Refurbishment is the process of maintenance or major repair of an item, either aesthetically or mechanically.
Refurbished products cannot be sold as new products in the US, which is why they are relabeled as refurbished or refreshed units even if they are good-as-new (if, for example, the unit was returned for some reason unrelated to the product itself, such as the customer changing their mind about the color). Refurbished items may have scratches, dents or other forms of cosmetic damage which do not affect the performance of the unit.
Refurbished products could possibly be the products which are returned by the customer within the 90 day period Returns Policy of the company which sold the product, without any defect with the product. Studies show that 83% of "refurbished items" are, in fact, not broken or damaged in any way.[citation needed] Refurbished products are generally bench tested and certified by the authorized service centers of the company and then re-packaged, labeled as a Refurbished Product.
Refurbished electronics are products which have most often been returned to the manufacturer because it was unwanted or had some minor defect. The items are simply returned because most major retail superstores offer a 30 day money back guarantee on their products and there are those consumers that just simply take advantage of this liberal return policy. However, there is also a very good chance that the unit you receive may never have been used as it may have been a unit whose box was damaged or simply an overstock model that many retailers return to the manufactures to make room for incoming models. When the electronic goods such as TVs, home theater systems, computers and other electronics have been returned in an undamaged and fully functional condition and although they are still in a brand new condition, due to legal reasons they cannot be marketed or sold as new. In such cases, where it is found to have a minor defect, the manufacturer rectifies this by replacing the defective component, or permanently repairing it. [1]
Refurbished items are generally thought to be cheap and poorly fixed products because of their sometimes shorter warranties.[2] However, most products have nothing wrong with them, they were simply exchanged over incompatibility or are cosmetically damaged. Most mechanical fixes are by trained technicians who work for the original company that distributed the product.
