Refurbs not in prestine condition?

Well do you really expect them to come in totally prestine condition. Personaly... if they were in a totally unoticable state to new models, I think Apple would sell them as new

I would be very interested if Apple has changed the way in which they send out their refurbs for the 3rd gen. Due to the very positive experience related by many on this board regarding their refurb 1st and 2nd gen purchases I have recommended to some of my "under funded" friends to look into a refurb for the 3rd gen they wanted.

Please post if a new enclosure on the 3rd gen is no longer the norm.

i recieved my refurb a few weeks ago and i will tell you this, if these are refurbs you will never notice the difference. apple replaces the backs and tests them heavily. refurbs are a very good choice

then i must only say "my ipod didn't have a scratch on it and works like a beauty".

WARNING! The refurbs that Apple are sending out now are definetly not like new. I know I am not alone in receiving a unsatisfactory iPod, others on various forums have reported the same with both 2nd and 3rd gen refurbs. Here are some of my posts regarding this from other forums:

From anandtech (http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=40&threadid=1135384&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE=&STARTPAGE=2) forums:

THIS DEAL IS ICE COLD! Beware, Apple has apparently changed their refurb standards. It use to be that they sent you what was essentially a new unit in a the original sealed retail box. I just got my order and I am very dissapointed. No retail box, only a cardboard OEM type one. Cheap firewire cable, instead of the thicker one I got with my 5 GB refurb last year. The charger is scratched and in bad condition. The actual iPod has many scratches on both the front and back sides. I can't believe I waited two weeks for them to ship this junk to me. As soon as I get through to their CS agents (21 minute wait time, wtf), they are going to have one very ####ed customer to deal with.

From fatwallet.com (http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=18&threadid=223280)

HEADS UP EVERYONE! APPLE REFURB QUALITY HAS GONE WAY DOWN! Just got my 2nd gen 10 gb after waiting two weeks for the stupid thing to ship. To my disgust, it came in a ugly OEM box, the back of the iPod was all scratched up, there was some sort of fluid residue on the front and some scratches, and the charger was also scuffed. Really dissapointed as I've bought three 5 gb refurbs in the past from Apple and they have all come in the original retail box and were basicaly good as new. Called Apple earlier today to complain. After 30 minutes on hold the unhelpful CSR said that there was nothing he could do and that I could return it for a 10% restocking fee. I'm like wtf so I ask for his supervisor and he the CSR comes back and then offers to waive the restocking fee or give me any accessory under 25$ for free. Such a gip

Update: From ATOT, it seems that people are receiving 3rd gen refurbs in the same poor condition. So, its not just limited to the 2nd gen refurbs

hehe, i love my pod fee im never giving her away :P

Welcome to the world of refurbished goods. Why do you think you're getting a better price? I remember a refurbished computer I once bought (a PowerComputing Mac clone, ah, those were the days...). The computer was in OK shape, not like new, but good enough. The owner's manual, however, had pizza sauce slopped on half the pages. I thought "good crap, they can't even give me a new owner's manual?"

So if people were getting "perfect" iPod refurbs before with new metal backs & batteries, understand that was an exception to the rule. Refurbished means "We guarantee it will work, even if it isn't beautiful to look at. Thus we're giving you a good discount." If refurb always meant a brand new casing, brand new shrink wrapped box, etc., wouldn't we all want to buy refurbs?

Sorry guys, been a long day I guess.

get an iPod, you know it makes sense. You can join the elite music lovers club :D

Just how scratched up are these things? Mine has minor scratches now (I bought new), but no big deal. The back is still shiny. When I saw my first iPod in person (the 5G model) at a local store, it looked like someone had taken a Brillo pad or a handful of nails to the back of it. It was thrashed. It had to be intentional damage. If I bought a refurb and it showed up looking like that, I wouldn't be happy.

But if it showed up looking like mine does now, well, no biggie. Again, if you buy a new one it will look like that in a couple of weeks anyway, so why not save the money and get the refurb? Order some iPod cleaner if you are really picky. You'll need it eventually anyway, whether new or refurbished.

It would be nice if Apple went to a brushed back; it's time for a change in that regard. The shiny back does scratch too easily, but I see it as a product to be used and enjoyed, not something to put in a display case. Thus I carry it in my shirt pocket sans case/skin/cellophane/etc. My sofa isn't covered in plastic either. :)

yah I think I may go to compusa next weekend and get myself the TAP warrenty

so when you trade it in whats the best way to transfer songs + how much should it cost for a 15 gig ipod?

how much should it cost?

I finally got my 15 gig refurb on Saturday. Apple did upgrade my free standard shipping to free Fedex Saturday Next Day which was nice :)

The iPod came in a brown rectangular box. I was expecting the small square normal box. The iPod did have some scratches on the back. The front looks new. All the cables and such look new.

I went to Walmart and got some metal buffer from the autosection and buffed the back of the iPod. It did help. The scratches are still somewhat noticable. It isn't too big of a deal I just ordered a nice case so I won't even see the scratches.

I think it was worth it for the price.

I finally got my IPOD today after ordering it a couple weeks ago. Indeed it does have some scratches on it but I figure for $100 bucks off the regular price I can live with it. Besides they aren't ridiculously noticeable and I'll be getting a Case to hide them anyway. I don't think it's anything to really worry about. I can post some pics if you want.

I have direct experience with this having ordered 3 refurbished iPods in the past 30 days.

The first two came in absolutely new untouched condition, in original box with all accessories, shrink-wrapped, with a refurbished sticker on the box.

The third came in a brown cardboard box with Apple logo, iPod sitting in foam cutout with all new accessories. The iPod was very used, at least a couple of months of rubbing and touching, with some scratches. It took a couple of hours with various polishes to bring it back to new condition. Now it looks and works like a new model.

Plus, the box had a remote and dock inside. This was clearly one of the last refurbished 10GB models available. Apple even called and tried to ask me to cancel the order.

I'm glad I saved the money by getting these refurbished models. I love Apple, use a Mac, but always felt the low-end model should be closer to $200.

Scott

Originally posted by shottagyal
Hi Scott,

Could you tell me what polishes you used to restore your iPod?


I used three:

Brasso ($4) - From the local hardware store, was able to get out the deep scratches. It takes a lot of rubbing and leaves the surface without gloss. These are not scratches you would get from normal handling. They look like they were causes by being tossed about in a bag with other metal objects.

Novus Plastic Polish 2 & 3 ($5) - From Tap Plastic, was able to buff out the fine scratches and polish the acrylic surface back to a mirror gloss.

The polished steel back on the iPod had a few small scratches and there was no easy fix. These require being polished out with abrasive compounds and I wouldn't recommend it. This process is like fine sanding, where each pass buffs out the marks left by the previous pass. It's not likely you can equal the original plated surface, if indeed it is plated. If it is polished metal then you risk removing the etched logo.

I tried a lot of other plastic polishes and all were too weak.

Scott

Are there any other stores besides apple online I can get a refurb 3rd gen ipod?