Why "Refurbishers" Rip You Off

I am so grateful that you continue to produce content. You started me on my repair path. Because of you and two others in my life, I was able to start a charity. We take broken items destined for the dump and fix them. Then, we donate them to families in need, who don't pay us a dime. I tell you this to bring to light the positive impact you have on this community. If you ever find yourself in Utah, hit me up.

I was a guy that bought broken stuff, fixed it, clean and polish it and mostly with laptops. It is a different market and there is not much money in it, and as a hobby it gives me money to buy more stuff to refurbish. The term (re)furbish comes from the German word 'furben' which means to polish. The Dictionary says this: made to look new again by work such as painting, repairing, and cleaning. A company that sells refurbished goods is a bad business model. Not only salaries, brick and mortar, electricity and warranty overhead drives the profit down. It is a really rough business to be in.

I bought an Xbox One that was listed as broken, turns out it was a rubber band in the disk drive...Guess who I watched to figure out what I was doing to take said Xbox apart...I wish the best to you Steve, you've created a special spot for repair in my heart. Not to mention you've taught me how to do it.

30:14 I was expecting an angelic effect and sound as usual, but i remembered this is the "Longs" channel 😂

I love the way you bring reality to this "refurbished" industry. Appreciate that you continue to put content out as you go through your lymphoma battle. Wishing a full recovery and you are being prayed for.

KitchenAid refurbished stand mixers used to be actually refurbished; I don't know if they are now, but the one I bought 25 years ago even had a sticker on the inside with the signature of the refurbisher, the location the work was done, and the date. It was pristine then inside and out - not so much now but it's still in daily use.

I love your attention to details and "the perfect amount of thermal paste"......great content!!

This video was superb. Not only did we get to see exactly what a decent refurbishing should entail, but it actually helped me to refurbish my own second hand PS4. No more disc insert issues, fresh thermal paste, and a clean fan. Brilliant! Well worthy of a subscription to the channel.

More long plays steve! I love the longer videos...especially repair vids. I've watched your videos for years and have learned a lot up to this point. I hope it continues and kick cancer right in the face!

The problem is training people to properly take the item apart, clean it, and put it back together and then try finding them for min wage or slightly higher. Your also going to have damaged machines from improper handling while cleaning (mistakes happen) That's why they just windex the outside, blow some air in the vents and clean them out a little. You can hire people at minimum wage and no worries. Just clean the outside and test that they work quick.

The company I started which is a local computer store we sell refurbished laptops and desktops. Many we buy refurbished from the manufacturer directly (most are only open boxes) We make sure to clean them up 100% inside and out we also usually put a brand new SSD in each machine since when we sell anything refurbished we warranty it for a year also. So if we have to stand behind the product then you know we are going to make sure its in top shape :)

Referb= Full strip and clean, repair/replace anything broken. Full working order! No major external damage! Fully tested and working!

Following along with your videos (and others, ie. IFixIt etc...) I have cleaned and/or refurbish several PS3's (Slim, Super Slim), PS4's (Slim, PRO) and a PS5. Mine, my sons and my nephews. You have provided excellent tutorials for keeping the family consoles up and running. Most noticeable was when I cleaned and refurbished my sons PS4 Slim. It went from OMG loud to almost whisper quiet. Thank you for helping this DIYer with the preventative service. Best wishes on the Lymphoma situation. You have built up much positive Karma with the help and advice you have given.

Hope you are doing well with your treatment !! I have a phone that that battery died and because of you I'm going to try to replace the battery !! Watching you gave me the heart to at least try!!

Steve I love your channel. This is not something for the 'how hard could it be ,hold my beer crowd ! There a ton of ways you can screw this up ! Your attention to detail is incredible and you deeply care about what you do and who will get a device from you. I don't do gaming , but if I wanted to buy a used or a refurbished device, I would check you out first!!!!

I love your work and integrity. Great channel!

100 percent. My son and I have picked up on refurbishing consoles as a hobby. I sent him link to video. Just recently I helped him with start up. He chose ps2 Slim. He doubled his money, and he felt good because it was fully cleaned, anything need be replaced do so. Time put on it to make sure reliable with no issues and cosmetically the best it can be before it goes. Refurbished is like new. As it should as new functionality wise and the best it can get for looks.

Should add that must of the big name companies selling refurbished equipment offer a warranty - although, often for a shorter period like 3 months. That’s something you don’t get buying of a member of the public on eBay so you should include some value. Of course it is a double-edged sword as these companies will often add an anti-tamper warranty seal - so when you say that most people don’t open up their refurbished consoles, well add ‘voiding the warranty’ to ‘don’t know how’, and ‘why would I’ as reasons why people don’t.

Liquid brown soap (tile floor cleaner) is what I use for cleaning plasics, cables. It seems to feed instead of drying out. Just add on wait a minute and wipe of with a linen towel.

Love these long videos. I actually like them slightly more than your normal short videos. I also find these long ones to be very relaxing to.