Refurbished MacBook Scratches

I'd check the serial number on the bottom of the system against what's on the box. Sounds almost like someone at FedEx may have swapped in their old system. If the two don't match, be sure to contact Apple immediately. You can also check the warranty coverage on Apple's site. The begin date for the coverage should be within 2-3 days of when you placed your order. If it's not, then again contact Apple immediately.

Otherwise, in general... While the majority of refurb units will be indistinguishable from new, they won't always fix cosmetic damage. It does seem odd that they would send out a system with a scratch on the screen however. So, go ahead and give Apple a call. They may not do anything, but they may also surprise you. Some of it may depend on how you conduct yourself. If you're calm and polite, your odds are much higher. You get on the phone and start berating them, they're almost certain to say no.

I agree with Scott. Most refurbished machines are in like-new condition. While a scuff or minor scratch on the casing could be considered cosmetic, I would say a scratch on the screen is a fault which can interfere with your use of the product. Just give them a call and I'm sure they'll make it right for you. I doubt they'll give you a hard time about it. Just be considerate on the phone with them. Let them know how excited you were to get it... and how disappointed you were when you opened it up.

You'll find comment after comment here from people who have been very happy with their refurbs... it just sounds like you may have gotten a bum unit.

I have a refurb MacBook that looks fine -- a couple of tiny nicks on the side you can hardly see. My nephew purchased a refurb Mac Mini that looked perfect. Like Scott said, they're usually indistinguishable from a new one.

That is corporate code for we screwed up, and estimate eating the difference between a new and refurb unit is cheaper than the potential business lost if during the prime back to school and run up to christmas shopping season, we have someone running around talking about their Apple product that slipped through the cracks at some depot.

Honestly, you probably got a system that got put into the wrong pile. Someone was probably trying to do one too many things at a time, and that system got sent out with the completed units instead of staying with the "work in progress" systems. Might have been the end of the day Friday, and they figured they'd just restore the OS now instead of wait until later. Monday comes along, they see the system sitting there with the OS having just been restored, figure it's ready to go out with some of the rest, completely forgetting that it still needs at least a new display... And the rest is history.

Let he, or she, who has never set something down on Friday and forgotten all about it come Monday, be the first to cast a stone.

BTW, congrats on the new laptop. Can't ask for much better result than that. New for the price of refurb.

That's a great result. Never underestimate the power of asking questions.