Refurbished TV's` (1 Viewer)

[Rick Westfall]

First, I'm probably posting this in the worng place, but I didn't know where to put it.

I have stumbled across a website that sells refurbs. Second Act. RPTV, plasma, DLP, etc. They seem to have great deals and offer 4 year extended warranties with Warrantech. So, my question is, has anyone had any dealings with this website? Also, what are your thoughts on refurbs?

Thanks
Rick

 

[Jerome Grate]

Refurb, on certain things in my opinion is o.k. like a receiver, speakers, but when it comes to displays, I wouldn't go near it. I'm not familiar with the website, but there are somethings that I think you should not get refurb, and t.v.s is one of them. Too many possible problems that can occur and cause you a great deal of aggravation. Warranty plans from third parties are some what unstable whereas they are not the manufacturer, also they can do only but so much, and finally sometimes there can be a deductable in trying to process repairs from them. Too many opportunities for something to go wrong here.

 

[Kirk Patrick]

i disagree with jerome

i always look for refurbs in almost any electronic product

i have bought numermous computer products and pda's, printers etc

i recently bought a harmon kardon receiver that sells for 350 retail for 245 refurbed, it looks and acts just like new

i always look for the words "factory refurbished"
with any large manufacturer, this is goping to mean that the product was checked over, tested and evaluated for cosmetic defects and then repackaged with usually close to or indentical accessories

these refurbs have very low failure rates

as far as third party warranties, jerome may be right, i have always bought stuff with "original factory warranty"

i live in canada so second act isn't directly available to me but i have _seriously_ thought about ordering a tv and then picking it up in the states as i can save a bundle over new prices up here (canada doesn't have near the amount of refurbs available as you do in the states)

as always, read the fine print carefully, look at return and satisfaction policies, use a credit card and keep your receipts

the last time i looked second act had a great price on the toshiba 52hm84 which is a pretty nice tv

good luck

 

[Tom McA]

My specific concern would be with refurb LCD's.

What would constitute acceptable quality vs "needs repair" when it comes to a couplea noticeable dead pixels? I'm about to buy a RP LCD, and my fear is that if I bought a refurb unit, I'd get a unit that wasn't truly refurbished, but just a returned TV that someone wasn't happy with due to dead pixels, and the manufacturer just turned around and put it on the B-stock market as-is.

 

[Kirk Patrick]

i think many warranties and sales contracts will address the issue of pixels in terms of the number they consider to be acceptable

you could check with the seller and/or the manufacturer to see what their policies are

i would think it would be highly unlikely that they would send out a set with a lot of dead pixels

remember each set is checked over individually

i have found that major manufacturers, ie. "brand names" have very high standards for refurbished products

again i am talking about "manufacturer refurbished"...not "reseller refurbished" or "open box" etc

read the fine print

good luck

 

[DaveHo]

I've bought many refurbs & used equipment in the past. In fact, much of my HT is made up of such. That being said, once you tack on their rather high shipping charge, I didn't see too many items on that site I thought were worth it. Considering the extremely short warranty, I don't really see any smoking deals, YMMV.

-Dave

 

[John S]

I purchased a refurb display it worked out extremely well for me. Results will vary.