Where can I buy cheap and relable refurbished Ipods/media players?

I need one for running, but I am a cheapskate. I basically only need something that can hold about 2-4 hours of music at a time, that doesn't immediately break down, and is fairly cheap. Ive been told refurbished Ipods usually work out pretty well, but being the paranoid bastard I am, I want to make sure my purchase won't completely poop out on me.

Do you, the great people of WATMM have any recommendations for where I should begin?

ebay.com ?

i always forget what part of the country you're in, or maybe i never knew, but look around online for businesses near you that recycle and refurbish computers/parts.

or, go smartphone + google music. it's pretty wonderful.

If buying from Apple, any of their refurbished products are top notch - they usually (unless stated otherwise) take the innards of the device and put it in a new shell, test it, and brand it refurbished. My first gen iPad was refurbished, and for all appearances was brand new due to the new enclosure - the fact all the innards are solid-state electronics (aka no moving parts), I could care less how 'used' they were.

Isn't the ipod shuffle really cheap and basically made for running?

  On 8/7/2012 at 9:52 PM, baph said:

Isn't the ipod shuffle really cheap and basically made for running?

Yep - most simple music player out there.

thanks for all the recommendations so far...I think I might settle on an 8gb Nano...the price is a little over what I wanted but at least I won't have to deal with fucking batteries (hate batteries).

If you only want 2-4 hours then get yourself a Creative Zen - http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Style-Video-Player-Black/dp/B004ZF0RJ0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1344380892&sr=8-2

I now use my phone as a media player, but used the older model (Zen Stone) for years (and it still works fine). Mine was a 2 gig model and could probably fit around 10 albums so you'll be sorted with this one !

EDIT: Hmm the reviews of that newer model seem a bit dodgy, maybe try something like the more solid Sandisk one - http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Sansa-Clip-Player-Black/dp/B002MAPT7U/ref=pd_cp_e_2

oh wow....that price is perfect, even if it dies in a year or so...thanks so much! ill read up on it a bit more...I used to have a Zen mp3/cd player way back in the day and I loved it.

  On 8/8/2012 at 1:04 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

thanks for all the recommendations so far...I think I might settle on an 8gb Nano...the price is a little over what I wanted but at least I won't have to deal with fucking batteries (hate batteries).

Go for a Nano... what really annoys about other cheap MP3 players is the interface - some of them are such a pain and lack essential features.

Here's another good deal:

iPod shuffle 2GB for 30 bucks: http://dealnews.com/Refurbished-Apple-iPod-shuffle-2-GB-MP3-Player-for-30-free-shipping/595752.html

The interface on the current Nano is cramped, wait for the refresh next month, looks like they're going back to the longer form factor (the one that had a camera).

Get a sansa clip+... can be had for ~$40 and they have a microsd port for extended storage. Or I see refurb sansa fuzes pop up from time to time for ~$30.

buy it from china. cheap versions of everything come from there.

  On 8/8/2012 at 6:26 PM, Rubin Farr said:

The interface on the current Nano is cramped, wait for the refresh next month, looks like they're going back to the longer form factor (the one that had a camera).

Yeah, but the best thing about the current Nano is you can wear the thing as a watch - best implementation of a wearable MP3 player so far.