This post is sponsored by eBay.
A few fun facts: I have purchased five vacuums (two for our home + three for gifts), a fancy blow dryer, three Frame TVs, two Bose speakers (with perfect sound!), countless kitchen gadgets and other electronics over the years from eBay — all of which were "Certified Refurbished." To me, it was a no-brainer because the price was significantly cheaper (even less expensive than the normal eBay price I go for!), so I didn't think anything of it until I was helping my sister search for a deal on a KitchenAid stand mixer like ours.
There were a few listed as Certified Refurbished on KitchenAid's eBay store, and when I sent her the link (for a whopping $300 cheaper than retail), she said she wasn't sure she trusted it. That's when I realized there is probably a lot of uncertainty around what "Manufactured" or "Certified" refurbished means...besides a really good deal. So at the risk of giving away all of my money-saving secrets, it's time to shed some light on my favorite place to save money on eBay's site: purchasing something "Certified Refurbished."
When you see "Certified Refurbished" (CR) or Manufacturer Refurbished that means that there may have been a small issue initially, but the item has been professionally restored, inspected, cleaned, and repaired to working order by the manufacturer to meet manufacturer specifications and is in excellent condition. They are verified to work like-new, but because of that refurbished title, the price gets slashed. eBay even offers a warranty and money-back guarantee on these items to give us, the customers, assurance and protection that these products will work like new.
One thing to note: the products are tested and certified to work the same as a brand new version, but sometimes, the packaging may be different. For example, one of the Dyson Vacuums I ordered came in a plain, brown box instead of a branded box. So keep that in mind if that's something that is important to you.
My beloved Dyson blowdryer was purchased certified refurbished 3 years ago!
Occasionally you'll run across a "seller refurbished" product. These don't fall into the same category and aren't certified the same way a Manufacturer or Certified refurbished product is that has to go through the manufacturer and verified to work like-new.
A great tip is to go purchase directly through a brand's outlet store on eBay! There are a bunch, like Dyson, Kitchenaid, Worx tools, Bose and more linked in the upper right corner of the homepage.
(Our speakers in the dining room ceiling are Bose refurbished!)
I think I've converted my sister, but I'm curious Would you buy something Certified Refurbished?! (I'm seriously eyeing the Dyson Airwrap that everyone's been raving about that's currently listed for $150 less than retail!).
Here are a few other deals I rounded up for you!
1. Dyson V8 Animal Cordless Vacuum $199
2. KitchenAid 5-Speed Classic Blender $64
3. Dyson V10 Absolute Cordless Vacuum Cleaner $279
4. KitchenAid 6-Qt Pro Stand Mixer in Satin Copper $399
5. KitchenAid 7-Speed Hand Mixer $39
6. KitchenAid 3.5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer in Matte Black $179
7. Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer $279
8. Apple AirPods Generation 2 $129
9. Dyson Airwrap $399
10. Bose SoundLink Revolve Bluetooth Speaker $169
11. Canon EOS 80D $629
12. Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth Speaker II $99
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We're about 6 weeks into having a dog and here I am looking to upgrade our vacuum situation! I'm confused by the "seller refurbished" vs "certified refurbished" thing. Your post says it's not the same as certified or manufacturer refurbished, but I'm seeing "seller refurbished" in the official Dyson store on eBay, and the link you provided to the search of "certified refurbished" items in the Dyson store brings up items that are seller refurbished. Do you know why that is? Thanks so much for all these tips!
certified refurbished and manufactured refurbished are what I look for. Seller refurbished is less regulated
Yes! We buy all of our Apple products certified refurbished, and I think we got our vita mix that way too. But I didn’t know about the eBay store option! I will definitely use that!
I am SO glad I landed on this post!! I had my eye on the bissel crossweave and bought it refurbished right after reading your post as an early birthday present to me :) thanks for sharing!
I can't get to this post; only the comments. Even if I try to click back. I did buy a refurbished pressure washer that we used for years before passing it along when we moved.
Ad blockers have started blocking sponsored posts!! Could that be the reason for you?
I was having the same problem. This is the first and only post that I haven't been able to view. I'll fix my ad blockers and see if that works. Thank you!
Hi,
I keep trying to read the post and I am just seeing the comments section.... It goes from Friday ORC & Charly announcement to the garage orgaznization post with words. Is it possible to read this blog post? It's Friday, 10 am in Idaho.
I’ve purchased 2 iMac computers and two MacBook laptops from Apple’s refurbished area and saved so much money! They come with the one year warranty and you can add the additional warranty- just like new! But...they come in a plain white box. But who cares! That box isn’t worth $1000!!
Refurbished cameras would make me a little hesitant due to the fact most cameras have a shutter count with 100-300,000 actuations before they don’t work anymore. That may seem like a high number, but depending on what type of photos you take, you can get to that number quicker than you think! I’d be curious to see if they specify shutter count (or if the entire shutter has been replaced) for refurbished cameras.
If you read the eBay reviews, which I always do, it makes me uneasy at times. The chances that you might be the person who gets that item that only works 15 min, are higher.
I've bought several computers from Apple refurbished.
