Smart shoppers don’t forget to check out Amazon Renewed, Amazon’s certified refurbished store, for additional Prime Day deals savings on everything from iPads to laptops to Amazon Kindles, Echos, and Fire tablets. It’s a way to save even more if you trust Amazon’s returns engineers.
Essentially, Amazon Renewed is the improved version of the “open box” items you’ll find in retail stores. For whatever reason, some shopper has decided that they don’t want a particular item, so they return it to Amazon. Amazon then tests and cleans the product, then places it again online or additional sale. You’ll see these certified refurbished products either sold as “Certified Refurbished” or Amazon Renewed. “A Certified Refurbished Kindle is refurbished, tested, and certified to look and work like new and comes with the same limited warranty as a new device,” Amazon says. “Renewed” products, on the other hand, are tested similarly but come with a 90 day warranty.
Basically, everything that Amazon offers you’ll find online at Amazon Renewed. Here are the best deals on Amazon Renewed products that we’ve found on Prime Day, with some massive deals on iPads and tablets leading the pack:
- Apple iPad Mini 4 (WiFi + Cellular), $218 (70% off)
- Amazon Certified Refurbished Kindle Paperwhite, $84.99 (39% off)
- Amazon Certified Refurbished Fire HD 10 Tablet, $59.99 (50% off)
- Amazon Certified Refurbished Echo Show 5 (2019), $34.99 (50% off)
- HP Elitebook Folio 1040 G3 laptop (Renewed), $261.43 (26% off)
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G smartphone (Renewed), $849.99 (39% off)
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 (11-inch) (Renewed), $397.95 (46% off)
FAQ
Where can I find Amazon Renewed and Certified Refurbished sales at Amazon?
You can browse Amazon’s Certified Refurbished products and its Amazon Renewed lineup using these links.
What’s the difference between Amazon Renewed and Certified Refurbished?
Amazon Certified Refurbished appears to be the program that Amazon uses for its own products, such as a Kindle or a Fire tablet. Renewed products appear to be third-party items, such as laptops made by HP or a Samsung tablet.
How do I know that an Amazon Renewed or Certified Refurbished product is not going to be defective?
According to Amazon, Amazon or its partners run a full diagnostic test and cleaning as part of the Renewed program, test the batteries, and then resell the product. You then have 90 days to decide to keep it (or up to a year with certain “Renewed Premium” products) or return it for a full refund as part of the Renewed guarantee.
Certified Refurbished pre-owned products go through a full diagnostic test, thorough cleaning and inspection, secure data wipe, and replacement of any defective parts identified in testing (where applicable). “A Certified Refurbished Kindle is refurbished, tested, and certified to look and work like new and comes with the same limited warranty as a new device,” Amazon says.
How quickly do I need to buy a Renewed or Refurbished device if I see it online?
Quicker than most. Most Renewed or Refurbished products are only available in limited quantities, and can sell out quickly if many people click on them.
What’s better, a new Amazon device or an Amazon Certified Refurbished one?
Difficult to say. Something like a Kindle tablet could be returned after a day, if the user decided that they wanted to read printed, bound books instead. Otherwise, it’s hard to say if someone returned a device because it didn’t work or if they genuinely were just unsatisfied. You take a risk by buying one, but save some money in return.
Author: Mark Hachman, Senior Editor
As PCWorld's senior editor, Mark focuses on Microsoft news and chip technology, among other beats. He has formerly written for PCMag, BYTE, Slashdot, eWEEK, and ReadWrite.