Newegg open box items?

[jbass]

Has anyone purchased any Newegg open box components? They have a computer I have been looking at for awhile and it is half price as an open box unit.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

[agathodaimon]

Got a radeon 9800pro several years back as an open box.
It died right after the week-long warranty was up.

 

[Noubourne]

I don't ever buy them because my assumption is that a good portion of them are returned by overclockers who didn't get the performance they were looking for out of them, and since I always intend to overclock everything...

 

[Puffnstuff]

It all depends on what the item is. Personally I avoid OB electronics as you never know how they were handled by the people who had them before. If I send an item back there is definitely something wrong with it.

 

[jae]

There should be a guide to buying sticky, because Ive wondered about those items too but also seen other threads about them.

 

[Tullphan]

I was under the impression returned items were in turn returned to the manufacturer for replacement.

 

[goatjc]

I've bought a MB+CPU open box before, both worked great.

 

[Smartazz]

Usually the savings aren't large enough to make it worth taking the risk, but if it's half the price, it might be worth the risk.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

I got a theater 550 when they first were available as an o[en box for 30 bucks (less than half)...i lucked out and even got all the cables and whatnot and it still runs fine. That said, use some sense about what is a good idea and what isn't (i.e high end graphics cards and CPU's aren't a great idea)

 

[jbass]

Ok, what is stranger still is that there are 2 listed for extremely different prices:

New: 229
OB1: 218
OB2: 136

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...t=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=sn25p&x=0&y=0

 

[Tullphan]

I chatted with a rep today & was starting to feel confident about ordering a couple of items until this part of the conversation happened (names blanked out for privacy):

Me: so I can rest assured the items I purchased were not returned due to defects?
Rep: Let me put it this way, if the box was never opened by the original customer, we do not test the item upon its' return. so your could get a defective just like if you purchased a new one.
Me: true. are the boxes sealed from the factory?
Rep: No not always, as we do not have a store where customers are walking by, so the are retail packaging but sometimes are not plastic sealed like in the store.
Rep: If you have any concerns I would recommend not purchasing open box items
Rep: The in the long run you'll be better off with the new so you get the full warranty and you can shop for the "specials" to save money.
Me: It sounds like you'd stay away from open box items yourself.
Rep:

Now i'm undecided again...hehehe. It's a savings for me of $83.50...$229.93 vs. $146.48.
If it was defective, I don't see how the manufacturer would know this was purchased as "open box" & not be able to RMA through them.

 

[zagood]

I've ordered 2 things from newegg open box, one was DOA, the other was fine. Return process was fairly painless BUT you do have to pay for shipping back to them, and they probably won't have the same open box item in stock so you'll get a refund.

Would I do it again? Hmmm, maybe, but the price difference would have to be huge. $83 is pretty good.

-z

 

[Smartazz]

Originally posted by: jbass
Ok, what is stranger still is that there are 2 listed for extremely different prices:

New: 229
OB1: 218
OB2: 136

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...t=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=sn25p&x=0&y=0

Hmm, that's really strange indeed.

 

[Jiggz]

I'll buy a "factory" refurb before I'll buy open box!

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Jiggz
I'll buy a "factory" refurb before I'll buy open box!

I'd never buy an ob item unless it was a local seller so I could take it back easily.

I like factory refurbs. I assume that a refurb is probably better than a new item. With a refurb a human has fixed and tested the part. If something's new the computer makes it and sends it out. It could be dead at the factory and you wouldn't know it.

The price differences above are probably because of known missing parts, or obvious physical damage (missing manuals, missing cables, scratches, dents...)

 

[thegorx]

I bought refurbs before but sometimes they're just plainly used.
I also bought white box before and which were plainly open box and DOA.

Only buy refurbs from the manu or a company that actually refurbs items or at the very least can tell you where it was fixed and or what was fixed, and don't buy from anyone who sells you DOA products more than once.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

I have not had any experience with open box items, but I agree that it seems like a shady business to me.

However...

I did purchase a "recertified" ECS board once, and it rocked the house. I wouldn't do that for my main rig, but I'd go for it again in other situations.

 

[NotQuiteAPCGuru]

It's a gamble. Please, though, for the love of all that is good and decent on this planet, don't ever buy anything OB from a retail store.

I remember my manager at one store telling me I didn't need to shut off and unplug the computers to move them, just slide them down the counter to make room.


/shudder

You should have seen the sparks and the fire coming out of that little computer after it was jostled a little too hard by one of my coworkers. Ugh...and the electrical fire smell.

LOL, glad it wasn't my computer!