The word “refurbished” often carries a negative connotation for consumers. That’s understandable. Most of us would rather buy something brand new than take a chance on a restored product that was previously used or defective. As a former GameStop employee, I know all about dealing with shoddy electronics; the number of refurbished PS2s returned to my store was embarrassingly high. But that was 20 years ago.
Major retailers have stepped up their repair efforts and sell high-quality refurbished products for much less than the retail MSRP. Just look at the wireless headphones market.
