Last updated on December 27, 2010

How to Buy a Refurbished HDTV

Filed under Home & Leisure

Key Facts

  • Refurbished products aren’t sold in regular retail outlets, as this would under-cut full price products.
  • A good place to find refurbished products is on the websites of their original manufacturer
  • There also specialist online and offline sellers who offer refurbished products. Read about them below, or use a search engine to find them.

Modern large-screen HDTVs offer a great viewing experience but can often be rather expensive. Buying a refurbished HDTV can be an excellent option for those on a limited budget or looking for a bargain.1

While buying a refurbished HDTV can offer substantial savings, when purchasing any refurbished item, it is important to take some common sense precautions to make sure that you get a good product.2

Firstly, let’s go over the basics of HDTV. Almost all new TVs sold today are flat-panel HDTVs. The two most common technologies currently used are LCD TVs and plasma TVs, though LED TVs are starting to appearing at the top end of the market.3

For screen sizes up to 42”, LCD TVs are the most important option, while for extremely large TVs like those used in public places, plasma screens work out far cheaper than the LCD alternative. However in the popular range of sizes around 42”-50”, both are available and prices are about the same for both types.

Plasma and LCD TVs have different strengths and weaknesses but to most people, both are perfectly acceptable.

When deciding what size you need, the most important consideration is how far away you’ll be sitting from the TV. It’s best to find out for yourself what size is comfortable for you given the set up of your home, but you can find guides online to help you get an initial idea.45

After size, the next factor to consider is resolution. Although there are still 720p models being sold, for the main large TV in a normal sized home, a 1080p model is the best choice for most people. A 1080p TV gets the best possible results out of modern viewing material such as movies on Blu-ray disc.

Now we consider the advantages of buying refurbished, and how best to go about it.

Video – The Benefits of Refurbished HDTVs

The following video shows a news segment explaining what refurbished means, and the advantages of buying refurbished HDTVs. Note that the video is a couple of years old, and the particular retailer highlighted, Second Act, stopped trading due to the recession. However the video remains a useful explanation of refurbished HDTV basics.

Understanding Refurbished Electronics

Many people have doubts about buying refurbished technology because they don’t properly understand what “refurbished” means. While in small local stores “refurbished” can mean used items that have been patched up for resale, in the mainstream electronics industry, “refurbished” means something rather different. For example it can be used to refer to an item that has been sold to a customer who opened the box and then returned it unused. Perhaps the product didn’t look right in their home, they suffered buyer’s remorse, or their spouse objected to the purchase. A refurbished product could also be one with mild cosmetic damage like surface scrapes which have subsequently been fixed back at the factory, or it can mean an an item that has been rebuilt to repair some more significant problem.

Around one in five consumer electronics items sold in the US are actually by the buyer soon after purchase, and only about 5 percent of those are actually seriously defective. Over two-thirds of electronics products returned to retailers work perfectly.

Consumer electronics products that are returned to the manufacturer in this way are fully restored to as-new working condition, re-inspected for quality and then repackaged before being offered for resale at a much lower than original price. Generally, these refurbished products are backed by the manufacturer’s warranty and will be exactly the same in looks and performance as brand new products. Therefore, refurbished electronics often present a good opportunity to buy an as-new product for a bargain price.

There are three main sources to consider when looking to buy refurbished electronic products. The first and often best option is from the manufacturer themselves. The second is to look online at a variety of internet retailers. The final option is to buy from specialist “buyout retailers”. We will now look at each of these three options.

Buying Direct from the Manufacturer

As with other refurbished electronics, you can buy refurbished HDTVs directly from their manufacturers, and this is always a good place to start looking, even if you later decide to buy from somewhere else. The manufacturer can make sure the product is in excellent condition and will offer the best warranties, so this gives you a baseline for comparison.

Let’s take one example of a popular HDTV brand and look at Sony. In the US, you can visit Sony’s site at www.sonystyle.com, and locate the Outlet link in the Special Offers section, or look for the TV and Home Entertainment Outlet links within the TV section. You’ll see a good range of models available, often at excellent prices. However, if you had one particular model in mind that you were looking for, don’t be surprised if you don’t find what you want first time. Ideally, be prepared to check out the site a few times to see if any new deals have become available for the item you want. It’s also a good idea to be prepared to consider alternative models to those you originally wanted, to take advantage of what is actually on offer.

After finding the products you are interested in, make sure to carefully check the specifications to be sure that what is offered is the model you wanted with the specifications you were expecting. Before buying, also look over the warranty and any return policy information. You’ll want to be sure that if something is wrong when your refurbished HDTV arrives, you can return it for a refund or exchange it for a replacement. Usually, Sony offers a 90 day warranty on refurbished items, which will provide you with peace of mind and a useful fallback in case of unexpected problems.

Remember, though we looked at Sony as an example here, if you explore the websites of companies like Samsung or Panasonic, you’ll also find similar deals on refurbished HDTVs.

Buying from Online Retailers

The convenience of shopping online means that you can find good deals without leaving your home. Larger online retailers like eBay and Amazon often sell refurbished items, and this may include HDTVs and other home entertainment products. There are also a number of smaller companies who deal in refurbished electronics, including Overstock.com.

With any of these companies, it is important to understand what is meant by “refurbished” in the case of any given item.

Also, remember that these retailers usually ship to US addresses only, and typically do not ship to PO boxes or overseas military addresses such as APO/FPO addresses. However some of them have sites for other countries, and recently Overstock.com has started shipping to the UK.

Even more than when purchasing a refurbished item from the original manufacturer, be careful to check exactly what you’re getting, and that you are getting everything you need. For example, a pre-owned HDTV from some suppliers might come without an instruction manual or some accessories. Again, be sure to check what warranty is offered and the returns policy. These sites will most likely offer a less generous policy than companies like Sony, but you should still have maybe 30 days in which you can get a replacement or a refund if you have problems with the product.

Shopping with Buyout Retailers

You can also find refurbished HDTVs at so-called buyout retailers, which often have physical stores as well as online ones. These buyout retailers take the the overstock from large corporations and then sell it to the consumer at low cost. These retailers will stock all kind of products, including refurbished electronics, like televisions, stereos, and video game systems.

Some of the retailers that may well be worth a look include refurbdepot.com, warehousedeals.com and the specialist outlet stores of Crutchfield and Target.

As always when buying refurbished, remember to check model details, specifications, warranties and return policies before completing a purchase.

Footnotes

  1. http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2008/08/refurbished-e-1.html  (back)

  2. http://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/refurbished-electronics.html  (back)

  3. http://www.pcworld.com/article/125816-2/how_to_buy_a_flatscreen_hdtv.html  (back)

  4. http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html  (back)

  5. http://www.crutchfield.com/S-wEryaQ5hGU5/learn/learningcenter/home/tv_faq.html  (back)

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