Valve's Refurbished Steam Decks: A Tempting Discount or Hidden Risks Lurking?

Valve has started selling refurbished versions of its Steam Deck console with discounts reaching up to $130. Sounds appealing, but is it worth it? After all, these devices may bear "cosmetic blemishes," as the company states.

The markdowns seem attractive: the 64GB version dropped from $399 to $319, the 256GB from $529 to $419, and the 512GB from $649 to $519. But let's not forget, these devices have been used before, and Valve has carefully mentioned this.

Is there a catch to this offer? What quality assurances can Valve and GameStop provide, especially considering the differences in warranties between them? And what's hiding behind the elegant term "refurbished"?

Valve claims that each Steam Deck goes through over 100 tests, but that doesn't eliminate potential hidden flaws. Moreover, GameStop offers their variants with a different warranty and doesn't disclose their refurbishment process.

So before you reach for your wallet, ponder this: could purchasing a refurbished Steam Deck be an attempt to save today and overpay tomorrow?