BuckeyeBilly Loc: St. Petersburg, FL

This from Cameta:
All Refurbished Models... 1 Year Warranty
•Are inspected and tested by the manufacturer to meet original specs
•Have minimal to no use, and are in mint or near-mint condition
•Are in BRAND NEW operating condition
•Are covered by a FULL 1-YEAR WARRANTY on parts and labor
•Are 100% USA models... no gray market products or imports

This from Adorama:
All products are covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

Grey Market equipment is covered by Adorama for one year from date of purchase.
Used photo equipment carry a 180-day warranty excluding V, G and F conditions which have a 90-day warranty. X condition items are final sale, for parts only, sold as is, no warranties or returns.
Used video, Audio and lighting equipment carry a 90-day warranty. X condition items are final sale, for parts only sold as is, no warranties or returns.
Pal video equipment carries a 90-day warranty.
All refurbished equipment sold by Adorama include a 90-day return-to-manufacturer warranty.
Adorama's warranty provides coverage for defects in manufacturing only, and expressly excludes coverage for excessive wear and tear and/or physical/accidental abuse, loss and theft. The warranty is valid only at Adorama Camera. Improper repair or warranty service performed by someone other than Adorama Camera will void this warranty.
Adorama Camera disclaims any liability for consequential or incidental damages, for breach of written or implied warranty of an item, including merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. An Adorama warranty provides specific legal rights; however, you may have additional rights, which vary from state to state.
As some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, the above limitation may not apply. Our warranty is valid only in the U.S.

This from B&H:
canon FACTORY Refurbished product, and restored to the
exact manufacturer specifications by the original manufacturer. It also
comes with a 1 YEAR CANON USA WARRANTY

These unused or used items have been returned to original
manufacturers for various reasons; for example, use in field tests,
use in sales displays, and cancellations. nikon FACTORY Refurbished product, and restored to the
exact manufacturer specifications by the original manufacturer. It also
comes with a 90-day warranty FROM NIKON USA
(please note: the refurb warranty from B&H for Canon and Nikon is the same as what you'll get from those manufacturers, so you might want to check their websites to see if you can buy cheaper from them or from B&H)

This from KEH:
There are several great reasons to buy refurbished photographic products including:

- Most refurbished gear is brand new, returned product, from a retailer or was used as a demonstration display unit.

- The item's manufacturer is the one who actually does the refurbishing, so the piece of equipment has gone through their inspection process like a new camera does.

- Quality is usually indistinguishable from new.

- The savings can approach 40% off buying the same item new.

- The manufacturer includes a factory 90 day warranty.

- And buying refurbs from KEH is even extra special because we stand behind all refurbished products with an additional 3 month warranty, giving you a 6 month warranty at no charge.

IMHO, Canon, as a manufacturer, has the strongest warranty of the other manufacturers out there---a 1 year warranty, and cameras (and any other equipment they make!) that have been examined by its own technicians:
http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/refurbished-products-information

http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/cameras/refurbished-eos-digital-slr-cameras

http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/refurbished-powershot-digital-cameras

...and I own both Nikon and Pentax. Go figure!

jimmya Loc: Phoenix

Used is scary. Who owned it? Has it been abused, wet, damaged in some way? Where has the unit been? How's it been stored when not in use? Lots of questions and unless it's someone I know and trust I'd never buy used.

Refurbished, as long as you can verify that it was refurbished by the company, then it's probably as good as new.

forjava Loc: Half Moon Bay, CA

So succinct: "Pay the price, or play the game."

Just got a 50mm 1.4 AI-S Nikkor, mislabeled as pre-AI -- contradicted in the thumb and photos -- for $45. If you "play the game," good stuff happens.

As to the refurbished piece of the question: Being new to photography, I want to know for sure that my equipment is what I think it is and is in good condition. So, I bought a refurbished D810 and 105mm G from Nikon.com. I "played the game" here, to get a lower-than-new price, by knowing what refurbished means coming from Nikon -- tested to measure as if new. Then, more good stuff happened: I asked Nikon to calibrate the lens for the camera and they told me to save my money; one more insecurity resolved.

