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I swore off refurb motherboards for shop builds until a dead Lenovo in Raleigh changed my mind
I used to refuse refurb motherboards for customer builds because I got burned twice in 2022 with dead-on-arrival boards, so I ate the cost on new ones for almost two years. Then last week a guy brought in a ThinkPad that wouldn't post, and I only had a $60 refurb board on the shelf, so I dropped it in just to test the rest of the machine. It posted on the first try, ran a full memtest and a 3 hour burn-in with zero hiccups, and he picked it up the next morning for $140 total instead of the $380 quote for a new board. Now I'm wondering if I was just unlucky before, or if the refurb supply got better. Anyone here have a return rate they actually track on refurb boards vs new?
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paulw874d ago
Man, I feel you on getting burned by DOA boards back in 2022 because that stuff sticks with you and makes you scared to touch refurbs again. It really does sound like you just got unlucky twice in a row back then, since one bad batch can make the whole thing feel cursed when it's really just the luck of the draw. I track my own numbers on refurbs and I'm sitting around a 6 or 7 percent return rate, which is higher than new but not near as bad as people make it out to be. The thing that changed for me is only buying from sellers who offer a real warranty and a no-hassle return window, because that safety net takes the sting out of the occasional dud. That ThinkPad story is a good reminder that a $60 board can save a customer almost $250 and still post on the first try. Sounds like the supply really has gotten better since those rough 2022 days.
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