Refurbished and discontinued

[OBX Pirate]

(1) Would you buy a refurbished AV Receivet from an authorized factory dealer like A4L?
I generally prefer new. I would not buy one used off eBay or some random online who knows where store. But after seeing a third in savings, I would consider buying factory refurbished from Amazon or a legit reputable place. I ask, cause I see a Yamaha RX-a2020 a third off as an example. Could not afford that new, but maybe just maybe could afford refurbished. (Don't need to debate that model, just using as an example) #betterbangforthebuck?
(2) Would you buy a discontinued unit, presuming it had what you wanted at the time?
I might feel odd buying a discontinued receiver but it may not matter if It has what I want and can save money from the newer model. Example, same as above, Yamaha Rx-a2020 is discontinued and the new line up announced coming out (I see Gene did a post on it) The 2020 has Atmos AND DTS:X and all the features I would want. (Again, don't need to debate model, just using as an example) #oldiebutgoodie
Thank you, my list will be narrowed after I answer for myself, based on your input the answer to these two questions.
*I tell my wife that the experts advised me in the best way to proceed.

 

[markw]

Many of us hare have purchased from A4L and I can't recall any negative comments about them, only good things.

I myself have bought several items from A4L and they are great. They arrived quickly, never had a problem and everything looked brand spanking new. Aside from the box, you would never know they were refurbs.

I recommend them highly. As far as refurbs go, I wouldn't consider anyone else.

As for discontinued, the main difference between last years models is slightly different features, not so much performance. Unless you absotively, posilutely need that one particular feature that last years model doesn't have, then you can do quite well with a discontinues unit.

 

[M Code]

Buying a refurb unit is a crap shoot...
One may get a great unit that was never even turned ON, or one can get a unit with a recurring intermittant technical issue....
Just be sure to check out their return policy and if there is a problem where to take it and who pays the return freight.. Also make sure to get all of the accessories including AM & FM antennas, EQ microphone, remote controls, operation guide...

Just my $0.02...

 

[lovinthehd]

While Denon supplied two bad refurbs via A4L, A4L was great to deal with, altho in the end I decided on a new unit (the discontinued 4520) from them instead of trying a third refurb. I've purchased a few other things from them and a good experience each time. Denon's refurb program I don't have a very good opinion of altho many haven't had issues. Can't say I've seen anyone complain about a Yamaha refurb but don't really follow them. Might want to search thru this thread for such experiences.

 

[j_garcia]

Never had any problems ordering from AC4L and have bought a few receivers and other items from them over the course of 5 or more years.

 

[KEW]

I've bought several Denon refurbs from A4L without any issues at all.

One thing that is very important here is that A4L is an approved reseller of Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Onkyo, etc. The units are checked over and repaired at the manufacturer's facility and you get a manufacturer's warranty.

If you do have issues, A4L will deal fairly with you!

Contrast this with some refurb situations where a big lot of returned gear is sold off (at pennies on the dollar) to a third party. The manufacturer has washed its hands of these units and third party is now in the business of making as much money off of this inventory as possible. And trust me, the third party will also wash it's hands of these units as soon as you write the check! It is really not in the interest of the third party to look to close for problems - it cost money to look and even more money if you find! Companies like One Call seem to skirt somewhere in between these two extremes.

A manufacturer who will be covering the warranty will have a formal procedure for inspecting the units and dispositioning them for repair (or scrap).

Disappointing that LovintheHD had bad experiences, but if you google A4L on the audio forums I think you will see that he is in the minority.

 

[speakerman39]

I agree with Kurt here. Have had nothing but good luck with Acc4less. They are great to deal with. Plan to do business with them again in the very near future. Looking at several items as we speak. Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[markw]

One thing to keep in mind about refurbs: Before they were refurbs, they were new in box units that had problems.

 

[M Code]

Here is a site with >100 Reviews for acc4less....

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Accessories_4_Less

Just my $0.02...

 

[herbu]

(1) Would you buy a refurbished AV Receivet from an authorized factory dealer like A4L?

You have received lots of good info. Please let me summarize.

Refurbs can either be done by the manufacturer, or a third party. When the mfg does it, they use the same tests and quality processes used on their new-build line. When a third party does it... who knows.

A factory authorized reseller, (like A4L), gets their refurbs from the mfg. So you know they got the mfg's standard testing and quality. AND they carry a warranty. The warranty is usually not as good as a new product, but generally good enough to assure there are no mfg or workmanship defects. And the reputation of the seller is important IF you ever have to use the warranty. Some sellers are easy to work with, (like A4L), and some are difficult.

A product falls into "refurb" status any time the mfg gets back a product that has been opened. That's why new boxes have tamper resistant seals... so the company can tell if it has been opened. Once opened, it cannot legally be resold as "new". And once opened, the mfg can never be sure how or how much the system was used. It may have just sat on a dealer's shelf. It may have been opened by a customer who never plugged it in. It may have been abused. It may have been used normally, failed and returned.

Out of all the possible reasons for a refurb, the only risky one is the unit that was returned and replaced for an intermittent problem. Like your car or any other product, it's hard to fix a problem that doesn't fail for the technician. So it is possible a system had an intermittent problem, the customer wanted it replaced, the mfg went through all tests and quality checks but couldn't find anything, and the system is sold as a refurb. It happens, but not often. This is where the warranty will help.

All in all, if you buy refurb from a reputable dealer, (like A4L), you can save some money with little additional risk.