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guide · best buy outlet

best buy outlet and open box,
graded honestly.

Best Buy Outlet is where Best Buy sells stock it cannot list as new: open box returns, clearance lines the manufacturer has discontinued, refurbished units that have been repaired and tested, and pre owned items taken in through trade in. Open box is the largest and most useful slice of that, and every open box item carries a condition grade of Excellent, Good or Fair. All of it is covered by the same Return and Exchange Promise as new stock, and none of it is eligible for price matching.

Those four words get used loosely everywhere else, including by people writing about Best Buy. They mean specific things here, and the difference between them decides whether you are getting a genuine saving or someone else's problem.

Policy checked on 15 September 2026 against Best Buy's own policy page.

outlet, clearance, refurbished and pre owned are not the same thing.

Type What it actually is Packaging
Clearance Brand new and factory sealed. Discontinued by the manufacturer or end of stock. Original, sealed
Open box Returned by a customer and opened. Tested and assigned a condition grade. Most keep all parts and accessories. Original or replacement box
Refurbished Repaired and restored to working order by Best Buy, the manufacturer or a third party, then verified. Varies
Pre owned Previously used, often from the Trade In Program. Cleaned, inspected and verified to work. Usually not included

Clearance is the one people overlook. It is brand new and sealed, and the only reason it is discounted is that the model is being retired. If you do not need this year's version, clearance is usually the best value in the entire outlet.

the three open box grades.

Best Buy grades every open box item before it goes on sale. The grade describes cosmetic condition, not whether it works, because anything that does not work does not get listed.

Grade What it means
Excellent Looks brand new. No physical flaws, scratches or scuffs. Comes in the original or a replacement box with all components.
Good Minor cosmetic wear that does not affect performance. Screens are fully functional with no visible blemishes.
Fair Works properly but carries more significant scratches, dents or chips. Usually missing the original packaging and some accessories.

Excellent is the grade worth paying attention to. On a television or a laptop it is frequently indistinguishable from new, and the discount against the new price is often larger than anything that product will see in a normal sale. Fair is where judgement is needed: it is fine on something that lives in a cupboard, and less appealing on something you look at every day.

what you give up.

Open box and other outlet stock cannot be price matched, which removes one of the tools you would normally use to push a price down. Refurbished items carry a minimum 90 day warranty unless stated otherwise, while clearance and open box keep the manufacturer coverage that came with the product. Fair grade items regularly arrive without the original box and some accessories, so check the listing rather than assuming a charger or a remote is included.

The returns position is better than most people expect. Outlet purchases sit under the same Return and Exchange Promise as new stock, on the same windows, so a 15 day standard window and a 60 day member window both apply. That makes an open box purchase far less risky than a marketplace one.

is it actually cheaper.

Sometimes, and not always by as much as the badge suggests. An open box discount is calculated against the current list price, so if the item is already being discounted heavily as new, the two prices can end up close. The only way to know is to compare the open box price against what the same item as new has actually sold for recently, which is the whole reason we record price history on every product we track.

common questions.

What is Best Buy Outlet?

It is Best Buy's channel for stock that cannot be sold as new: open box returns, discontinued clearance lines, refurbished units and pre owned trade ins. It runs online, inside regular Best Buy stores, and in a smaller number of dedicated outlet stores.

What do the Best Buy open box grades mean?

Excellent means no visible flaws and all components present. Good means minor cosmetic wear with no effect on performance. Fair means it works properly but has noticeable scratches, dents or chips and usually lacks the original packaging and some accessories.

Is Best Buy open box worth it?

Excellent grade usually is, because it is cosmetically indistinguishable from new and the discount is often bigger than that product sees in a normal sale. Fair grade depends entirely on whether you will see the item every day. Always check the open box price against what the item has recently sold for as new.

What is the difference between open box and clearance at Best Buy?

Clearance is brand new and factory sealed, discounted because the model is being discontinued. Open box has been opened and returned by a customer, then tested and graded. Clearance is often the better buy of the two.

Can you return an open box item to Best Buy?

Yes. Outlet purchases are covered by the same Return and Exchange Promise as new stock, so the standard 15 day window applies, and 60 days for My Best Buy Plus and Total members.

Does Best Buy price match open box items?

No. Open box, clearance, refurbished and pre owned stock are all excluded from the Price Match Guarantee.

related guides

the catalogue

keep comparing.

biggest price drops right now

The twelve largest live cuts across everything we track at Best Buy, ranked by dollars off.

every brand we track in depth

These are the brands with enough tracked products to be worth a price history page of their own.

Sony 614 · Samsung 563 · Canon 441 · Garmin 402 · LG 398 · Nikon 384 · JBL 382 · HP 191 · ASUS 175 · Acer 141 · Junsun 137 · Google 131 · Dell 129 · GE 123 · Fujifilm 119 · MSI 114 · Bose 112 · Logitech 112 · TCL 109 · Hisense 108 · Whirlpool 106 · Sigma 105 · Panasonic 100 · Insignia™ 96 · Frigidaire 93 · ViewSonic 81 · Bowers & Wilkins 72 · DJI 68 · JLab 67 · PRIMEPLUS 67 · Lenovo 63 · Soundcore 62 · Tamron 62 · MPC 61 · Klipsch 59 · Nintendo 58 · BenQ 56 · Neewer 56 · AOSU 55 · Beats 55 · Forno Appliances 55 · GoPro 55 · Edifier 53 · Marshall 53 · QPower 53