Samsung 2.5" 128GB SATA Solid State Drives

What does “refurbished” mean in the context of an SSD? An SSD is a consumable. You get X number of writes and then it is worn out. So what has been done to “refurbish” the SSD?

Write full zeros? :slight_smile:
I, too, think that refurbished SSD is probably a fools investment.

But if you have some volatile data and you just need cheap speed, your chariot awaits?

I wouldn’t worry about exhausting the write capacity of a modern brand-name SSD.

Refurbished doesn’t mean used and then re-sold. It means there was a factory error and it probably never worked to begin with. (possibly a problem with the SATA port or something along those lines.)

They take it and fix/replace the bad part and re-sell it.

“Refurbished” covers everything from buyers’ remorse returns and products whose defects have been repaired by the pros to damaged packaging and discontinued items. If you can accept their checkered past, refurbs have a lot of love to give.

FWIW - I’m using this in an old laptop that was gifted to me. It’s mostly a simple machine for my kids and my wife’s web browsing (in those moments when her phone doesn’t suffice) so I don’t care if this is the greatest SSD ever. That being said - Samsung has been producing quality drives for a while now, and even a refurb at this price point was lucrative enough for me to pick one up. If I only get a couple years use out of it, that’s fine by me.

This is not accurate. Production line corrections/rework will still qualify for A stock (new) status as long as the product still meets factory specs. Product sold as “refurbished” is what is referred to as B stock. They are returns that may have been repaired, but on items like this it is more commonly simply returned units tested to confirm they meet specifications. Many will have little, or no use, on them but you never know the history. You should always inspect, and test, refurbished products thoroughly for this reason. If the discount is substantial, you can get a good deal at minimal risk.