Refurbished AirPods?

Apple General
#1

I unfortunately lost my AirPods a few weeks back, and now considering getting another pair. Can’t stretch to increased price of the new Gen 2.

I have seen ‘manufacturer refurbished’ ones listed on fleabay. Wondering if these might be Apple refurbs through another seller?

#2

How does that work, exactly?

#3

I can’t say for sure of course, but my suspicion with regards to anything termed “refurbed” on eBay is - the sellers spat on the product, and rubbed it with a fetid towel. Refurb complete.

AirPods are not shown on the Apple website (AU or US) as a refurb product.

2 Likes
#4

Or they’re knock offs or seconds rejected by the factory in China.

#5

Several “manufacturer refurbished” products I’ve encountered from eBay also take some liberty with that definition. It’s refurbished by a manufacturer or assembler, but not the original manufacturer, rather the manufacturer that produced or sourced the knockoff screen or battery used to refurbish it. I occasionally serviced iPhones that looked fine on the outside, but when opened up, had almost zero original or OEM components outside of the Logic Board.

I’d be surprised if even Apple themselves were truly refurbishing these. The charging case perhaps, but not the AirPods themselves. The disassembly process seems incredibly destructive, and even if they had some custom tooling that could do it, there aren’t enough reusable components inside worth salvaging to make it a viable and cost-effective option.

#6

Thanks all.