Macworld has a nice write up about buying refurbished Macs. I’ve bought several Macs over the years this way. Indeed both of my current Macs and my wife’s MacBook all come from the the Refurb Store. I’ve never had a problem. An argument could be made that refurbished Macs have even more love and attention before shipping to you than those hot off the assembly line in China.

If you go that route, there are a few tips:

• Be Patient. Sometimes it takes awhile. Once I decided to replace my iMac, it took 5 weeks for the ‘right deal’ to show up for me in the refurb store. I ended up getting over $600 off on exactly the Mac I wanted.
• Pull the Trigger Fast. When you do see the Mac you want, buy it. The best deals don’t last long.