It is much simpler now that I know that if there is a problem, it is me.

forjava Loc: Half Moon Bay, CA

I keep seeing people (hogs, actually) wanting 100% positive feedback from eBay merchants. This standard hurts YOU, the hog buyer on eBay.

I suggest that a handful of incidents across hundreds or thousands of transactions is noise, better disregarded.

What is the benefit of a looser feedback criterion when buying on eBay? M o r e - c h o i c e, at equal risk.

Noise? Actually, measurement error due to inflexible measurement. In engineering terms, eBay is applying an insensitive measure. The eBay measurement of feedback has to be inflexible, to scale up. The eBay metric is useful, but is better interpreted with some slack. For example, a statistician may discard a handful of observations as "outliers," to get a more true result; this is not really controversial.

I am in physical retail in a high-end venue and have 100% through eight years, but, infrequently all vendors will encounter monsters with personal issues; don't ask!

The criterion of 100% on eBay is too stiff. My own standard for eBay when I buy there is soft: asymptotic to 100%. I also establish vendor tone by asking a question.

HelenOster Loc: New York

Just a quick comment to say it was great to read how many of you have had such good experiences with both refurbished and used pieces from Adorama Camera.

If anyone has queries regarding a particular used item, it is often possible for me to arrange a set of pictures, and if we have the software, a shutter count.

All but the used items sold as 'spares' come with a 30-day returns period, AND a warranty!

jgitomer Loc: Skippack Pennsylvania

The last new camera I bought was in 1948. Since then I have bought nothing but used and refurbished cameras.

If you are fortunate to live near a good camera store the first thing you should do is check out their offerings.

One word of caution. Due to the complexity of DSLRs and because they are often subject to software upgrades I believe you should only buy a refurbished DSLR from an authorized dealer for the camera you want.

Otherwise you run the risk of winding up with a camera the US distributor won't provide warranty work for or, in the case of Nikon, won't work on.

I have purchased refurbished Nikon DSLRs from B&H, Adorama and Hunt's Camera (through Amazon). Two other sources I would trust (based on UHH member feedback) are KEH and Cametta Camera.

The same sources are also excellent for used equipment in that they have fair pricing, decent warranties/return policies, and good grading. I have purchased several lenses and a couple of cameras from KEH and have been more than satisfied with them.

nitrophil Loc: Dayton, Ohio

I bought 2 Pentax DSLR's on Amazon.com. Absolutely no problems. I'll probably buy another one some time the same way.

wmysd Loc: California

Since I decided to move to micro 4/3 I started small and went to Olympus and bought a refurb camera and two refurb lenses. Everything arrived in pristine condition, and has worked flawlessly since. I've gone back and made several more purchases, and still no complaint. I've also since been buying up older film camera lenses from various sources, and adapters on Ebay, and that's been a different story.

Trentc Loc: Denver, CO

Purchased used from Craigslist, my local camera store (Englewood Camera), and from KEH. Yet to have an issue. Great way to save money.

dynaquest1 Loc: Austin, Texas

Holy Moly....found any used car salesmen you "trust?"

dynaquest1 Loc: Austin, Texas

Hmmmmmm....anybody else having trouble figuring out what this poster means?

Trentc Loc: Denver, CO

Trying to show everyone his towering intellect. Talk about noise...

Morrisdh Loc: Pisgah Alabama

I have bought both from B&H and will not buy new again if I can get one
from them. They were checked out and adjusted better than any of the new ones I bought. Dennis

katkase Loc: Grapeview, WA

My very first digital camera in 2005 was a used Olympus 3.2 MP point and shoot. I bought that camera for $75.00. For a used camera, it took fantastic photos. It lasted for 5 years before it gave up the ghost. but that was thousands of photos later. I have bought new since then, but I am not adverse to refurbished or used.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

As already stated - Adorama, B&H, Cameta, KEH, Nikon & Canon.
I would stay away from Ebay, Craig's List, etc.

Don