What is 'half-price?" Half of $1150, or $1100? I think I had a box in my truck when they were $900. I had filed for the class-action lawsuit, and because I had original receipts for my purchases, I got something like $400 store credit on two cards. I used that to buy my unit.
If you can get it 'same-as new' with all the cables there & etc, for something like $500-600, I'd suggest you consider buying it.
You might want to check the paperwork as there's a coupon in there for an accessory. The box doesn't come with a spool gun, and I think no TIG torch, so one more reason to check what's there in the returns/open box table. Maybe the prior customer bought accessories, and they got stuck in the box too.
If it has all the accessories, buy it, if you have the $. Download the instruction manual before you return to the store and take inventory of what comes with the box, so you can check things off as being there (or not).
If you buy it, take it home and try it out to ensure it's functional. It works on 120/240V. There should be cords for both voltages; a gas regulator, a hose from the regulator to the machine, a ground clamp which appears pretty meaty, and the MIG wire-feed torch.
Take a look and see what spool is on the machine, I bet it's the flux-core wire for 'no-gas' welding. See how-much wire is still on the spool, and compare that to a spool of the same weight/size on the shelf, to determine how-much use it got before being returned.
I have one, and while I'm not much of a welder, I let an acquaintance use it to do some welding for a car project, and before he started, he poo-poo'ed the idea of working with a HFT welder. He brought some #5 re-bar w/him, to test-weld, and the machine did a good, quick job, so he set it up for the welding of engine mounts to the frame. He went to work, and worked continuously, until two motor mount blocks were done, and the brackets for the transmission mount was, too. He never had to stop because something tripped (we had it wired to a clothes dryer 240V outlet). The machine never shut-down because the duty cycle was exceeded.
At the end of the work, he said, "I would use this box, any time!" He is a professional welder. Work was steel, MIG & Ar gas.
I also have the TIG torch, and it comes with the cord for a stick welder. I also have a HFT spool gun for welding aluminum, using this machine and I've used that a bit, but I'm a novice and still learning.
Here are some pics of his work (the guy who helped us with the car chassis).
Here's the box on a HFT cart. I have both Ar and Ar/CO2 gas bottles, which I own.
The screen when he was doing the motor mounts.
Who noticed the welder's car in the background? It was a cool ride, an LS V8.
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