It has recently been said,"The second consumer gets the best deals". Well.....when it comes to purchasing factory refurbished goods(especially electronics) this is a very true statement.  Since gadgets such as mp3 players and lots of other expensive electronics are highly sort after now-a-days, I will be directing the content of this guide mainly towards these items. Well lots of folks ask, "What is considered a  refurbished item?" A REFURBISHED item is an item that was originally sold "new in the box" but for many of reasons(some out right unbelieveable) was brought back to it's original carrier and now can't be re-sold as "brand new". The #1 reason for an itemb being REFURBISHED is because most larger retail stores(walmart, kmart, bestbuy, etc.) offer consumers a money back gurantee on tons of items throughout their stores. When items are returned on this basis, the items are sent back to the manufacture, inspected, repackaged and sold for a much cheaper price. Other reasons why an  item my be considered or labeled  REFURBISHED include : item was actually brand new but overstocked,  item was used on the display or demonstration case, the items box was simply opened, item has minor cosmetic blemishes which were fixed or the product may have had a defective part and was sent back to the manufacturer and the defective part was replaced or repaired.  Refurbished items can save a consumer mega bucks not to mention they are still placed under warranty like new items.  Remember  purchasing  "USED" items(most are not warranted and not known if there are internal defects) is not the same thing as purchasing a "REFURBISHED" item, so buyers beware! Just to give an example of how purchasing refurbished goods can save you lots of cash, just this past Christmas my niece decided just a few days before Christmas to buy a Tree for her grandmother and so she went to Walmart to buy one. The pre-lit tree($159) was out of stock so she aske the manager if she could get the one on display and he said "sure." My niece walked out of Walmart with that tree paying only $40! Every light on the tree lit up and all the ornaments were intact. So now who are REFURBISHED items good for????????????? SMART SHOPPERS! Hope this sheds some light on the word "REFURBISHED"  for those of you who have been "window shopping"just because of this 11 letter word!