Backmarket has been great for us to buy pre owned Apple products. No issues at all.

Micro Center sometimes has refurbished Apple products. "Factory Refurbished" means that Apple did the refurbishing and it is the same product that you would order from Apple Computer directly (though often cheaper). "Refurbished" means that someone else did the refurbishing, which might or might not be as thorough (I don't know).

If you can stomach new prices, Wal-Mart (of all places) sells some low-end Apple products new, and, if you know a student, Apple does student discounts on its web site.

I’m going through that right now. Apple sells refurbished products, but I don’t think the discount is enough to justify buying used. They might have something that looks like a good price but then you realize it’s 10 years old or whatever. I ended up ordering a new iPad last night. I can’t justify another MacBook when they only last about 4 years or so. Plus I have some goals I’m saving for. We’ll see how it goes—maybe I’ll be back online ordering a MacBook in a few weeks, but I’ll give the iPad a go for now. I really just use it for browsing the net, and watching movies and such.

These devices last 7+ years.
Just pay regular price for a new one, or if you want to scrimp, buy a Chromebook.

Or buy a keyboard for your iPad.

Refurbished isn't discounted anymore. You buy the previous generation from Costco or Best Buy

Costco

Absolutely buy straight from Apple. You won’t have any issues. Btw I did also buy an old iPhone from Amazon and it was in perfect condition for a great price.

I buy refurbished directly from Apple.

Long story short: I need a new MacBook for very basic tasks (word processing, paying bills, writing longer emails - basically things that are hard to do on an iPad). Will only be used a few times a week, if that.

Since I don’t need the ‘latest and greatest’, debating a refurbished machine. Amazon has great deals but almost seems too good to be true. A relative of mine was happy with her refurbished purchase from the actual Apple Store.

TIA for sharing any and all experiences!