Hi there. I’m thinking about buying a Sansa Clip 2GB. However, since there are many used/refurbished items for sale, I’m strongly inclined to getting a refurbished one.
My main concern (and, basically, only one) is battery life. I can’t tell how long these refurbished players have been off the shelves and how their users used to treat them. I’ve read about batteries self-discharging in one day even in new Clips (bought right from the store, not used nor refurbs).
I’m from Brazil and I’m buying them through ebay, that’s why I need to get my choices right the first time - there’s no returning the item.
Are my chances of getting a perfectly functional one greater if I get a refurbished one? Afterall, they’ve been through Sandisk techs twice so they’ve gone through quite some testing, I suppose.
Thanks in advance,
Horacio.
@horaciocs wrote:
I’m from Brazil and I’m buying them through ebay, that’s why I need to get my choices right the first time - there’s no returning the item.
Are my chances of getting a perfectly functional one greater if I get a refurbished one? Afterall, they’ve been through Sandisk techs twice so they’ve gone through quite some testing, I suppose.
Actually just the opposite . . . Some are fine and were just returned for wrong color, didn’t like, couldn’t figure out how to work it, things like that. But others that get returned have serious issues. And to be truthful, there is very little that can be done to fix this little guys if they’re bad from the factory, so they’re given the once-over by the refurbers and sold again, many times with the same problem they came in the door with.
And contrary to what you might think, it’s not SanDisk that does the refurbing. They don’t have the time nor inclination to do that. They get a bunch returned and sell them off to other refurbishing companies for pennies on the dollar. They only sell brand-new ones. This is why they (SanDisk) can not & will not honor the 1 year waranty on refurbed units.
I would think long & hard about buying a refurbed unit given where you live and that if the one you get is a dud, you can just kiss off the money you spent. SanDisk honors their warranty on new units all around the globe. For a little more money, it’s nice to have the assurance it can & will be replaced if there is a problem. 
