Dell Outlet Store: Certified Refurbished vs. Scratch & Dent?

I'm shopping XPS Studios in the Dell Outlet Store and they have
"Certified Refurbished" and "Scratch and Dent". The Scratch and Dent
versions of the computer with exact configurations is cheaper than the
Certified Refurbished version.

What's the difference? What does Certified Refurbished mean?

Hi!

> What's the difference? What does Certified Refurbished mean?

There isn't much. Sometimes the "scratch n dent" machines are in so-
far-as-anyone-can-tell flawless condition, and sometimes they really
do have a slight blemish somewhere. It's possible that a scratch-n-
dent machine has never even been sold, where the certified refurbished
units are typically customer returns for some reason or another.

The "certified" part simply means that someone at Dell has inspected
the system to some degree. However, I'm sure they do that to all the
machines offered, no matter what they are sold as.

William

On Fri, 20 May 2011 08:13:19 -0700 (PDT), "William R. Walsh"
<> wrote:

>Hi!
>
>> What's the difference? What does Certified Refurbished mean?
>
>There isn't much. Sometimes the "scratch n dent" machines are in so-
>far-as-anyone-can-tell flawless condition, and sometimes they really
>do have a slight blemish somewhere. It's possible that a scratch-n-
>dent machine has never even been sold, where the certified refurbished
>units are typically customer returns for some reason or another.
>
>The "certified" part simply means that someone at Dell has inspected
>the system to some degree. However, I'm sure they do that to all the
>machines offered, no matter what they are sold as.
>
>William


William in the past I bought some scratch and dent machines and I
couldn't see a flaw but you are correct what you said above.

On Fri, 20 May 2011 08:05:38 -0700, powrwrap wrote:

> I'm shopping XPS Studios in the Dell Outlet Store and they have
> "Certified Refurbished" and "Scratch and Dent". The Scratch and Dent
> versions of the computer with exact configurations is cheaper than the
> Certified Refurbished version.
>
> What's the difference? What does Certified Refurbished mean?


"Certified Refurbished" is a machine that was returned to Dell from a
lease, or repurchased by Dell for resale, or has been returned because
more then three attempts at a field repair were ineffective. They are
brought in, repaired and tested and then sold with a warranty.

"Scratch and Dent" are units that have either been refused by the receiver
(usually because of a mistake in fulfilling an order) or were slightly
damaged during manufacturing or before packaging. They are usually NEW.

Either should be good. General rule of thumb is the older the better. Some
of the new machines aren't as good as the older ones.


Dell Certified Field Engineer.

On May 21, 4:21 pm, Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B <Tru...@e86.GTS> wrote:
> On Fri, 20 May 2011 08:05:38 -0700, powrwrap wrote:
> > I'm shopping XPS Studios in the Dell Outlet Store and they have
> > "Certified Refurbished" and "Scratch and Dent". The Scratch and Dent
> > versions of the computer with exact configurations is cheaper than the
> > Certified Refurbished version.
>
> > What's the difference? What does Certified Refurbished mean?
>
> "Certified Refurbished" is a machine that was returned to Dell from a
> lease, or repurchased by Dell for resale, or has been returned because
> more then three attempts at a field repair were ineffective. They are
> brought in, repaired and tested and then sold with a warranty.
>
> "Scratch and Dent" are units that have either been refused by the receiver
> (usually because of a mistake in fulfilling an order) or were slightly
> damaged during manufacturing or before packaging. They are usually NEW.
>
> Either should be good. General rule of thumb is the older the better. Some
> of the new machines aren't as good as the older ones.
>
> Dell Certified Field Engineer.

"Some of the new machines aren't as good as the older ones." An
industry-wide trend, not just Dell. Ever cheapened construction and
choice of components, especially thin sheet metal desktop cases.

