Hmm, I like this device at this price, but what do we think of Woot refurbs with their 90 day warranty? Doesn't fill me with confidence, especially since the device is probably three or four years old. These are not your spotless open-box items that are sold as refurbs, they're likely well-used ... right? I think I'm talking myself out of it
Refurb surfaces are imo one of the biggest risks because if something goes wrong, there is literally nothing you can do because you can't open them up at all. For other laptops, screen, keyboard and usually atleast SSD replacements are possible. Not with Surfaces.
I am typing my Surface Laptop 3 now and using it as my daily driver for my Architecture drafting business. I have 30 Tabs and a bunch of PDFs open at all times. Once of a while, I have to fire up AutoCAD on 2 ext monitors.
I love the thin and light form factor when carrying around town and travel. Backlighted keyboard and Precision trackpad are great, I love drawing in PDF with touchscreen and pen input. 2k 3:2 screen is accurate and sharp. It is a beautifully crafted machine with sensible hw.
While I did upgrade SSD to 512GB from 128GB (it is $$, but possible!), 8GB of ram is fairly limiting. Mediocre battery last 4-5 hours. Video card crash and blacken screen once of a while. (typical Surface). Mic and Cam are acceptable quality.
After 7 years of using various MS Surface product, I would recommend this for business use and for schoolwork. Light gaming is ok too.
Hmm, I like this device at this price, but what do we think of Woot refurbs with their 90 day warranty? Doesn't fill me with confidence, especially since the device is probably three or four years old. These are not your spotless open-box items that are sold as refurbs, they're likely well-used ... right? I think I'm talking myself out of it
Woot refurbs are "briefly cleaned with a cloth to get the big chunks of dirt off. also, it powers on".
I've had several kindle refurbs that were utter trash from them - wouldn't hold a charge for more than a few minutes. Each got returned.
It's Amazon, not a smaller company with a reputation to uphold. Their game is "how much can we ship and how quickly". It's a numbers game to them, and it costs less for them to deal with a few hundred duds when they sold several thousand without issue.
They get massive shipping discounts. They'll just throw the duds back into the sales rotation, maybe the next buyer isn't as fussy or knowledgeable. I've gotten "new" stuff that clearly was used from Amazon and Woot. Or they'll throw it into a giant box and sell it to a liquidation outfit, and it's someone else's problem at that point.
Anyone have experience with woot refurb laptops? The 8gb seems tempting but the 16gb is a little more future proof with extra ram.
Been in the market for a refurb surface but not sure about how beat down these woot refurbs are.
I got some a while back (one purchase being the og surface pro) and it was OK.
But as someone else commented you need to be a little careful and test it extensively because if a key doesn't work or something, and you don't discover it for a return quick, you are SOL.
Also be aware the screens are great on these but the ram will be a big limit.
I got some a while back (one purchase being the og surface pro) and it was OK.
But as someone else commented you need to be a little careful and test it extensively because if a key doesn't work or something, and you don't discover it for a return quick, you are SOL.
Also be aware the screens are great on these but the ram will be a big limit.
Thanks! I ended up digging on ebay and managed to get a Surface Laptop 4 for 315 after the seller gave me an offer. Has only 6 charge cycles and all the cosmetic wear was included in the pics so I know what I'm getting.
Figured that would be a safer bet than taking a risk on woot.
Thanks! I ended up digging on ebay and managed to get a Surface Laptop 4 for 315 after the seller gave me an offer. Has only 6 charge cycles and all the cosmetic wear was included in the pics so I know what I'm getting.
Figured that would be a safer bet than taking a risk on woot.
eBay is probably the best place to go for refurbished laptops. More choice. Everyday and every week something new comes out. I recommend saving a search and checking it daily. You never know when the perfect deal comes along. I was able to score a 1 year old HP Elitebook 845 G8 with a 2 year warranty in 99% perfect condition for 250$ a few months ago. Considering it sold new a year before for 1300$, that was a score.
Thanks! I ended up digging on ebay and managed to get a Surface Laptop 4 for 315 after the seller gave me an offer. Has only 6 charge cycles and all the cosmetic wear was included in the pics so I know what I'm getting.
Figured that would be a safer bet than taking a risk on woot.
Bought 2 of the surface 4 from woot both are not too bad.. 1 had some keys looked used rest look brand new ( battery on that was brand new I did the health check on the battery) 2nd one had small dent on the outside but rest was in perfect shape. So far so good. I think they say all laptops will be 80% or more battery capacity.
13 Comments
Your comment cannot be blank.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Been in the market for a refurb surface but not sure about how beat down these woot refurbs are.
I love the thin and light form factor when carrying around town and travel. Backlighted keyboard and Precision trackpad are great, I love drawing in PDF with touchscreen and pen input. 2k 3:2 screen is accurate and sharp. It is a beautifully crafted machine with sensible hw.
While I did upgrade SSD to 512GB from 128GB (it is $$, but possible!), 8GB of ram is fairly limiting. Mediocre battery last 4-5 hours. Video card crash and blacken screen once of a while. (typical Surface). Mic and Cam are acceptable quality.
After 7 years of using various MS Surface product, I would recommend this for business use and for schoolwork. Light gaming is ok too.
I've had several kindle refurbs that were utter trash from them - wouldn't hold a charge for more than a few minutes. Each got returned.
It's Amazon, not a smaller company with a reputation to uphold. Their game is "how much can we ship and how quickly". It's a numbers game to them, and it costs less for them to deal with a few hundred duds when they sold several thousand without issue.
They get massive shipping discounts. They'll just throw the duds back into the sales rotation, maybe the next buyer isn't as fussy or knowledgeable. I've gotten "new" stuff that clearly was used from Amazon and Woot. Or they'll throw it into a giant box and sell it to a liquidation outfit, and it's someone else's problem at that point.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Been in the market for a refurb surface but not sure about how beat down these woot refurbs are.
But as someone else commented you need to be a little careful and test it extensively because if a key doesn't work or something, and you don't discover it for a return quick, you are SOL.
Also be aware the screens are great on these but the ram will be a big limit.
But as someone else commented you need to be a little careful and test it extensively because if a key doesn't work or something, and you don't discover it for a return quick, you are SOL.
Also be aware the screens are great on these but the ram will be a big limit.
Figured that would be a safer bet than taking a risk on woot.
Figured that would be a safer bet than taking a risk on woot.
eBay is probably the best place to go for refurbished laptops. More choice. Everyday and every week something new comes out. I recommend saving a search and checking it daily. You never know when the perfect deal comes along. I was able to score a 1 year old HP Elitebook 845 G8 with a 2 year warranty in 99% perfect condition for 250$ a few months ago. Considering it sold new a year before for 1300$, that was a score.
Figured that would be a safer bet than taking a risk on woot.
Link pls, i would like one