Refurbished Quests 2’s – Available for $249

Currently, buying a brand spanking new Quest 2 VR headset with 128GB storage will set you back a cool $299. The chance to make a saving of $50 is hard to ignore. Sure, you can pick up a cheap Oculus Quest 2 second-hand if you shop around but the condition of the unit you receive may fall below your expectations. Similarly buying a cheap Oculus or a refurbished Oculus from a 3rd party vendor leaves you heavily relying on their selling history and reputation. So here is why buying a refurbished oculus directly from Meta is a no-brainer!

Flash Sales – Not Always As Good As They Seem

meta quest logo

Sure, it’s very possible to find flash sales or perhaps Black Friday deals where picking up a second-hand unit or indeed a refurbished unit is possible for a very affordable price. In recent memory, Walmart offered a deal on refurbished Oculus Quest 2 units for as little as $199. This however was not as great a deal when you read the fine print.

Firstly, the price of $199 was only for the Quest 2 units on the lowest tier with only 64GB storage. These units were discontinued and 128GB became companies’ lowest spec model shortly after launch. It makes sense too. With Quest 2 units being stand-alone, any games you want to purchase and play, need to be stored directly on the internal memory. If you only have 64GB, then you’ll pretty quickly run out of space. For some context, a game like ‘The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners’ takes up 7.3GB of internal storage.

That is the base game alone, with no updates or DLC installed. ‘Resident Evil 4 VR’ beats that too with a whopping 7.9GB of space required. The king of all space wasters though is ‘Contractors’ which weighs in at a whopping 11.03GB.

It’s pretty clear with game sizes as high as these, that 64GB just isn’t a viable option for most gamers out there. Makes sense then that Walmart offered their refurbished units at such an affordable price. With that particular model now discontinued, it’s better to look elsewhere for cheap Oculus headsets.

Refurbished – What Does Refurbished Mean? Is It Better Than 2nd Hand?

Refurbished has a whole lot more meaning than just used or second-hand. When it comes to electronics and the term ‘refurbished’ it can be a bit of a minefield to understand what you might be purchasing. To put it in very simple terms, it is a product that the manufacturer or retail partner has restored back to a fully functioning unit. Other terms to what out for are as follows :

  • Refurbished: A product or unit brought to a like-new condition. The definition of “like-new condition” varies from unit to unit. Factory-refurbished or manufacturer-refurbished units are most likely to be the best refurbs and have the highest quality finished product but may also be the most expensive. Items refurbished by a third party might have just been given a quick once-over or testing before being put up for sale.
  • Certified: Products that have been tested to ensure they’re in good working order. They are not usually repaired. As with refurbished, the definition of “good working order” can vary from unit to unit.
  • Pre-owned: While some refurbished products are returns or damaged items that have been repaired, some are outright used. This isn’t necessarily bad, as long as they’ve been refurbished properly.

So similar to buying second-hand, the focus for you as a consumer should be on the seller’s previous history and selling record. A handy tip is to check user reviews or overall ratings on the seller’s website. Might also be worth searching externally with Google to find forums etc that may be discussing the quality of the refurbed unit you are interested in as some sellers might delete all the negative comments from their website.

Lastly, sellers offering a warranty for a limited time or free returns are definitely more appealing and lower risk to buy from. Now that we’ve covered what ‘refurbished’ really means, let’s check out Meta’s offer in more detail.

Meta Refurbished Quest 2  for $249 – Why Is This Such A Great Deal?

white oculus quest 2 headset and controllers

When it comes to buying directly from Meta, you have some guarantees that aren’t on offer with any 3rd party retailers. First and foremost, Meta has a reputation to maintain. It is never in their interest to intentionally sell an inferior product to their customers. This means all units are thoroughly tested and all components are working correctly before being shipped.

Also, being the manufacturer of the headset means they have a surplus supply of components so swapping out faulty parts is a relatively easy process for them. No waiting on supplies or swapping parts with imitation components, everything is original and from the source! I guess the only real downside to the deal is that it isn’t available to more people.

Currently, the offer is only for people within the United States. However, if you’re not in the USA, check out their website to see what offers are available in your country.

Meta in the USA also offers free shipping and shares a list of the refurbishment process that every unit goes through before being shipped to you the customer. This latest deal is no different. The only stand-out difference from before is the logo change. Recently Facebook switched all its product names to ‘Meta’. If you bought a Quest 2 in recent months, it’s known as the ‘Meta Quest 2’. If you bought one maybe six months or more before today, then it’s more likely your unit is called the ‘Oculus Quest 2’. The logos on the headsets also differ which can be expected.

Meta has been very upfront and declared they can’t guarantee which logo will be on your refurbished model. It could be ‘Meta’ it could be ‘Oculus’. Does any of this matter? Of course, not. Bar the logo, they are the exact same headsets. So if you really want one logo over the other, then you’re out of luck. This announcement means very little to us normal folk! All that matters is that the unit works flawlessly.

Meta Guarantees – Company Gold Standard for Refurbished Quest Units

As I’ve already indicated, Meta takes refurbishments very seriously. Possibly setting the bar for other manufacturers to follow suit. They have a list of guarantees listed on their website that applies to every refurbished headset that leaves their factory. Here is a breakdown of the promises Meta makes to every customer who forks out $249 for a refurbished Quest 2:

  • No visible cosmetic imperfections.

  • No scratches on the display.

  • No dents on any part of the equipment.

  • All branded markings, letters, and logos are intact.

  • All previous accounts and data have been wiped.

  • If repaired, all components must be from the original equipment manufacturer.

  • All refurbished headsets are backed by a 30-day return policy and a 6-month warranty.

That is quite an impressive list of promises. The fact that this is the 128GB version and it’s clear to see that even though you’re saving $50, you’re not really sacrificing anything for the trade-off.

Overall – A Great Deal for A Perfect refurbished Oculus / Meta Headset with Low Risk

This really is a no-brainer! If you haven’t already purchased a Quest and you’re wanting to get into VR gaming, then this is a great entry point. The 128GB is a far step above the discontinued 64GB version but it still has some limitations. As pointed out earlier in this article, games with hefty file sizes can fill up your hard drive quickly.

The more VR develops also, the more likely that the game sizes increase. Better graphics and a longer gaming experience may come with the price of higher install space being needed. It’s unlikely that the more games progress, the smaller they’ll become, and for something future proof you may want to pick a model with some higher storage like the 256GB model.

Also, we are on the verge of the new Quest 2 Pro being released so perhaps waiting is a better option. Codenamed ‘Project Cambria’ the latest headset from Meta will no doubt have much higher specs while still offering consumers plenty of bang for their buck. It may also help bring down the prices of older units after launch, so if you can hold off then that’s certainly a sensible option too!

All in all, the price is what really matters. If the drop to $249 suits your pockets and you want to dive into virtual reality, then a refurbished Quest 2 from Meta is a brilliant choice. All the amazing immersive experiences at an affordable price are certainly an attractive package.

Whatever you decide, what’s really clear is that there are plenty of options available to you and more to come in the future. It’s never been a more exciting time to be a virtual reality consumer. Spend your money wisely and jump in with no regrets! At $249, that is now a very real possibility for so many more people out there.

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