Strong economy makes refurbished systems less attractive.
S everal years of economic prosperity apparently have given buyers and specifiers of office furniture the confidence to spend a bit more money. For starters, the use of refurbished systems furniture decreased among all groups of respondents over the past year, most notably large-company facility managers and designers. Large-company facility managers say refurbished systems now account for about 15 percent of their systems purchases, down from 21 percent last year. Designers say 18 percent of the systems they specify are refurbished, compared with 23 percent last year. In addition, there's an abundance of budget systems on the market, many of which are priced low enough to rival refurbished systems.