meaning of open box

[Jo-Anne]

When a company selling hardware refers to it as "open box," what does it
generally mean? I've seen two offers so far that used this term. One of them
implied that the item was new, and the other said it was refurbished. Should
one avoid all "open box" hardware? (The two websites I've seen it at are
Amazon and Newegg.)

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

 

[Shenan Stanley]

When a company selling hardware refers to it as "open box," what
does it generally mean? I've seen two offers so far that used this
term. One of them implied that the item was new, and the other said
it was refurbished. Should one avoid all "open box" hardware? (The
two websites I've seen it at are Amazon and Newegg.)

It means the box has been opened.

Someone may have purchased it and returned it (not as damaged - just didn't
want it.)

 

[SC Tom]

When a company selling hardware refers to it as "open box," what does it
generally mean? I've seen two offers so far that used this term. One of
them implied that the item was new, and the other said it was refurbished.
Should one avoid all "open box" hardware? (The two websites I've seen it
at are Amazon and Newegg.)

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

As the term implies, it is a product that was returned with the box opened
by the customer, or possibly by the retailer. Whether you buy it or not
should depend on if you can return it if it is defective. A lot of people
will return things just saying they didn't like it when in fact they hooked
it up wrong or did something else to damage it. Most companies will take
them at their word and resell it as "open box, but new" when in fact they
haven't tested it to see if it's good or not. "Refurbished" items usually
mean they were returned for a defect and were fixed either by the original
retailer or the factory. I tend to shy away from them, even "factory
refurbished" just for the fact that I don't know what the defect was and it
may not have really been fixed, just patched.
Before considering buying open box items, make sure everything that's
supposed to be with it is in fact there. I know Newegg sells OB motherboards
and they'll put on the description page that cables are not included, or
driver CD is missing. Also consider the difference in price versus the
length of warranty (if any).

 

[philo]

When a company selling hardware refers to it as "open box," what does it
generally mean? I've seen two offers so far that used this term. One of them
implied that the item was new, and the other said it was refurbished. Should
one avoid all "open box" hardware? (The two websites I've seen it at are
Amazon and Newegg.)

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

I've gotten several super deals from Newegg on their open box specials.

Yes, someone had opened the box but in both cases the parts I bought
were new and in good working condition

I also checked first and Newegg had a 15 day return policy on them
so I figured I had nothing to lose

 

[Jo-Anne]

When a company selling hardware refers to it as "open box," what does it
generally mean? I've seen two offers so far that used this term. One of
them implied that the item was new, and the other said it was refurbished.
Should one avoid all "open box" hardware? (The two websites I've seen it
at are Amazon and Newegg.)

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

Thank you, everyone! Given that I'm not very knowledgeable about hardware, I
think I'll stick to non-"open box" items.

Jo-Anne

 

[Brian V]

It can also mean the display model in the store.

If a store sells out of all the boxed items, they may want to sell the
display model last to get rid of the product, or because of scratches (on
working product) or something. Not all stores do that all the time, and if
there is a boxed one available, most stores tell you no discount.

 

[Jo-Anne]

Thank you, Brian! I hadn't thought of that.

Jo-Anne

 

[Brian A.]

I've gotten several super deals from Newegg on their open box specials.

Yes, someone had opened the box but in both cases the parts I bought
were new and in good working condition

I also checked first and Newegg had a 15 day return policy on them
so I figured I had nothing to lose

Newegg has a 30 day return policy for open box products and only for a refund,
no exchanges.

--

Brian A. Sesko
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://members.shaw.ca/dts-l/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[philo]

Newegg has a 30 day return policy for open box products and only for a
refund, no exchanges.

the mobo I bought only had 15 days

anyway it worked fine so it didn't really matter

that was a year ago or so...
I'm using it right now

 

[Brian A.]

the mobo I bought only had 15 days

anyway it worked fine so it didn't really matter

that was a year ago or so...
I'm using it right now

I've never purchased open box items from them, it appears they must have
changed their policy. I purchase all of my PC products from them unless they
don't carry the product, their RMA policies are top notch IMHO.
Good to hear the mobo is still humming along.

Question: Did it still carry the manufacturers warranty when you purchased
it?

--

Brian A. Sesko
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://members.shaw.ca/dts-l/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[philo]

I've never purchased open box items from them, it appears they must
have changed their policy. I purchase all of my PC products from them
unless they don't carry the product, their RMA policies are top notch IMHO.
Good to hear the mobo is still humming along.

Question: Did it still carry the manufacturers warranty when you
purchased it?

To tell the truth I never checked

What happened was I scrapped out an Emachines that had a bad mobo
and for the first time...had a dual core CPU
so of course I needed a mobo for it

The board was $50 !

Since all I needed to do was buy RAM (I had all the other parts)

I built a dual core XP-2800+ machine for not even $100

(use Linux so the OS is free)

Wow what deal...never looked at warranty as with most things...
if there is going to be a problem it will show up right away.

I basically built for myself the same machine I built for my GF
about 5 years ago that came to nearly $2000
(of course that included Photoshop)