Two paths to discounted premium electronics
Best Buy Open Box and Amazon Renewed both offer pricing 20 to 40 percent below new on premium electronics. Different programs, different mechanics, different warranty terms.
For shoppers willing to accept light cosmetic wear, both programs catch significant savings vs new. Knowing which wins on which category guides the choice.
How Best Buy Open Box works
Best Buy Open Box covers items returned within the standard 15-day return window plus customer-opened items not returned to the manufacturer. Condition tiers: Excellent (essentially new), Excellent Certified (Best Buy-certified, 6-month Best Buy warranty), Satisfactory (visible wear), and Fair (significant wear).
Excellent Certified pricing typically discounts 15 to 25 percent below new with 6-month Best Buy warranty plus eligible Apple Care+ purchase. Satisfactory and Fair tiers discount 25 to 40 percent below new with shorter warranty windows.
How Amazon Renewed compares
Amazon Renewed has 3 condition tiers: Renewed Premium (1-year Amazon warranty, like-new), Renewed Excellent (90-day Amazon warranty, light wear), and Renewed Good (90-day warranty, visible wear).
Renewed Premium discounts 15 to 25 percent below new. Renewed Excellent 25 to 35 percent. Renewed Good 30 to 50 percent.
Where Best Buy Open Box wins on Apple
For MacBook Air and MacBook Pro specifically, Best Buy Open Box Excellent Certified often beats Amazon Renewed Premium. The 6-month Best Buy warranty on MacBook Open Box is comparable to Apple Care+ first-year coverage. Plus eligible Open Box MacBook can have Apple Care+ purchased separately to extend protection.
For shoppers comparing MacBook Air M2 Open Box at Best Buy vs Renewed at Amazon, Best Buy Open Box typically prices $50 to $150 below Amazon Renewed equivalent for similar condition.
Where Amazon Renewed wins on iPhones
For iPhone 15 specifically, Amazon Renewed Excellent and Premium typically beat Best Buy Open Box equivalent. The 90-day to 1-year Amazon-backed warranty on Renewed iPhones is comparable to Best Buy Open Box warranty. Plus Amazon Renewed iPhone selection is broader than Best Buy Open Box on iPhone specifically.
For shoppers comparing iPhone 15 Open Box at Best Buy vs Renewed at Amazon, Amazon Renewed typically prices $30 to $100 below Best Buy Open Box for similar condition.
How to track Open Box and Renewed inventory
For Best Buy Open Box, paste the Open Box product URL on bestbuy.com (filtered for the specific model and condition tier). Set weekly monitoring; Open Box inventory rotates as customer returns flow in.
For Amazon Renewed, paste the Renewed listing URL on amazon.com/renewed. Set weekly monitoring on Renewed Excellent and Premium tiers for the specific model.
*DiffScout tracks Best Buy Open Box and Amazon Renewed listings. Try it free →*