Apple discounts--Is refurbished a good idea?

Image via WikipediaWisebread has a great blog post on saving money on Apple products. When Paul just had to have an iPod touch, I told him I wasn't going to buy one for him, so he saved his money, worked for Mr. Poorhouse's boss hanging doorhangers to advertise the business, did extra chores around the house, and sold off a bunch of video games and his beloved DSi (a Santa gift). In less time than I would have predicted for a 9 year old, he had enough money for a refurbished iPod touch.

This was probably 6 months ago. You may wonder if the refurbished products are as good as new. Well, in our experience, yes and no. We bought a refurbished Mac mini for Mr. Poorhouse a year or so ago when his desktop computer failed after many years of faithful service. (The desktop was refurbished too.) No problems.

The iPod touch came with a sticky menu key, but it was workable, so we didn't return it. A month or so ago, the menu key stopped working altogether. I was a little worried about what the support would be like on a refurbished device. We made an appointment and bundled everybody off to the Apple Store. Paul explained his problem to the genius assigned to our case.

Because this is the way we are, we told them that it was a refurbished machine.

Paul walked out a few minutes later with a brand new iPod touch. So yes, I'd say that refurbished is the way to go.

(Oh, by the way, I wouldn't try to get discounts you aren't entitled to, like pretending you're a college student for 10 years. That's just wrong.)