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If you’re shopping for a new tablet, the best way to save is to look for cheap refurbished tablets. If you don’t find or don’t want to pay the price for even the best cheap tablet deals, a refurb is a great alternative. Different manufacturers or retailers may call them by different names, such as remanufactured or refreshed, but refurbished tablet sales are a good way to upgrade your equipment other than buying new devices. Electronic components with no moving parts don’t wear out, so looking for refurbished tablet deals gives you the opportunity to save money and enjoy the benefits of recent and latest-model tablet powerhouses.
Tablets aren’t the only refurbished products with amazing deals. We’ve also rounded up the best refurbished iPhone deals, refurbished MacBook deals, refurbished laptop deals, and refurbished iPad deals.
Today’s best refurbished tablet sales
Should you buy a refurbished tablet?
There are many good reasons to buy cheap refurbished tablets. When you’re searching for refurbished tablet deals, keep in mind that you don’t really have to compromise. In many cases, you’ll find refurbished tablets sales have as much or even greater selection than most stores or online merchants that sell only new models. When you shop for the workhorse or entertainment tablet of your dreams, consider the following factors:
- Purpose: Search for cheap refurbished tablets that will meet your primary needs. If you need a dependable mobile tool for business purposes, be sure you buy a model with sufficient storage and the ability to run the apps you’ll need. Combination 2-in-1 units like the Microsoft Surface can often serve multiple purposes, but if professional applications are a must, be sure to buy a model that will run them. If you want a cheap tablet to carry with you for entertainment while you travel, perhaps you can cut back on the specs as long as the display and audio meet you requirements.
- Condition rating: You’ll need to get familiar with the rating systems used by different merchants for refurbished tablet deals. You can pretty much count on refurbished tablet sales by reputable retailers functioning as well as brand-new models, but the cases may be marked or have blemishes. Retailers who sell cheap refurbished tablets don’t want to deal with lots of returns, so if the same vendor rates some refurbished tablet sales items as good, others as very good, and still others as pristine, you can assume that the ratings will accurately represent the appearance of the tablets.
- Warranty: You will usually get a one-year or two-year limited warranty when you buy a cheap refurbished tablet. If you’re concerned at all, be sure to read the warranty details before you buy. Retailers would rather you never have to make a warranty claim, but they know many customers consider a warranty a safety net to protect themselves from making bad purchases.
- Connectivity: Most tablets come in two versions, Wi-Fi only and cellular plus Wi-Fi. Refurbished tablet sales of cellular plus Wi-Fi models cost more than Wi-Fi only models because of the extra cost of cellular-capable hardware. Cellular connections aren’t free, and you’ll need to set up a new line of service with a cellular network in order to use the cellular connection. Some models are limited to work with only a specific carrier, such as Verizon or AT&T, but you’ll also see “unlocked” models that can work with a variety of cellular networks. If you prefer or need to use a cheap refurbished tablet with a specific cellular carrier, confirm ahead of time that it is possible.
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