I’ve always been hesitant to buy anything used or refurbished – the last thing I want is to spend thousands of dollars on a laptop only to learn that someone really doesn’t know how to take care of their things.

But how often do you buy something, open it, and return it because it wasn’t what you expected? I’ve done that plenty of times. Is it really that used if you touch it for just a moment? Another person’s buyer’s remorse can easily save you hundreds of dollars. Of course, not every laptop will be “like new,” but laptops have higher refurbishing standards than your average sub-$20 Amazon gadget.

Is It Worth Buying a Used/Refurbished Laptop?

This is a case of risk versus reward.

The worst example would be this M4 MacBook Air 13 available for $849 at Amazon. It’s brand new, but you can buy the “like new” model for $840. Saving $10 is not worth the risk of whatever condition Amazon thinks “like new” is.

A good example would be this Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16 for $851 at Best Buy – this is in excellent condition, and you save $198 (originally $1,049). That’s quite the discount for a laptop that “works and looks like new,” according to Best Buy.

So, in theory, yes: It’s definitely worth buying a used or refurbished laptop. You just need to know how to navigate the wild judgements and rating systems each vendor has.

How To Buy a Used/Refurbished Laptop at Best Buy

Best Buy has a few categories to explore in the refurbished space. You can choose between Open-Box, Refurbished, and Pre-Owned.

Open-Box refers to products that were returned to Best Buy and were factory reset and then judged to be either Excellent (like-new), Good (minor scratches and/or missing items), or Fair (major dents and/or missing parts). Refurbished refers to products that were sent back to the manufacturer and repaired and then sent back to Best Buy, so ideally they’re like-new. Meanwhile, Pre-Owned refers to a laptop that’s been owned for weeks or months before being returned to Best Buy.

So with Best Buy, if you’re trying to maximize quality while saving money, shoot for the Refurbished and Excellent Open-Box laptops. As I pointed out earlier, you can save hundreds of dollars just going this route. Under Best Buy’s return policy, you’ll have 15 days to return the laptop if it’s not up to snuff.

How To Buy a Used/Refurbished Laptop at Amazon

Amazon has two categories: Renewed and Used. The latter simply refers to any seller posting a product as used, including Amazon itself. However, Amazon Renewed is a program that handles professionally refurbishing products, either through Amazon or third-party refurbishers.

Amazon Renewed dishes out four grades: Premium (like-new), Excellent (like-new with more than 80% of original battery life), Good (light scratches with more than 80% battery), and Acceptable (scratches on screen and body with more than 80% battery).

If you are shopping for refurbished laptops at Amazon, I recommend going for the Premium grade ones. They’re not just better – they’re the only ones with a one-year warranty from Amazon. You get only 90 days with the other grades.

How To Buy a Used/Refurbished Laptop at Newegg

For better or worse, Newegg is simple. There’s Refurbished and Newegg Refreshed. The former was refurbished by any seller, whereas a Newegg Refreshed product is refurbished by Newegg or a vetted supplier.

It’s unclear what you’ll get with the generic Refurbished label, but Newegg Refreshed products feature at least 80% battery life, no dead pixels, and no heavy damage or wear. They’re also cleaned and repackaged with the original or equivalent accessories.

If it isn’t obvious, go for the Newegg Refreshed laptops. You can also return them within 90 days for a full refund.

How To Buy a Used/Refurbished Laptop at Walmart

Yes, even Walmart has a refurbished program, called Walmart Restored.

There are four grades: Premium (light scratches with at least 90% of original battery life), Like-New (light scratches with more than 80% battery), Good (slight wear and tear with more than 80% battery), and Fair (significant wear and tear with more than 80% battery). It’s very similar to Amazon’s standards. There’s a 90-day return policy barring Premium products, which offer 30 days of free returns and replacements. Premium products are sold specifically from manufacturers or manufacturer-authorized sellers, which is why the warranty is different.

There are also Open Box items, which defines items that are in excellent condition with no signs of use. Then there are Pre-Owned items, labeled Like New, Good, and Fair. They operate like the aforementioned grades except the battery life standard is dropped to 60%. More importantly, they don’t offer a 90-day return policy.

You’d be safer going with a Like-New laptop from the Walmart Restored category – that way you get the full 90 days.

How To Buy a Used/Refurbished Laptop at Dell and Lenovo

You can also buy refurbished laptops directly from manufacturers like Dell and Lenovo.

Dell only has two grades: A and B. Simple yet weird. These grades refer to the cosmetic quality of the laptops and assumes that the refurbished products function like new. Grade A refurbished products are in good cosmetic condition, ranging from pristine to light scratches. Grade B refurbished products feature scratches, imperfections, or discolorations. The neat part is that these refurbished devices come with the same one-year limited warranty as new laptops do.

Lenovo doesn’t feature any grades but instead labels its laptops as Certified Refurbished. So what does that mean? Honestly, I have no idea. Lenovo’s website answers that question with a relatively generic answer about ensuring the product meets “Lenovo’s high standards of quality, performance, and reliability.” Similar to Dell, Lenovo offers the same one-year limited warranty as its new laptops, which can be upgraded to three years.

Which Used/Refurbished Laptop Should You Buy?

I recommend looking for laptops that have recently launched, ones that didn’t even get enough time to earn the wear and tear you might expect from a used laptop. That’ll net you a nice discount and a like-new device.

I would advise against purchasing older refurbished laptops. You can still find new old laptops available that simply haven’t run out of their stock yet, especially on sites like Newegg. Those laptops will get significant discounts, so you don’t need to worry about saving money on that front.

If you want to know which are the best laptops, the Apple MacBook Air (M4, Early 2025) is currently at the top of our list. And you can technically get a discount on it at Best Buy for $35 off as refurbished. Like I said earlier, I wouldn’t jump for deals like that, but if you’re pinching pennies over a MacBook, then go for it. Meanwhile, the Asus Zenbook S 16, our best laptop for work, is $162 off at Best Buy in an Excellent Open-Box.

When Should You Buy New?

You should buy new laptops when the refurbished-game for the product you’re looking for is questionable. If there’s a particular accessory or state that you need the product to be in, then I wouldn’t risk buying anything used.

Buying used still probably isn’t for me, though. While I can see the benefits of buying refurbished products, even ones that were opened for a moment and then tossed, there is still an inherent risk here. All of these grading systems sound fine in theory, but we don’t really know what kind of testing goes into ensuring these products are refurbished. Maybe that’s just my mistrust in the industry, and maybe I’m falling into the trap of spending more to buy new. But I’d rather wait for a sale.

For those stronger of will, I recommend shopping used when you can and abusing return policies to ensure you’re getting as close to a new product as you can.

Rami Tabari is a contributing writer at IGN with over 9 years of experience in the tech and gaming industry. You can find his bylines at Laptop Mag and Tom’s Guide (and on a random Predator review at Space.com). When Rami isn’t wading through a sea of the latest gaming tech, he’s agonizing over the worldbuilding in his upcoming novella.