What is "refurbished"?
Refurbished solutions are offered on just about all product lines: printers, notebooks, desktops, monitors, servers, handhelds, and more. They are products that have been returned to the supplier for a variety of reasons and then put through a rigorous re-manufacturing process.
Where do refurbished products come from?
Refurbished business products can originate from a variety of sources, including:
- Customer returns and cancelled orders - Fully-functional products that leave the warehouse and therefore can no longer be sold as new.
- Damaged products - Products returned because of cosmetic flaws or damage during shipping or a broken part.
- Overstocks - Items that are returned by the seller to make room for newer product lines.
- Demonstration - Products have been used as demos.
How is a product remanufactured?
Every refurbished product is restored to its original condition and performance by the manufacturer. Each item is thoroughly tested, broken or defective parts are replaced, and then test results are re-verified.
All refurbished products are upgraded to meet current performance specifications. For example: ink cartridges in refurbished business printers are replaced with new ones; and the latest software patches are installed.
When is refurbished better?
If your IT budget is lean, the refurbished businesses products offer high quality, warrantied product at a low cost. For some applications, the latest, greatest technology is a must. In other cases, a remanufactured product is simply a better choice. For example:
- Some business applications don't require the latest performance.
- If your company has standardized on a certain platform and "new" production on that platform has been discontinued.
- Refurbished equipment may offer the best price/performance value for a training room.
- Software testing may be performed just as effectively using refurbished products as with new.
- A new and hot-selling product that is out of stock may be available in the remarketed pool due to a return or cancelled order.
