Thinking about scoring a sweet deal on a refurbished electronic device on Amazon? Well, there’s no simple yes or no answer. Let me share my experience to help you decide.

Last year, I took a leap and bought two refurbished items: a Lenovo ThinkCentre desktop and a Kindle eReader. The Lenovo offered a powerful 6th Gen Core i5 processor for 25k, while the Kindle was a “certified refurbished” device with a warranty.

Initially, I was thrilled! The Kindle has been a joy to use, and it definitely lives up to its reputation as a great alternative to physical books. But the Lenovo? That turned into a nightmare.

The refurbished desktop started acting up. I reached out to customer service via WhatsApp, and they were responsive and helpful during the return window. However, once I requested a replacement for the faulty unit, everything went silent. No reply to texts, no answer to calls. This despite Amazon’s policy that clearly states the seller should replace or repair defective refurbished products within 6 months.

Amazon themselves were no help either. They directed me back to the unresponsive seller. Left with no choice, I took the CPU to a service center. Here’s the kicker: the hard drive was glued in, not properly installed! It was a cheap, low-quality part that caused all the issues. I ended up shelling out another 5k for a new hard drive, and only then did the CPU function properly.

This experience left a sour taste in my mouth. While Amazon promotes refurbished products as “professionally inspected and tested,” my Lenovo clearly wasn’t. This is misleading, to say the least.

Here’s my takeaway: Be cautious about buying refurbished electronics, especially things like phones and computers where components can be easily swapped with cheap knock-offs. If you do decide to go refurbished, stick with “certified refurbished” products that come with a guarantee. My Kindle, which had that label, has been a dream.

In the end, I’ve sworn off buying refurbished electronics online. It’s just not worth the risk of wasting money on a product that may turn out to be a lemon. The decision is ultimately yours, but hopefully, my experience sheds some light on the potential pitfalls.