Useful Information > Reconditioned Info

RECONDITIONED products
(Also called Refurbished, Remanufactured, Serviced or Recertified)

You can get deep discounts on quality reconditioned merchandise. To better inform and serve you, we have compiled a list of our most frequently asked questions about reconditioned products below:

1. What is the meaning of "Reconditioned"?
2. What is the difference between “Factory Recontidioned” and “Third-Party Reconditioned”?
3. Refurbished, Reconditioned, Remanufactured, Recertified or factory-serviced, what’s the difference?
4. How is the reconditioning process done?
5. How long is the Warranty period of a Reconditioned product?
6. Can I buy Extended Warranty or Repair Service on a Reconditioned product?
7. Is Reconditioned merchandise used?
8. Do Reconditioned products come in different packaging?
9. What makes a Reconditioned item such an excellent purchase?
10. How do I identify a Reconditioned item on your site?

1. What is the meaning of "Reconditioned"?
“Reconditioned” refers to products that have been returned to different retailers for any of a number of reasons and that have been repaired and tested by the manufacturer (Factory Reconditioned) or a service company other than the manufacturer (Third-Party Reconditioned). Anytime a retail store or consumer opens a product in a box and it is not sold to the public, it cannot be sold as new. Also, an item purchased by a consumer and returned for any reason (product didn’t work or the consumer simply didn’t like it) whether it's the very next day or a month later, cannot be re-sold as new. So unless the retailer can sell it as “New-Open-Box” or “Used”, the product is returned to the manufacturer or sold to another company. In both cases, assuming the product is in good condition, it is repaired and re-sold as Reconditioned. Fail rates (the rate at which a product fails because of a defective part during its warranty period) vary from product to product and brand to brand. We have heard that if the fail rate of a product when sold New is 1%, the same product in Reconditioned would have a fail rate of 2%.

2. What is the difference between “Factory Recontidioned” and “Third-Party Reconditioned”?
In most cases retailers send back returned products to the respective manufacturers, where they are repaired and re-sold as Factory-Reconditioned. But in some cases retailers sell the returns to other companies, and those products are reconditioned by a service company other than the manufacturer. Those are called “Third-Party Reconditioned”. For example, one of our suppliers of third-party reconditioned TVs has been repairing TVs since the late 1960’s. They purchase returns in large quantities from major retailers and either repair or scrap depending on their condition. They have about 50 people working in TV remanufacturing, with employees that unpack the units and highly trained technicians who do the refurbishing. This particular supplier refurbishes over 1500 TVs and monitors of varying brands and sizes per month. Factory-Reconditioned products usually include User Manuals, Original Remote Controls (when applicable) and all the accessories usually included in the new retail box. Third-Party Reconditioned products mostly come without original manuals. However, these days almost every model’s manual can be found and downloaded from the manufacturer’s website. Third-Party reconditioned products might come with the original remote control or with a universal remote control that suits each particular model. Most Third-Party reconditioned products come with all original accessories, but in a few cases an accessory might be missing. For example, a TV might come without the TV stand. In no case a missing accessory would impair the functionality of the product.

3. Refurbished, Reconditioned, Remanufactured, Recertified or Serviced, what’s the difference?
Any product that is not New in a Factory Sealed Retail Box and has been repaired and tested by a manufacturer or service company is refered to as Refurbished, Reconditioned, Remanufactured, Recertified or Serviced. Various manufacturers and retailers use these slightly different terms, but they all mean the same, except for the difference between Factory Reconditioned and Third-Party Reconditioned, explained in the previous paragraph. Consumers should be aware that many retailers and eCommerce companies use the term Factory-Reconditioned although they are not really sure if the product was Reconditioned by the Manufacturer or by a Service Company.

4. How is the reconditioning process done?
Once a returned lot arrives to the manufacturer or service company, it is sorted according to model. Then, each product is unpacked and goes through an initial inspection. If the unit cannot be repaired or is too expensive to repair (for example a broken plasma glass), it is scraped. Some of its parts might be re-used in the reconditioning process of other units of the same model. If the unit seems to be able to be repaired, a highly trained technician changes any defective parts. Then, the unit is put through a rigorous quality control process to ensure complete and absolute functionality. Units are tested to and checked to assure they meet ALL factory specifications. Some units might have minor cosmetic blemishes, such as scratches and nicks on the stands and housing. And although most of the products are free of these anomalies, there is a very small percentage of them that will show some wear. Although the majority of the reconditioned products will appear to be like-new and free of cosmetic blemishes, some will not be pristine respect to its aesthetic appeal. But of course, you can expect a fully functional fully tested unit. Finally, units are cleaned and sanitized, and carefully re-packaged.

5. How long is the Warranty period of a Reconditioned product?
Most Reconditioned products come with at least a 30-day parts and labor warranty, which begins with the shipment date, which is usually the same as the Invoice date. However, some retailers (such as our company) might reduce the warranty period by a few days (we offer only 21 days), to allow for the time it takes to process a Return Authorization. In some cases, our suppliers might accept to exchange a unit. Even if the product was found defective upon receipt, the customer would need to ship the unit back at his/her expense and our company would ship the repaired or exchanged unit at our expense. In other cases our suppliers might not agree to an exchange and the repair would have to be done only directly with the manufacturer or service company, and the customer would need to pay any shipping expense not covered by the manufacturer or service company. Some Reconditioned products come with a 90-day and even 1-year warranty. Feel free to ask our sales staff about the warranty of each particular product.

6. Can I buy Extended Warranty or Repair Service on a Reconditioned product?
Yes. You can purchase an Extended Repair Service contract for the same periods you could for a New unit. Purchasing an Extended Repair Service contract can give you peace of mind when buying a Reconditioned product.

7. Is Reconditioned merchandise used?
Many products are purchased by consumers, taken home, and returned the very next day. Sometimes because of a functional defect. But many times because it had a minor cosmetic blemish, or because the customer changed his/her mind and did not like the product any more, or because it did not fit a particular purpose. Many returned products were never actually used or were used for a very short period of time. Some products are used for a longer period, but we estimate that the majority of reconditioned products were used for much less than 30 days, which is the usual period for returns allowed by many large retailers. Rest assured that all Reconditioned products have gone through several quality checks to ensure that they are as good as new.

8. Do Reconditioned products come in different packaging?
By law, manufacturers are required to state on the product or packaging that an item has been factory reconditioned. Packaging and terminology differs slightly with each manufacturer. Some items will arrive in a regular retail box with a sticker indicating that it has been reconditioned, refurbished or serviced. Some products may be repackaged in a plain brown or white box. Enclosed manuals (when available) may refer to accessories (for example camera cases, straps, TV stands) that are not included with the reconditioned product.

9. What makes a Reconditioned product such an excellent purchase?
The main incentive to buy a Reconditioned product is price. Customers can usually obtain substantial discounts over retails prices. And although the defect rate of Reconditioned products might be higher than new products, such rate is still low enough to still be a real value for consumers. And many times customers do not notice any difference between New and Reconditioned products.

10. How do I identify a Reconditioned item on your site?
We indicate that a product is Reconditioned with a text in BOLD LETTERS at the bottom of the description of the product. Also, the SKU that we use for the product carries "-R" at the end. Finally, in most cases we include the word “Remanufactured” in the title of the product page. We don't make differences between Factory Reconditioned and Third-Party Reconditioned because many times we are not sure. If you need to know, you can call our Sales Staff and ask. We will call our supplier and try to answer.