Want to get more from your budget? Refurbished PCs are the same ones you could buy in the shops, but at much more attractive prices.

Millions of computers are sold every day. And then there's the ones that end up not being sold. Too many units in the wrong place at the wrong time. Shops clearing space for new season stock. Customers changing their minds. What happens to all these orphan systems?

In the bad old days, they might have been dumped in landfill sites or at best broken up for inefficient recycling, often thousands of miles away. But the industry has gradually twigged that it makes a lot more sense to sort them out and sell them on. Today, you can choose from thousands of PCs that have only one difference from their brand new equivalents: the price tag.

There are various ways these machines may come onto the market, and numerous terms to describe them, but they're generally known as 'refurbs'. By making one of them your next PC, you could do the environment a favour and save hundreds of pounds into the bargain.

Second Chance

Does refurbished mean second-hand? Not usually. One of the most common life stories of a refurb is that it's been shipped out to a customer who's then returned it. You might expect that most returned units would be faulty ones, but in fact they're probably in the minority. There are all sorts of reasons why items come back. Surprisingly often, users fail to get products working because they don't understand them properly. And, thanks to the Distance Selling Regulations (DSR), buyers now have seven days to return almost anything they ordered on the Internet or by phone, just because they've changed their minds.

Some refurbished goods come with the same full manufacturer's warranty as brand new items. In the case of PCs, you may well be entitled to the same technical support as any buyer - in fact, the staff who answer your call may have no way of knowing that your system was bought as a refurb. If you're not sure who's providing the warranty and what's covered, there's no harm in asking.

If your heart's set on something pristine, bear in mind that refurb suppliers often also deal in brand new discounted goods, untouched since they left the factory. Chain stores, for example, may return items unsold if they need to clear space for new stock, or simply because boxes have deteriorated and can't be put on show.

By the nature of the retail business, whole batches of products quite regularly end up in search of a route to market. Perhaps the manufacturer has made more than retailers have ordered; a retailer has cancelled at the eleventh hour, or gone into liquidation with stock in hand; a product line has been discontinued with units still unsold - the list of reasons goes on. Manufacturers regularly ship overstock goods direct to selected refurb suppliers, sometimes in plain brown boxes but with the same bits inside.

Consumers aren't the only people taking advantage of today's refurb deals. One of the largest vendors in the business, Europc ( www.europc.co.uk), makes the bulk of its sale to businesses and public sector organisations who come back again and again to buy one PC or dozens. Founder Dale Cumming has seen the operation mushroom into one of Scotland's fastest growing private companies, with a 30,000 square foot manufacturing facility where electronic goods arrive direct from their makers to be remanufactured, repackaged and sold on again as good as new.

In fact, most of them still are new. 'We deal mainly in current product or no more than six months old,' explains Dale.

Myth: Refurbished goods could be faulty

Truth: Many refurbs will have been returned by the original customer. But only a limited number of returned units ever had a fault in the fiirst place, and if there was one, it'll have been fixed - that's what refurbishment is all about. After being returned, the product will have been tested, repaired (where necessary), retested and repacked. Insiders tell us that refurb units are actually less likely than new kit to go wrong, because they've passed more tests.

Myth: Refurbs are products of obscure origin

Truth: The biggest players in the computer market are increasingly supplying the largest numbers of refurbished units. Names like Dell, Fujitsu Siemens, HP and Toshiba are easy to find.

Myth: You don't have the same rights as normal

Truth: Yes, you do. You may be offered a shorter warranty (though 12 months is still possible), and minor cosmetic flaws, such as small scratches, are less likely to be considered grounds for a refund, though they're still not the norm. Beyond that, consumer law doesn't care whether you buy brand new or refurbished, and you can expect a good standard of customer service.

Myth: Refurbished computers are out of date

Truth: You can certainly pick up older machines for incredibly low prices, but most refurbs are very recent or still current models. It's not at all unusual to find huge discounts on exactly the same products that are on the shelves right now. That's what makes buying refurb such a useful way to make your cash go further.