What is the difference between certified and non certified refurbished?

Answer:

The difference between certified and non certified refurbished computer is in who did the renovation. For certified refurbished you have renovation made by the original manufacturer and for non certified, the work is done by a third party reseller.

Done by the manufacturer (Certified Refurbished)

Certified refurbished status is given when the renovation process was carried out by the manufacturer. This includes full hardware, software, and body inspection. Companies using the label are Microsoft, Lenovo, Asus (UK), HP, Acer, and Dell.

When done by the manufacturer, the quality is higher because they can leverage their production and manpower to do the work. Additionally, genuine replacement parts are used when the repair is done.

Computer configurations renewed this way are often newer models, as they are typically warranty cases or customer returns.

Such products usually have between two and one-year warranty.

Done by the Seller (Non-OEM refurbished)

In this case the refurbishment is done by the seller or by an authorized repair shop. Usually these sellers buy older off-lease items, do the renovation and sell them online.

When buying from a seller you have to be more careful. You can find really nice deals or stumble on something you won’t like.

Such products can come with a 90 day warranty – which should be enough to find defects which were already present at the time of shipping.

So which one is better? Most people should play safe and go with the certified where we expect better diagnostic tools, original parts and of course, a higher price.

We personally prefer to pay as little as possible, thus our choice most of the time is the third-party certified. However, this method needs more time to investigate the market before making the move. We also like places where the actual item is shown and there are enough pictures that give us a good understanding of the physical condition.

To find more bout this topic read our guide about the difference between certified, recertified, renewed, off lease, and used computers.