Thoughts on a Renewed 50g?

[Claudio L.]

One of my 50gs is open-box bought from amazon, which comes from customer returns. Considering the very permissive return policy I figured 90% of people that buy a 50g realize it's too hard to learn it, so they return it within their 30 day window.
I think it's all in the fine print: if "renewed" means it was damaged and repaired I'd probably had my reservations. If "renewed" means returned shortly after purchase and just lost its original packaging (why is it so hard to open??), than I'm more than willing to take it.
Another good source is to buy used from individuals (not resellers). In my mind, people sell their used hardware just because they bought a new shiny one, not necessarily because it failed in any way, so used hardware that looks in relatively good physical condition usually works flawlessly for years.

EDIT: I just saw one in in TAS used for $74 that looks like new. It's a lot less than $200!! and you probably can't tell the difference with a new item: my open-box 50g was indistinguishable from my 12-year old 50g (well taken care of, but used almost daily).