Some people whine and complain about black Dell clamshell cases, but
they were sturdy. The much criticized black Mitac case used for the
wildly popular Dimension 2400 as well as the much nicer 4600 and 4700
is more sturdy than the cases of most all current Dell models... Ben
Myers

On Sat, 21 May 2011 18:40:41 -0700, Ben Myers wrote:

> On May 21, 4:21 pm, Hachiroku ãƒ�ãƒ�ãƒ*ク <Tru...@e86.GTS> wrote:
>> On Fri, 20 May 2011 08:05:38 -0700, powrwrap wrote:
>> > I'm shopping XPS Studios in the Dell Outlet Store and they have
>> > "Certified Refurbished" and "Scratch and Dent". The Scratch and Dent
>> > versions of the computer with exact configurations is cheaper than the
>> > Certified Refurbished version.
>>
>> > What's the difference? What does Certified Refurbished mean?
>>
>> "Certified Refurbished" is a machine that was returned to Dell from a
>> lease, or repurchased by Dell for resale, or has been returned because
>> more then three attempts at a field repair were ineffective. They are
>> brought in, repaired and tested and then sold with a warranty.
>>
>> "Scratch and Dent" are units that have either been refused by the receiver
>> (usually because of a mistake in fulfilling an order) or were slightly
>> damaged during manufacturing or before packaging. They are usually NEW.
>>
>> Either should be good. General rule of thumb is the older the better. Some
>> of the new machines aren't as good as the older ones.
>>
>> Dell Certified Field Engineer.
>
> "Some of the new machines aren't as good as the older ones." An
> industry-wide trend, not just Dell. Ever cheapened construction and
> choice of components, especially thin sheet metal desktop cases.

This is quite true.
Almost all laptops are made in the same factory, and that includes Apples.

No, it's not just Dell, but my experieince is the ones made in Malaysia
are more robust systems. And the Inspiron and XPS models from 3-5 years
back are the best. Also, D600 and D610 models.

>
> Some people whine and complain about black Dell clamshell cases, but
> they were sturdy. The much criticized black Mitac case used for the
> wildly popular Dimension 2400 as well as the much nicer 4600 and 4700
> is more sturdy than the cases of most all current Dell models... Ben
> Myers


Nothing wrong with the black clamshells. They can be a little difficult to
open, but no tools required. Press the latches, grasp and pull. Very nice
design.

The two things I have against Dell is proprietary parts, like power
supplies. If the PSU goes belly up, you can't just run to Staples or Best
Buy and buy one off the rack. Gotta get the Dell.

The other is the locked BIOS, but there are good things about it: you
can't fry something, which is probably why they did it, and Dells usually
boot FAST! I have one of the USFF SX 260s and a 270, and the 260 boots in
30 seconds!


When they take enough of a hit in popularity they'll smarten up again. It
happens about every 4-5 years...

On May 22, 3:43 am, Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B <Tru...@e86.GTS> wrote:

>
> The two things I have against Dell is proprietary parts, like power
> supplies. If the PSU goes belly up, you can't just run to Staples or Best
> Buy and buy one off the rack. Gotta get the Dell.
>

This hasn't been true in probably tens years! I bought a PSU for a
friend's Dell a few years ago and the store owner/repair person said
it wouldn't fit...it is still working now!

On Sun, 22 May 2011 03:43:53 -0500, Hachiroku ???? <>
wrote:

