[Macworld]

Post your comments for Holiday Guide: How to buy Apple gear, affordably here

[talmy]

If you have a Discover card and go to the Apple site via the Discover card site, you get 5% off of your purchase (I believe limited to 5 items per month). This works for refurbs as well.

[cjfreitag]

I just bought my first refurbished Apple product - a mid-2011 27" iMac. Apart from the fact that it came in a plain white box I can't distinguish it from a new machine. I couldn't be happier.

[quakerotis]

I buy refurbs whenever they are practical to buy. I just got an iPhone 5 16gb from at&t for $99.00. Good as new.

[HalanR]

My wife is still using her refurb'ed 2006 iMac as her primary computer. We purchased it from the Apple online refurb store only two months after that model was introduced. I think demand is so high, it's harder to find refurbished current models, but it always pays to look. I've purchased refurb'ed MacBook Pros and never had any issues.

I've also been told, but haven't confirmed, that you can ask a local store manager about "opened" or returned computers, and they will sometimes give you a discount.

[Hologram]

RE: "...in a condition that’s almost as good as new."

My personal experience with several refurb purchases over the years is that, other than for exterior packaging and the serial number, the devices and supplied accessories are indistinguishable from factory new. No scratches, no nicks, no dust, not even a fingerprint on any of the devices.

This post has been edited by Hologram: 04 December 2012 - 03:10 PM

[dvdsweeney]

Go refurb. I've bought a 2006 Mac Pro, 2010 iMac, 2011 11" Macbook Air,1st and 3rd Gen Apple TV's, Airport Extreme, Time Capsule. All refurbs direct from Apple. I did get extended AppleCare on the iMac and Air but no problems at all.

[darkonturas]

In my book, refurbs are normally of higher quality than new, especially when dealing with apple's high defect rate.