Valve is now selling refurbished Steam Decks, dropping the prices for the devices, which now start at $319. The used Decks will be available both on Steam and, in limited quantities, at GameStop locations.
The company says that "Each Certified Refurbished Steam Deck has been thoroughly tested to the same high standards as our retail units," though they may have some "cosmetic blemishes." (Specifically, Valve says these aesthetic issues are small scratches or imperfections on the case — not the screen — that may have resulted from previous use).
Valve's site for refurbished Steam Decks claims that over 100 tests are performed on these models, including assessing the battery and checking the screen and controls. Each unit is factory reset and gets the latest set of performance updates.
On Steam, the 512GB model sees the biggest drop-off, at $130 off compared to a new model. It's $519 compared to a new $649 top-end Steam Deck. Meanwhile, the 256GB version cuts $110 off the price, bringing it to $419. The 64GB starting Steam Deck drops $80 to $319.
Each refurbished Steam Deck has the same one-year warranty as a brand new one (or longer, as some countries have more lengthy warranty requirements). The power supplies, too, are refurbished and may have a bit of cosmetic damage but should work just fine.
GameStop is selling the refurbished Steam Decks exclusively to Pro users. In the US, at least, this is the first time the Steam Deck has been sold at a retail store. On the 64GB and 512GB models, it charges an extra 99 cents, but its 256GB price tag is $10.99 higher than Valve's. That's the price of getting to take it home the same day, I suppose. You can see if a GameStop near you has the Steam Deck in stock with GameStop's store searcher.
Valve notes that the GameStop refurbished Steam Decks are different than its own; "GameStop's refurbished Steam Decks have been refurbished in their own facilities, and they will come with a different warranty provided by GameStop," it wrote in an FAQ. GameStop's website doesn't list its refurb process.
Everything else, from the AMD Zen 2 "Aerith" APU to the 1280 x 800 display and 16GB of RAM should be the same. No specs have changed here, just that they've been fixed up and reset.
These models may go in and out of stock. The company claims that these units come from returns that have met precise testing requirements, so the availability will depend on how many are returned and which of those can be resold.
