Sony Computer Entertainment PlayStation Vita Wi-Fi (Certified Refurbished)

Very Happy with it. its in perfect condition and the packaging was perfect.

It arrived in great condition. There are not any scratches or marks and is in near perfect condition, the only thing that I have noticed is that the thumb sticks are a bit smoothed out from regular wear and tear of the previous user but that is to be expected. I was nervous of getting a refurbished product but have been overall very pleased.

This review is for the Refurbished Edition of the Vita 1000 OLED model.
I saved up 10 weeks allowance for this machine and a week before leaving town, finally had enough dough to pull the trigger. I was so excited that I actually did an unboxing video for it. (search Youtube – "Amazon Refurbished Vita 1000 Unboxing" I also knew that it did not come with a memory card or any games so part of the "save up" was for the separate accessory starter kit which comes with a memory card. I also had to save up for a couple of PSN downloads Lemmings and Escape Plan. My unit arrived two days before we left for vacation and was in very, Very, good condition. This baby was almost mint and I would also call it "Perfect". It arrived neatly boxed in the white packaging shown in the user photos. I don’t know if these are actually sent back to a "factory" per se, but they are at least fixed and cleaned up by someone who clearly knows what they are doing. The white corrugated box was fabricated in Indiana, so I am fairly certain that these were packaged by someone in the USA.
Inside the box I found:
One OLED PSVita 1000 in pristine condition.
Two basic documentation booklets in French and English.
One wall power cable.
Two power bricks ? (should have only come with one)
Zero/No USB to Vita Proprietary cables required to charge the unit !

You read correctly : TWO power bricks and NO PROPRIETARY USB CABLE required to charge the unit or transfer data.

Basically the charging cable comes in three pieces : A, B, and C.
I received one A, two B, and zero C.

The Vita 1000 arrived with a dead battery, so you can imagine my disappointment when I couldn’t even get it to turn on.
I’ll jump in here and state that Amazon "made it right" and I am happy now with my purchase after getting the cable, but I did not realize how not-so-common these cables are. I remember when the Vita first came out, the shelves at Best Buy, Walmart, Target, Gamestop and Toys R Us were loaded with these cables and other fun Vita accessories. Fast forward a couple of years, and most of these retailers don’t stock any of these accessories anymore. Where I live, finding an OEM Sony branded, proprietary Vita1000 USB cable is not quite so easy. Different aftermarket reviews warn about the trials and perils of using a cheap aftermarket cord which may or may not fit properly, and or damage the unit and cause it to not charge correctly. Leaving for vacation in just a couple of days, I didn’t want to wait for an Amazon order to arrive when I was out of town, so I called EVERYWHERE. No one within a hundred miles of a major metro east coast market had this thing in stock. Needless to say, I ended up finally finding one place that had an Energizer Car/Home Charger which contained an aftermarket PSP/Vita charging cable on one end. This split cable, while cool in concept, is less than ideal as the PSP pigtail often bumps the Vita screen when I am using the cord to charge or transfer data to the Vita. After some time on the phone, Amazon did reimburse me for the aftermarket cable I was able to find, but the unit should have come with the original OEM cable and it didn’t. SOO Frustrating when I opened the box. I think someone in the packaging facility just made an error. I should also add that Amazon offered me several options on how to handle the situation all of which were to my satisfaction, but I just didn’t have time to execute any of them until I returned home a week later.
The unit itself is great, and just what I wanted. The OLED screen is absolutely Gorgeous. The Green on Lemmings is brilliant, and the deep blacks in Escape Plan contrast amazingly with bright whites. The condition of the item was perfect and had it come with the USB cable which it was supposed to have would have been as advertised. There is a small risk of additional frustration with the Refurb which I experienced first hand, but I am pleased with the final outcome as well as the experience with the Amazon customer service reps. Even with the hassle, I am still happy I got the original model with the nice screen. The newer Vita has a MUCH more common non-proprietary micro-usb charging/ data cable which you may already have. Just keep in mind that you can’t just run down to the corner gamestop and pickup a couple extra cables if you lose this unique key component which has since been discontinued with the launch of the Vita 2000. It’s a factor to consider, but I still recommend the older one with the nicer screen.