Is it wise to buy refurbished electronics?

Yes, I would say so. They are usually returned for a small defect that is easily fixed and put at the back of the shelves with a significantly smaller price tag. I bought a refurbished iMac 20" 2.66 gHz CPU for $1300 instead of $1500. I would say that was well worth it. If, however, you are asking about Microsoft, I have no idea. You never know with them