Apple Deals Aren’t Rare When You Buy Refurbished

Oliver Pretl-Drummond
·4 min read

Advertiser Disclosure: At Slickdeals, we work hard to find the best deals. Some products in our articles are from partners who may provide us with compensation, but this doesn’t change our opinions.

Plenty of premium tech brands forego deals and discounts to “maintain the value of the product,” but who can compete with the borderline cultish brand loyalty surrounding Apple? After all, Apple’s business model relies on knowing that consumers will pay full price. So while it isn’t hard to find Apple deals through authorized resellers and third-party vendors, the official Apple Store is rather stingy when it comes to price cuts and special promotions.

Thankfully, there’s one notable exception hidden in plain sight — the Apple Certified Refurbished Store.

Shop Apple’s Certified Refurbished Store

The rest of the Apple website pretends that last year’s iPhone doesn’t exist as soon as the next one becomes available, but the Certified Refurbished section is packed with multiple generations of discounted iPads, Apple Watches, iPhones, Apple TVs and other Apple products.

macbook air iphone 11 pro max Refurbished Apple Products on white background
Credit: Apple

Save Up to 15% on Refurbished Apple Products

The Certified Refurbished section operates just like the rest of the Apple website. You can browse Featured Offers on the main page, or view current refurb deals on Mac computers, iPads, iPhones, Apple Watches and various accessories. If you’re searching for a product from a specific generation or release year, you can filter your search accordingly.

Overall, you can expect to save around 15% by opting for a Certified Refurbished device over a new one. Apple claims that you can save “up to 15%” on its Why Refurbished? page, but you don’t have to look hard to spot savings upwards of 40% — even if these ultra-low prices tend to fall on older models.

The Certified Refurbished section updates often, so check back often if you’re looking for a particular device. In the meantime, here are a few solid refurb deals available now:

Is It Worth Buying Refurbished Apple Products?

Look at it this way: When you buy a brand new iPhone fresh from the factory, you’re still taking a leap of faith on build quality and performance — there are many steps between assembly and delivery, any of which are prone to human or machine error.

On the other hand, a Certified Refurbished iPhone has been:

  1. Recently quality-tested by Apple.

  2. Thoroughly cleaned and inspected.

  3. Outfitted with a brand new battery and outer shell.

  4. Updated with brand new accessories and components.

Just like any other Apple purchase, Certified Refurbished Apple products come with the usual 14-day return policy plus a standard one-year limited warranty. Even if you’ve been burned by the “refurb roulette” in the past, you can rest easy knowing that your purchase is protected. On top of that, you can always buy AppleCare.

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Use Slickdeals to Find the Best Refurb Deals

If you’re still unsure, you can always rely on insights from Slickdeals’ community of tech-savvy deal hunters. Featuring input from newbie Apple fanboys to seasoned IT professionals, you have a massive archive of discerning judgments and considerations available for quick reference.

Recently, Joe Davola spotted a bunch of discounted 24-inch M1 iMacs in Apple’s Certified Refurbished Store and pointed out a new way of looking at purchasing refurbished Apple components — if you snag a particularly good refurbished iMac deal, you could upgrade your memory or SSD for the same price as a new base model.

A few iMac deals from the original post:

Deal research is great and all, but there’s an even easier way to use Slickdeals to save — have you set a Deal Alert? Once you’ve set a Deal Alert for the product or brand you’re looking for, we’ll notify you the next time we see a good deal.

More to consider:

Our editors strive to ensure that the information in this article is accurate as of the date published, but please keep in mind that offers can change. We encourage you to verify all terms and conditions of any product before you apply.