Announced this week, Apple’s new MacBook Pro laptops look fantastic and seem extremely powerful — but starting at $1,999, they may be out of your price range.

Or, honestly, even these high-end computers may not fit your current needs. While built for the creative professionals, they’re certainly too much for, say, writers. Gamers would certainly prefer not to be on Apple, and some users would rather have something smaller, Windows- or Chrome-based, or more akin to a tablet.

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The label means you'll grab big discounts on Apple, Sonos and other enviable tech gear, even if it's not quite new

If you read InsideHook’s posts on tech deals — as you should — you’ll sometimes find seemingly unbelievable discounts on speakers, smartphones, laptops and headphones.

We’re talking 30-50% off brands like Sonos, Apple, Bose and Samsung; these are deals that you wouldn’t find during big shopping events like Black Friday or Prime Day.

The big sales secret? These are “refurbished” products, a phrase that can mean different things on different sites. It’s not quite the same as “used” or “open box,” and depending on where you buy this refurbished gear, you’ll be subject to different warranties and the products may (or may not) have cosmetic blemishes.

Is a big discount worth buying a not-quite-new product? To get some background, we spoke with Lauren Benton, the U.S. Managing Director from Back Market, a refurbished marketplace that just launched a Certified Renewed collection from brands like Samsung, Microsoft, Sennheiser and more (we’ve previously recommended Back Market due to their excellent supply of not-quite-new Apple gear).

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