Refurbished Home Theaters

Refurbished Home Theaters are a valid option to save money and create an awesome home theater. However, it is important to understand the differences between new, refurbished and reconditioned. This understanding will provide insight into what to purchase as a refurb home theater and what to purchase new so you are not stuck with an expensive electronic paper weight.

Is Reconditioned Home Theater The Same As Refurbished?
Many people mistakenly think that refurbished and reconditioned are the same. This also leads to misconceptions about the quality of refurbished items. They are not the same and these differences are important to understand.

Refurbished home theater items come in many different varieties, details to follow in the Know Your Refurbished Home Theater section below. What is important to know now is that they typically have had little use

On the other hand, recondition home theater items have typically been used for a decent amount of time. Often they are items that were display units or leased and have been repaired to working order. These items will often come cheaper than refurbished items, but it is important to understand the risk in buying these items. Some electronics such as Plasma TVs are not as good an option for reconditioning but are good choices to buy as refurbished. For more details on which items are good options as refurbished and which are good choices as reconditioned, see our refurbished electronics page.

Know Your Refurbished Home Theater
So what classifies an item as refurbished and what should you look for in a refurbished home theater item?

An item will be considered refurbished under three main conditions:

Customer Returned The Item – Often returns, especially for warranted items, are now returned to the manufacturer rather than the store. The customer may have returned the item because they did not like it, it did not work, etc. Basically if the box is opened the item typically is either sold as opened box, which normally happens if it is returned to the store, or more frequently it is returned to the manufacturer, retested and sold as refurbished. I have seen a lot of good deals on Refurbished Home Theater Projectors due to customer returns. All kinds of reasons such as the fan noise was too loud or the room was too bright for a projector and the picture could not be clearly seen. Many cases there is absolutely nothing wrong with item and it was hardly used.

Cosmetic Damage – A scratch, color variation or dent on the outside of the unit. Often caused during shipping or during the opening of the box. These items are sent back for new ones and the returns are tested and sold as refurbished. Once again nothing wrong with the functionality and in many cases you will not even notice the damage once the item is hung from the wall, ceiling or placed in the equipment rack. This is a great way to find good deals on Refurbished Home Theater Receivers. Most times a scratch or dent on one of these units will not be noticed once you add it in with your other equipment.

Production Defects – Sometimes the item does not even leave the factory or was never opened. A problem could be identified with a product that forces a recall. When this happens all items in the factory and the ones on the store shelves are sent back for repair, tested and typically sold as refurbished. For example Microsoft Xbox was recalled due to overheating which caused the unit to crash and become unusable. After many customer complaints, the result was millions of units being recalled. Good chance that once repaired those units were sold as refurbished.

There are several things to look for in Refurbished Home Theater Systems. First is look to see if the item is factory refurbished with a warranty. Ideally the refurb and warranty is from the manufacturer and not a third party. If it is a third party, check into the company a bit and make sure they are a reliable company. If the refurbish work and warranty are not from the manufacture and you have doubts about the company, understand that the risk is increased, therefore you should expect a larger price reduction. For most items it is possible to buy the items directly from the manufacture that have been factory refurbished with manufacture warranty. Refurbished Bose Home Theater is a popular example.

One thing to watch out for when purchasing refurbished components, especially electronic items, is which market the item was originally designed for. DVD, Blu Ray, etc. players are different for different regions also warranties may not be valid. Therefore if you live in North America, make sure the unit made for NA and not Europe or Asia.

Refurbished Home Theaters Conclusion
Refurbished theaters are becoming more popular as more and more people are realizing the difference between reconditioned and refurbished. Recognizing the risk is minimal if the above steps are follow to find the proper refurbished items and the cost reductions can be substantial. Second Act has the largest selection of refurbished we are aware of. Other popular choices are Philips Outlet and Amazon.

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