Refurbished products fall somewhere in between new and used products. Refurbished products are not new, but they aren't exactly used either. In case you don't know what refurbished means, I will explain:

• Most retail stores offer a money back guarantee. Sometimes the customer that buys the product returns it for a refund, the item is then returned to the factory, given an inspection and sold as refurbished.
  
• The packaging of an item can be damaged during shipping. In that case the item is sent back to the manufacturer, repackaged and sold as refurbished.
  
• Items that have a slight defect of flaw like a scratch or mechanical flaw are returned to the manufacturer. The manufactures repairs the items, repackages them and marks them refurbished.
  
• Demonstration units are also considered refurbished, but only when they are returned to the manufacturer, inspected and repackaged.
  
• Brand new overstock items can also be marked refurbished. These items are brand new, but sold as refurbished.
  
• Sometimes the packaging of an item is opened; this is also marked as refurbished. The only thing "wrong" with these items is; the box was simply opened.

Refurbished items almost always come with manufacturers warranties. Although sometimes the warranties that come with refurbished items are for a shorter period of time, the products are usually in mint condition. Most refurbished items look brand new and some are overstock, damaged packaging, open box etc, but are marked refurbished and come with shorter warranties.

Selling refurbished products is in more ways than not more profitable than selling new or used products. Refurbished products have many advantages and a few disadvantages;

Refurbished products advantages:

• Refurbished products are much cheaper than new products, even though they come with warranties, boxes and everything else new products come with (including the smell). Refurbished products are just like new products but cheaper, many people that buy refurbs can't tell the difference between refurbished products and new ones.
  
• Selling refurbished products is more profitable, even though refurbished products cost much less than new products. On eBay refurbished products can sell for the same prices as new ones. If you sell refurbished products, you can sell them for 50% off the MSRP and still make a big profit!
  
• Refurbished products are sometimes new! When you buy a lot of refurbished products they might actually be overstock items or factory overruns. In that case you would be buying new products at a fraction of the price.

Refurbished products disadvantages:

• Refurbished is not NEW, even though refurbished products can be exactly the same as new ones, people simply want new stuff. That's why so much stuff has big yellow NEW stickers on it.
  
• Refurbished products are sometimes last year's models. With products like watches it won't matter, but if you are selling computers or electronics it might bring the selling prices down.

Refurbished products can be very profitable, even more profitable than new products. The fact that refurbs come with guaranties and boxes makes them as good as new but much cheaper.

Here are a few examples of websites that sell refurbished products:

• www.refurbdepot.com You can see that the prices are extremely low, but remember this website makes a nice big profit off of each product. Imagine how cheap these products can be had if you buy bulk directly from the supplier!
  
• www.hotbuy4u.com Also has very cheap products, they also provide drop-shipping for eBay sellers. But I do NOT recommend using them as a supplier, everyone seems to use them and there is way too much competition if you choose to sell their stuff.
  
• www.swissoutpost.com Sells mainly new watches and knives, but also sells refurbished products. This is a great supplier if you want to start selling watches. Their refurbished products are very cheap and sell well on eBay.

By visiting the websites above you can see how cheap refurbished products are!

If you are thinking of making one of the above websites your supplier: don't just buy from them, contact them first and try to get a discount. Most of these websites are run by people that are interested and open to new things, so try and work out some sort of bulk discount deal.

There are thousands of similar websites on the internet and most wholesale lists are made up of them. The thing about these websites is they sell to the end user, they are not actual suppliers and their prices are much higher than a real supplier's prices.

That still doesn't mean you can't make any profits, just remember to contact the company first and try to work out a bulk discount. Before I give you all the website addresses and places to get products, here are some rules to go by and mistakes to avoid when buying products and looking for suppliers…