To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

What is “EBay refurbished”?

bluedog225

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
3,276
Location
Texas
Do you guys have any experience with this? I can’t tell if it’s refurbished by the seller or by EBay.

Says it was refurbished by a ”qualified refurbisher”.

What do you think?

IMG_3832.jpegIMG_3833.jpeg
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Hank11

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 19, 2019
Messages
1,147
Location
Tennessee
It could mean literally anything.

As often as not, it’s a way for manufacturers to get rid of things that are not selling fast enough without screwing up the pricing for others in the channel who are selling the fresh new ones as new.

Or returns in new boxes. Or repos from a distributor that didn’t pay their bills.
 

58Yeoman

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 1, 2010
Messages
8,999
Location
Central IL
I've bought two "refurbished" dash cams off ebay. First one wouldn't power up, appeared NIB. I think it was a return and the company said it was a return, then the vendor probably bought it on a pallet lot. Second one didn't say refurbished in the auction, but the box had the sticker on it. It was junk also. Got my refund on that one also. Many years ago when the CB craze was hot, I bought a factory refurbed CB radio from Montgomery Wards. It was junk also. No more refurbed junk for me, as I've recently found out it isn't any better than it was fifty years ago.
 

PCustoms

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
22,569
Location
VT
OP
B

bluedog225

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
3,276
Location
Texas
Cpo is a legit company selling factory reconditioned tools (and new).


Pretty sure my drill was reconditioned, the only mark I could find was a rib in the case was bent and scuffed the drill body

Interesting. The price on the Cpo is about $30 higher. But it states “Factory Reconditioned“ instead of “Ebay Refurbished.”

And you pay extra for the extended warranty on the CPO website. While EBay includes a warranty by Allstate. Some more details on EBay after I dug around.
IMG_3832.jpegIMG_3834.jpegIMG_3835.jpegIMG_3833.jpeg
 

nadogail

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Messages
31,933
Location
Coronado, CA
I have had very good experience with a Black & Decker] Referbished Drill that I purchased from a factory outlet store.

That store has been closed for several years now.
 

Vinny

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 14, 2011
Messages
626
Location
Simi Valley, CA
Cpo is a legit company selling factory reconditioned tools (and new).


Pretty sure my drill was reconditioned, the only mark I could find was a rib in the case was bent and scuffed the drill body

Acme is also an official refurbisher for Bosch and other brands. I've pretty much only bought refurbished tools from either CPO or Acme and all look brand new and never had any issues.
Both sell on ebay, sometimes at cheaper prices than their sites. But buying direct from their sites can nab you some goodies with the purchases.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

dchawk81

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
14,359
Do you guys have any experience with this? I can’t tell if it’s refurbished by the seller or by EBay.

Says it was refurbished by a ”qualified refurbisher”.

What do you think?

IMG_3832.jpegIMG_3833.jpeg
Ebay is not in the business of refurbishing anything.
 

rust in the eye

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 2, 2017
Messages
2,752
Location
Chicagoland
I bought a couple of tools from CPO. Looked and worked as-new.
Same here, Makita.
I don't know the circumstances that lead to my tools being "reconditioned" or exactly what was or wasn't done. Mine looked and performed as new and are still going strong years later.
 

four.cycle

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 19, 2015
Messages
28,640
Location
Tacoma, Washington
@bluedog225 -
Up until you brought this to my attention, I had never heard of "Certified Refurbished".
I am an ebay seller, and I have a few items listed as "Seller Refurbished", which ebay defines as:

"An item that has been restored to working order by the eBay seller or a third party not approved by the manufacturer. This means the item has been inspected, cleaned, and repaired to full working order and is in excellent condition. This item may or may not be in original packaging. See the seller’s listing for full details."

I'm using that tag strictly as a CYA thing - I don't want a collector buying a piece I've reworked and then complaining about it after the fact.

Knowing how ebay works - invariably siding with the buyer on most any dispute - I'd posit you're probably on fairly safe ground:

CPOOutlets ebay profile

any ebay seller with over half a million sales is never going to have a 100% feedback rating unless their name is Jesus or Buddha.
 

Jaywalk3r

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 9, 2025
Messages
50
Location
PNW, USA
I've bought two "refurbished" dash cams off ebay. First one wouldn't power up, appeared NIB. I think it was a return and the company said it was a return, then the vendor probably bought it on a pallet lot. Second one didn't say refurbished in the auction, but the box had the sticker on it. It was junk also. Got my refund on that one also. Many years ago when the CB craze was hot, I bought a factory refurbed CB radio from Montgomery Wards. It was junk also. No more refurbed junk for me, as I've recently found out it isn't any better than it was fifty years ago.
As a counterpoint, Apple's in-house refurbs tend to have a slightly lower failure rate than their new, non-refurbed devices. Lower price, same warranty, higher reliability- for some people, that makes refurbs a better deal than new.
 

YesIHaveAHammer

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 1, 2025
Messages
801
It could mean literally anything.
Indeed. To mention and extend as posted above
  • New stock disposal
  • Returned items, may have been used briefly, then tested upon return
  • Lightly used item inspected internally, cleaned up, and tested
  • Fairly used item in good cosmetic condition, moving/wearing parts replaced, tested (this point less of a thing for consumer electronics)
For me, the last one is refurbishment in the true sense. But the term has been abused and diluted over the years.

Restoration on the other hand would be a big effort job on a heavily used or aged tool.
 
OP
B

bluedog225

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
3,276
Location
Texas
In case you guys are interested. This came in today. About $460 at Home Depot. 200 bucks cheaper eBay refurbished.

Came in a marked refurbished box. Case looks new. Most of it looks new. There are some very minor scuffs on it. Consistent with me using it once. Though I’d probably beat it up more than this. Plugged it in; runs fine. I’m going to drill a dozen 1” holes this weekend about 8-10” deep in 6000 psi. And try the new vacuum bits and see how they work out. Hope I don’t hit rebar.

Anyway, here are the pics.

Interesting. Some of the pics look worse than real life. And some of the pics look better cause they couldn’t capture the defect.

IMG_6488.jpegIMG_6489.jpegIMG_6491.jpegIMG_6492.jpegIMG_6493.jpegIMG_6494.jpegIMG_6497.jpeg
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom