I'm a huge advocate of refurbished/reconditioned or used equipment, the amount of money you can save on these is quite substantial compared to brand new, off the shelf equipment.
Typically, refurbished/reconditioned equipment was either a returned product, had issues and required repair was previously opened at some point in time. One positive out of refurbished equipment is that if there was a problem, it's been corrected and now has been through more than one QA cycle, so unless there's a reoccurring issue, the chances of you having issues with it due to manufacturing defect is low. The only downside is if in fact there is a reocurring issue that might be encountered, but the chances of this being the case are small.
In my own experience, the reconditioned/refurbished equipment I've purchased is in brand new condition and you'd never be able to tell otherwise. Another big benefit of going this route is being able to afford equipment that is usuallly two or three steps up from what you'd be paying for if it were brand new. And quite often, you get either the same manufacturer's warranty or if it's a shorter one, you can almost always purchase an extended warranty if it's a reputable source you're buying from.
I'd highly recommend it having had an almost perfect track record purchasing in this manner, you'll be glad you did...

-TD