center. Both are a repair, but a refurbish by an unknown seller maybe not reliable? I have seen game consoles only get an air blow off and test run then placed in a refurbish box by a famous Game Store.

[flamepanther]

Well, my post was meant to be funny--I think Inazuma's probably was too. Yes, it might mean "I don't know if it works." If the price is right, and you think you've got a good chance of fixing anything that might (or might not) be wrong with it, or even if you just think you might be able to use it for parts, it might be well worth purchasing. I've bought "as is" items before, with varying results, but I always make my decisions while assuming the item is probably broken. If "probably broken" is okay with me, then I'll buy it. That way there's no sense that I'm wasting my money or getting scammed. You can't go into it assuming you'll get a working product though.

[DinnerX]

just beware of products sold AS-IS.

That's code for "it's broken, sucka! NO REFUNDS!"

Some times you can get good deals on stuff that way though. If you know how to fix things anyway.

[CFFJR]

Thanks very much for the advice. I greatly appreciate all of it! I just got my NES and Sega out of storage about a month ago and I've been having a blast. Did a search for passwords on one of my NES games and stumbled across a whole community of "retro gamers" I never knew existed! I thought I was the only odd-ball who had kept all my old systems and games and still played them.

Man, you just joined up with a whole group of such odd-balls, and most of us are a bunch of anal retentives about our old stuff. As flamepanther said, welcome! Enjoy your stay.

One other thing I'll add about refurbishing is that sometimes it might just refer to cleaning. There are many old systems out there where a good cleaning is all that stands between "broken" and "fixed".

[sevin0seven]

...Did a search for passwords on one of my NES games and stumbled across a whole community of "retro gamers" I never knew existed! I thought I was the only odd-ball who had kept all my old systems and games and still played them.

welcome to the od-ball club (wait till you see our game rooms). btw, what is that NES game you needed a password for? just curios.

[Bradtemple87]

I have always look at refurb as bringing something back to life, like those faithfully dirty slut xbox 360 consoles everyone has smacked around once or twice.

*fingers crossed mine lives*

[Hobie-wan]

Refurbished can also just mean it was cleaned and shined up a bit. As-is may simply mean someone may have lost the power brick, but found a system in the bottom of their closet and are selling it as-is because they can't power it up to test it. The words have a lot of play as to what they mean to different people.

For instance Like New on electronics on ebay in Japan actually does mean pristine. In the US it can mean anywhere from encrusted with shit from sitting at the bottom of a septic tank for 12 years to pristine depending on the truthfulness of the seller.