It’s not clear whether Apple is doing this or it’s just someone who’s cut a deal with them (both 9to5Mac and CNet asked Apple for clarification, but the company apparently hasn’t responded yet), but an eBay store entitled “refurbished outlet” has opened up, selling factory-refurbished Apple products at the same prices (including some 4th-gen iPod Touches at the bargain prices I noted a couple of weeks ago) and with the same one-year warranty as on the Apple Store. (It’s a buy-it-now only operation, so there’s no bidding.) As a side benefit, only a few states’ residents—California, Indiana, Nevada, New Jersey,...

If you’re looking for a handily pocketable e-reader and wouldn’t feel dirty giving money to Apple, CNet points out that Apple is running a pretty good deal on refurbished 4th-generation (the model from two years ago) iPod Touch units. The 8 GB version is available for $129 shipped (it costs $199 new), the 32 GB version is $179 ($229 new), and the 64 GB version is $229 (not available new). While these aren’t the latest model, with the 16:9 screen, Lightning connector, and better rear-facing camera, they do have Retina-resolution screens, FaceTime cameras, and modern operating systems. I don’t mind saying,...

If you're currently in the market for a Kindle but happen to be on a strict budget at the same time, head on over to The Digital Reader immediately, where our friend Chris Meadows has a tip on budget-priced refurbished models currently being sold at select Best Buy locations in the United States. Chris says he tracked down a Kindle Touch 3G (with Special Offers) at a Springfield, Mo. store for just $109.99. (It was marked down from $149.99.) He also found the $79.99 base-level Kindle (also with Special Offers) for only $55.99. If you happen to know of specific Best Buy stores in your...

CNet has a piece about what a good deal the newly-discounted refurbished 4th-gen iPod Touches available at the Apple Store currently are: 8 gig discounted $30 to $169, 32 gig discounted $50 to $249, and 64-gig discounted $60 to $339. These are the models that have the double-resolution Retina Display, and would make great e-readers. If I didn’t have other demands on my money, I might very well scoop one of those up. Another CNet writer has argued that Apple should ditch the iPod Touch, saying that as a brand name the iPod had basically died out. But...

Barnes & Noble is offering an amazing deal via eBay, that I would grab up in a heartbeat if I weren’t $80 overdrawn at the moment: a refurbished Nook Color (the first-generation tablet, not the Nook Tablet) for $129, plus a refurbished Nook Simple Touch for $20 more. It’s not clear how long this deal will last; they’ve already sold 4,000 of them. If you’re interested, you might want to jump in fast. (Found via CNet.)...

eBookNewser reports that Kobo is selling $49 refurbished units of its Kobo Wi Fi reader, the non-touch-capable e-ink reader that it sold before the Kobo Touch. That’s a savings of $40 over list price. The reader appears to come with Kobo’s one-year standard warranty. I bought one of these readers when it was $60 at Borders’s going-out-of-business sale, and my Dad liked it so much he had me grab one for him, too and set it up for him (and now he uses it all the time). If you’re not interested in buying e-books from Amazon or Barnes...

In the last few days, Amazon has quietly dropped the price of its refurbished Kindle 3 models. The wi-fi-only ad-free version now sells at $99.99, and the 3G ad-free version at $129.99. That’s a price drop of $30 and $50, respectively. The wi-fi ad-supported Kindle is still $114 new, which means that refurb is starting to look a lot more attractive. In June of last year, Amazon dropped the price of its refurbished Kindle 2s, and the Kindle 3 came out two months later. The time is just about right for the next iteration of the Kindle to be...

And speaking of tablet deals, Woot has a refurbished Samsung 7” Galaxy Tab Android tablet for $259.99 + $5 for shipping. Of course, you can buy the same tablet for $199.99 with a two-year contract from Sprint, but the refurb is entirely contract-free meaning you can stick with wi-fi or pay for 3G if you want. The Nook Color has been favorably compared to this tablet, albeit with considerably less processing horsepower; this is the chance to own a Tab with no strings for only $10 more than a new Nook Color costs. Like many such deals, it only...

Another e-reader bargain has popped up. Geeks.com is offering a one-day deal on a refurbished 64GB first-gen iPad Wi-Fi/3G tablet, marking it down $50 to $579.99 and throwing in free shipping. But caveat emptor: it only comes with a 60-day warranty, not Apple’s 1-year version. Just goes to show: if you’re buying refurbished, the best place to do it is on Apple’s own Apple Store....

Engadget reports based on an SEC filing that Barnes & Noble will be making an announcement on May 24th “regarding the launch of a new eReader device”. That would explain why they’ve been putting refurbished Nooks on sale on eBay so often lately. Of course, given that all the SEC filing said was that B&N would have more to say on May 24th, it looks like we’ll have to wait about three weeks to find out what the reader is going to be like. Will it continue the dual-screened format the Nook uses? Will it have a new e-ink...

Could Amazon be offering the Kindle free by the end of the year? Kevin Kelly, former editor of Wired, thinks so. He points out that an analyst charted the decreases in the Kindle’s price over the last two years and projected that it could be marked down to nothing by November of this year. Kelly notes: Since then I've mentioned this forecast to all kinds of folks. In August, 2010 I had the chance to point it out to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. He merely smiled and said, "Oh, you noticed that!" And then smiled...

On our sister blog Appletell, Charles Moore has a great article on why buying refurbished goods from Apple is actually a pretty good idea. I’ve long suspected this—I got my first iPod Touch as an Apple refurb—but it’s interesting to see it fully explained. Moore explains that refurbished products actually go through a more extensive quality testing process than new units before being offered for sale, and come with the same one year warranty and AppleCare eligibility as new units. The only real difference is that it’s cheaper and sometimes an older generation of hardware. (In fact, refurbished is...