Refurb Question, please...

I've noticed on the Apple Store Refurb Page that some of the exact same spec'd Macs have different pricing... yet no reason is given for one price over another.

Anyone know how the prices are set? In other words, why would one "xyz-1 Mac" be priced $100 lower than another "xyz-1 Mac"?

I'm not exactly sure, but I did notice the same thing when I bought my MBP. I bought the one that was cheaper of 2 identical 17" MBPs, and I haven't had any complaints with it.

nukemm said:

I bought the one that was cheaper of 2 identical 17" MBPs, and I haven't had any complaints with it.

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Does it look like brand new? Or is it scratched a bit? Or ???

My MBP arrived in 99% new cosmetic condition. There was a tiny speck on the top left corner (on the top side of the top-right corner of the screen, but on the back). So small I didn't notice it for a few hours. For the money I saved ($1000+) it was worth it. I've had it for most of a month now, and I haven't had any problems to speak of, it runs OS X and XP like a dream.

SoundsGood said:

Anyone know how the prices are set? In other words, why would one "xyz-1 Mac" be priced $100 lower than another "xyz-1 Mac"?

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Im not exactly sure, but my guess is that the cheaper one was one that was previously refurbished, purchased by a customer, and then returned to Apple, leading to a second refurbishment.

I bought my MBP refurbed from the Apple site. It was in new condition - you could not tell it from new. The only difference is that it arrived in a plain brown box and you could tell that the software/manuals packaging had been opened and creased. I'm not sure what the differential was in pricing, but I don't think the price is specific to a particular unit. Immediately after I bought mine, I noticed it was still on the site (I checked back and showed a few other people since I couldn't believe the deal I got on it).

nukemm said:

For the money I saved ($1000+) it was worth it.

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You saved $1000+? Wow... good for you. I haven't seen anything nearly that good.

SoundsGood said:

Anyone know how the prices are set? In other words, why would one "xyz-1 Mac" be priced $100 lower than another "xyz-1 Mac"?

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I think I figured out the answer to my question. When looking at Refurbished MacBook Pros, I thought the specs were exactly the same on two differently priced items... but I just realized that the cheaper one is a Core Duo and the more expensive one is Core 2 Duo.

There's the answer, in case anyone else was wondering the same thing.


BTW, anyone know how much difference there is between the Core Duo Macs and the Core 2 Duo Macs?

Thanks.

SoundsGood said:

I think I figured out the answer to my question. When looking at Refurbished MacBook Pros, I thought the specs were exactly the same on two differently priced items... but I just realized that the cheaper one is a Core Duo and the more expensive one is Core 2 Duo.

There's the answer, in case anyone else was wondering the same thing.


BTW, anyone know how much difference there is between the Core Duo Macs and the Core 2 Duo Macs?

Thanks.

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Everything I've read seems to indicate that the differences are nominal 7-10% at best. That may change, however, when you're running 64-Bit applications. The Core Duos do not use 64-Bit instruction sets, while the Core 2 Duos are fully enabled.

Thanks!