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A unit that was returned, inspected, repaired if needed, and resold by the manufacturer or an authorised refurbisher. The unit may have new parts, restored cosmetics, and a fresh QC pass. The warranty is usually 90 days, sometimes a year, but it's a separate refurb warranty — not the original retail warranty.

Pricing convention: 30-50% off retail. Best Buy Outlet, Apple Refurbished, and Amazon Renewed are the major channels. The unit will be marked “refurbished” or “renewed” on the packaging.

A unit that was returned but never used. Inspected, repackaged, sold as “like new.” The unit hasn't had any repair work because none was needed. Warranty is the original retail warranty, usually one year.

Pricing convention: 10-25% off retail. Best Buy Outlet, Costco Returns, and Wayfair Open Box are the channels. Look for “open-box” or “like new” on the listing.

A unit that was manufactured for retail but never sold to a retailer because the retail buyer reduced their order or the season ended. Sealed factory-fresh inventory. Original warranty applies, full retail warranty.

Pricing convention: 25-50% off retail when sold through the manufacturer's outlet channels. Can drop deeper if the manufacturer is in a hurry to clear capacity.

The least common, the most aggressively priced. A B2B retail buyer placed a bulk order, the manufacturer produced and shipped to fulfilment, then the retail buyer cancelled before the units left the fulfilment partner's warehouse. The fulfilment partner now holds inventory they have to clear without disrupting the brand's retail price floors.

The contract's clearance clause typically allows liquidation at any price, to any channel, after a 90-120 hour waiting period. Sealed factory-fresh inventory, original retail warranty.

Pricing convention: 70-95% off retail. The lower bound reflects how much the fulfilment partner needs to recover before storage costs eat the margin. These deals are time-limited because the storage cost is the binding constraint.

If a deal advertises “refurbished” at 70%+ off retail, something is off. Refurbished units don't price that aggressively because the cost basis is higher (parts + labour). Either the unit is mislabelled, or the warranty is much shorter than the listing suggests.

If a deal advertises “new in box” or “sealed” at 70%+ off retail, the most boring explanation is overstock or cancelled-order. Look for the original retail SKU, the warranty issuer (should be the original brand), and the fulfilment partner identity. If all three check out, the price is real.

If the listing is vague about all three, it's a marketing fabrication or, occasionally, a grey-market import. Walk away.

— Refurbished: 30-50% off, refurb warranty (90d-1y), inspected/repaired
— Open-box: 10-25% off, full retail warranty, never used
— Overstock: 25-50% off, full retail warranty, factory-sealed
— Cancelled-order: 70-95% off, full retail warranty, factory-sealed, time-limited