>On Sat, 21 May 2011 18:40:41 -0700, Ben Myers wrote:
>
>> On May 21, 4:21 pm, Hachiroku ???? <Tru...@e86.GTS> wrote:
>>> On Fri, 20 May 2011 08:05:38 -0700, powrwrap wrote:
>>> > I'm shopping XPS Studios in the Dell Outlet Store and they have
>>> > "Certified Refurbished" and "Scratch and Dent". The Scratch and Dent
>>> > versions of the computer with exact configurations is cheaper than the
>>> > Certified Refurbished version.
>>>
>>> > What's the difference? What does Certified Refurbished mean?
>>>
>>> "Certified Refurbished" is a machine that was returned to Dell from a
>>> lease, or repurchased by Dell for resale, or has been returned because
>>> more then three attempts at a field repair were ineffective. They are
>>> brought in, repaired and tested and then sold with a warranty.
>>>
>>> "Scratch and Dent" are units that have either been refused by the receiver
>>> (usually because of a mistake in fulfilling an order) or were slightly
>>> damaged during manufacturing or before packaging. They are usually NEW.
>>>
>>> Either should be good. General rule of thumb is the older the better. Some
>>> of the new machines aren't as good as the older ones.
>>>
>>> Dell Certified Field Engineer.
>>
>> "Some of the new machines aren't as good as the older ones." An
>> industry-wide trend, not just Dell. Ever cheapened construction and
>> choice of components, especially thin sheet metal desktop cases.
>
>This is quite true.
>Almost all laptops are made in the same factory, and that includes Apples.
>
>No, it's not just Dell, but my experieince is the ones made in Malaysia
>are more robust systems. And the Inspiron and XPS models from 3-5 years
>back are the best. Also, D600 and D610 models.
>
>>
>> Some people whine and complain about black Dell clamshell cases, but
>> they were sturdy. The much criticized black Mitac case used for the
>> wildly popular Dimension 2400 as well as the much nicer 4600 and 4700
>> is more sturdy than the cases of most all current Dell models... Ben
>> Myers
>
>
>Nothing wrong with the black clamshells. They can be a little difficult to
>open, but no tools required. Press the latches, grasp and pull. Very nice
>design.
>
>The two things I have against Dell is proprietary parts, like power
>supplies. If the PSU goes belly up, you can't just run to Staples or Best
>Buy and buy one off the rack. Gotta get the Dell.
>
>The other is the locked BIOS, but there are good things about it: you
>can't fry something, which is probably why they did it, and Dells usually
>boot FAST! I have one of the USFF SX 260s and a 270, and the 260 boots in
>30 seconds!
>
>
>When they take enough of a hit in popularity they'll smarten up again. It
>happens about every 4-5 years...
>

30 seconds is good but is that straight from Dell or after you
installed a lot of software? I haven't timed my machines but I think
mine are more in the order of 1 or 1.5 minutes but I have a lot
installed. Also depending on my machines, forgot which are 5400 or
7200 drives.

On Sun, 22 May 2011 06:14:22 -0700 (PDT), Bob Villa
<> wrote:

>On May 22, 3:43 am, Hachiroku ???? <Tru...@e86.GTS> wrote:
>
>>
>> The two things I have against Dell is proprietary parts, like power
>> supplies. If the PSU goes belly up, you can't just run to Staples or Best
>> Buy and buy one off the rack. Gotta get the Dell.
>>
>
>This hasn't been true in probably tens years! I bought a PSU for a
>friend's Dell a few years ago and the store owner/repair person said
>it wouldn't fit...it is still working now!


Bob, what model? Everything I read does say proprietary and I can
understand the frustration having to only buy from Dell. Of course I
hope you are correct <grin>.

On May 22, 8:21*am, "RnR" <rnrte...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, 22 May 2011 06:14:22 -0700 (PDT), Bob Villa
>
> <pheeh.z...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >On May 22, 3:43 am, Hachiroku ???? <Tru...@e86.GTS> wrote:
>
> >> The two things I have against Dell is proprietary parts, like power
> >> supplies. If the PSU goes belly up, you can't just run to Staples or Best
> >> Buy and buy one off the rack. Gotta get the Dell.
>
> >This hasn't been true in probably tens years! I bought a PSU for a
> >friend's Dell a few years ago and the store owner/repair person said
> >it wouldn't fit...it is still working now!
>
> Bob, what model? * Everything I read does say proprietary and I can
> understand the frustration having to only buy from Dell. * Of course I
> hope you are correct <grin>.

Dim 5100. 3 of the 4 screws lined-up. The universal PSU's have
multiple connectors...the M/B connector was 2-piece.