One time, there actually was a problem with one straight off the bat - it just kept shutting itself down all the time, constantly actually. I contacted Apple (even refurbished items get the full Apple warranty) and the service was fantastic - they replaced the computer, with another refurbished unit, but this one was a much better computer than what I actually paid for - had more RAM, faster processor, etc.
Have bought several more refurbished Apple computers since, no problems ever.
THANK YOU... I will have to start buying Manufactured / Certified refurbished...
Yup! I've bought an espresso maker & a camera refurbished. So much cheaper & just as good!
Don't forget the environmental aspect...buying refurbished means less waste!
We buy certified refurbished tech all the time! We got chrome books for the kids recently, and they were a steal. I never looked into tool items but I'm after a finish nailer so I'm going to see what I can find!
Do you mind sharing what chrome books you got for your kids? We are in the market for them with virtual school happening again this fall. Thanks!
A most of our desktops, laptops, and tablets that we’ve bought for our family of 5 over the last 10 years have been certified refurbished.
We also have an embarrassing amount of American Girl dolls (and large accessories) thanks to a sale my mom and aunts used to go to every year that sold certified refurbished items.
My sister works for Ulta and gifted me with the Airwarp last Christmas when she was able to get it half off. I like it, but don’t love it. I kind of wish I had asked for just the hair dryer.
I didn’t know they were sold on eBay though. Thanks for the great tip!
I purchased my first iMac refurbished. Mac does so much testing on their refurbished products that they’re often more reliable than their new ones!
Ugh, Apple is the name of the company. Duh. Hahaha. Brain fart.
Off topic, but just wanted to share that a diffuser spilled on the top of my credenza and wrecked the finish! May want to be careful with that one on your vanity.
Oh, thank you!
This happened to me! I now put a small cork trivet (from the garden section) under mine :)
I live with a medical device - an insulin pump that keeps me alive minute by minute. Occasionally I’ll have a problem with my pump, or it gets dropped and the screen cracks, etc. I send it in to the company and they send me a refurbished replacement if I’m under warranty (warranties are for four years and that’s usually about the time you’ll need a new replacement). Aaanyway, once I was expressing to a friend about how I wished it wasn’t a “refurbished” *eyeroll* replacement and he pointed out to me that oftentimes a refurbished product from a manufacturer has MORE eyes and tests on it than even an original one. I’d not thought of it in that way before, and now I’m grateful for the work that goes into refurbished items.
The added bonus is that it HAS to be better for the environment to buy refurbished than new, right?!
Will you do a post on your homes sound system? I have read YBH's a half dozen times but would love to hear how Bose is doing for you!
(Sadly we have burned through 2 of those ColorLink speakers in about 3 years, they would be amazing speakers if they lasted.)
Chris would LLLOOOOOOOOVVVVEEEEE to. hahaha
Hm, I never really do purchase this way but it makes sense. I usually just wait for a sale and go that route. I got my AirWrap during the Sephora VIB sale and gotta say, it is petty awesome. Way less damage on my hair than a curling iron and SO much faster to go from soaking wet hair to styled.
One question, how do you find a brand storefront on eBay? Would love to see if I can score a Vitamix this way!
On eBay's homepage in the upper left corner, there's a button that says "Brand Outlet"!
I just bought a refurbished Vitamix through Amazon! It is AMAZING
"Refurbished" has always made me a little nervous and leary of buying. Who wants a lemon..right? Thank you for sharing items you have purchased that were not new and had issues.
I've been looking at KitchenAid mixers for years and the price is so steep. I will be watching a few now.
Pretty much every KitchenAid item I have purchased has been from the refurb store on their website. Many of their refurb is actually just brand items that were returned to Macy's, Kohls, etc, (if someone returns a small appliance it's shipped back to Kitchenaid regardless of the reason where it then will go through an extra quality test).
Same thing with Apple - I've bought a couple ipads and computers from their refurb store saving around 15-30%. Ipads come with new screens/cases and everything comes with the same warranty it would have if purchased new. Plus you get the extra quality assurance because it all goes through rigorous testing.
I'll definitely check out some of these other brands you've mentioned too.
Heck yeah, girl! I got my Dyson V12 Cordless Vacuum during the Memorial Day sale for $260! My husband and I were walking through Target and saw the less powerful version for $600.
I was very much like your sister, and hesitant when my husband found the Kitchen Aid mixer I had been wanting as CR through their official company ebay store - but it has been perfect! Not only did we save a ton of money, but they also have lots of discontinued or hard to find colors listed as CR! I was able to finally get the "Caviar" color I had been wanting, which I had not been able to find sold anywhere else.
This is completely off-topic (and probably something you'll mention when you talk about the fauxdenza), but can you tell me where you found the art above it? I *love* it soooooo much - we live on a farm called Fox Hollow, and I love adding bits of fox art around the house as a nod to that. Thank you!
Anthropologie! https://rstyle.me/+LWQc0in216tBCVXTH_0RXw
Yes!!! Have bought the kids Iphones refurbed, portable AC for son in Colorado, vacuums. Even a computer a long time ago though.
Yes I would, have had no problems with refurb, and love the lower prices.