# Reconditioned String Trimmer **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 26, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reconditioned-string-trimmer/833101 "2019-04-26T23:32:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reconditioned-string-trimmer/833101/1 "2019-04-26T23:32:31Z")
About 6 months ago I bought a Hasquava 322L weed wacker on Amazon for $129 with free shipping, no tax. Lowe’s has them new for around $300 with tax. The thing looked completely brand new when I took it out of the box. I use it commercially, 8 hours a day. The thing is a champ! No problems at all! My question is what did this company do to this “used” piece of equipment? The outer visible parts look new. What parts did they probably replace or “recondition”? How can they sell and ship it fo r$129? (The price is now $175 on Amazon). ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reconditioned-string-trimmer/833101/2 "2019-04-27T00:20:26Z")
Probably nothing, other than an inspection. If someone buys a product, opens the box, and then returns it unused (for whatever reason), it can’t be sold as “new.” So, lots of essentially new items are sold as “refurbs.” I always recommend people check out the Apple Refurb section of the store, since you get a full warranty, with a substantial discount. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reconditioned-string-trimmer/833101/3 "2019-04-27T15:22:44Z")
As suggested, it is probably just inspected. It doesn’t have to be an individual tool that is inspected. If the manufacturer has a bunch of calls about a missing part, or a screw that falls out because it was loose, they will inspect all of that batch to make sure no more bad units get sold. I buy reman tools when ever I can. Never had a problem. If there is an official distributor near you they are great places to check. I have purchased all my Bosch tools re-manufactured from a nearby Bosch center. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reconditioned-string-trimmer/833101/4 "2019-04-27T16:45:22Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > About 6 months ago I bought a Hasquava 322L weed wacker on Amazon for $129 with free shipping, no tax. Hasqu-what-now? Oh! Husqvarna! (Etymological origin: Mill on the river Hus) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reconditioned-string-trimmer/833101/5 "2019-04-27T22:44:55Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Hasqu-what-now? Oh! Husqvarna! (Etymological origin: Mill on the river Hus) That explains the low price. The “Hasquava” was a knockoff! _Caveat emptor_! 😃 > [@beowulff](#): > > Probably nothing, other than an inspection. > If someone buys a product, opens the box, and then returns it unused (for whatever reason), it can’t be sold as “new.” So, lots of essentially new items are sold as “refurbs.” > I always recommend people check out the Apple Refurb section of the store, since you get a full warranty, with a substantial discount. Have you never been to a place like Best Buy, that routinely sells “open box” items as new? They just apply a modest discount due to the open box, like 10%. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reconditioned-string-trimmer/833101/6 "2019-04-28T00:22:43Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > That explains the low price. The “Hasquava” was a knockoff! _Caveat emptor_! 😃 > > Have you never been to a place like Best Buy, that routinely sells “open box” items as new? They just apply a modest discount due to the open box, like 10%. Sure, but those have been returned to the store, not the manufacturer. > [@](#): > > The basic rule for refurbished goods is that once a product is returned, it cannot be sold as new, even if the product was never used. So, any of these items may be lawfully sold as “refurbished” for a fraction of the cost of a new item. From: > **[Consumer Laws About Refurbished Goods](https://legalbeagle.com/6910926-consumer-laws-refurbished-goods.html)** > > There's nothing wrong with selling refurbished goods to consumers, as long as the item is fit for the purpose, and the seller does not sell the item as new. I’m sure there are exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reconditioned-string-trimmer/833101/7 "2019-04-28T00:45:11Z")
OK, thanks. Wasn’t clear from your post. Not sure why an unused opened item would be returned to the factory rather than the store, but I guess there are many situations where it happens. BTW, regarding your refurbished Apple comment, I agree, though I don’t do Apple, but I and a friend both got some good values in refurbished deals from Dell. My current desktop is a Dell refurb from their normally high-priced corporate product line, a powerful and extremely quiet workstation in a standard minitower with lots of expansion space that was dirt-cheap. It looked as good as brand new, inside and out. The only caveat with Dell refurbs based on my limited experience is that they come with a vanilla Dell-branded OS – exactly the same vanilla OS for every machine, of whatever version it’s supposed to be, but without the Dell-specific drivers that you have to download and install yourself. I guess they make it easy on themselves by wiping the disk and plunking a standard generic copy of the same OS on every machine. Plus of course you’re responsible for your own tech support. Not for folks without a bit of experience configuring and diagnosing computers, but a great option for many.