When it comes to power tools I have many name brand (Dewalt, Hitachi, and Makita) ones that I bought as "refurbished". They were online purchases, typically from either factory, or factory authorized, repair centers. I have never had an issue with any of them, and it's always interesting to open the box when they arrive. I have a really sweet Magnesium framed circular saw that was about a third cheaper than the lowest price otherwise. It was apparently dropped when new, since every part of it was new, except the blade shroud, which was replaced with a slightly used one that had another owner's initials etched in. My Makita angle grinder was sold as refurbished, but brand new, sealed in the box. My Hitachi leaf blower was stupid cheap, and arrived with no receipt, or instructions, in an unmarked box. The explanation I found was that there was a manufacturing error involving two small fuel hoses that needed to be replaced, or the thing wouldn't run. They got hundreds of them returned, swapped out two fifty cent pieces of hose, and sold them for half price. One of the refurbishing outfits explained that the tools you receive can vary from brand new (due to a manufacturer's decision to dump them cheap) , to unused, and undamaged, but returned to the manufacturer for many reasons. They may of been in great condition, but non-functional before the repair center repaired them, or they may have been returned with missing parts, accessories, packaging, etc. and can only be resold as refurbished.
So far I have never been burned using this option, and I do it whenever I can, including household stuff like a vacuum cleaner and a laptop.