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There’s no telling how low Meta will discount Quest 3S this Black Friday. If you’re looking to get your hands on one before the holiday spending rush, you might consider a certified refurbished unit, now discounted to only $216.

The News

When new, Meta’s latest VR headset typically retails at $300 (128GB) and $400 (256GB). Granted, that’s when you can’t find it on sale, which we’ve seen go as low as $250 for the 128GB variant outright, and even $225 early this year with Amazon gift cards to offset.

It’s a good bet Meta is looking to repeat those sales for Black Friday, although now the company is selling certified refurbished Quest 3S and Quest 3 headsets at a 20% discount through its official eBay storefront, as first reported by IGN.

• Quest 3S – 128GB (Refurbished): normally $270, discounted to $216 with coupon code TECH4THEM
• Quest 3S – 256GB (Refurbished): normally $360, discounted to $288 with coupon code TECH4THEM
• Quest 3 – 512GB (Refurbished): normally $450, discounted to $360 with coupon code TECH4THEM

eBay says the headsets are in “pristine, like-new condition,” noting that they’ve been “professionally inspected, cleaned, and refurbished by the manufacturer or a manufacturer-approved vendor to meet manufacturer specifications. The item will be in new packaging with original or new accessories.”

That means it comes with everything a new unit would, including Touch Plus Controllers (AA batteries included), standard facial interface, glasses spacer, wrist straps, power adaptor, and charging cable.

The sale is expected to last until November 9th. Notably, the TECH4THEM discount code is capped at a maximum value of $150.

My Take

If you’re looking for the best all-around headset, I’d suggest springing for the more expensive Quest 3, as it’s not only more compact thanks to its newer pancake lenses, but comes with a higher resolution display: 2,064 × 2,208 pixels per eye.

Still, its younger sibling Quest 3S is undoubtedly one of the cheapest ways for beginners to get into the ecosystem, as Meta’s cheaper follow-up can play all of the same games as Quest 3 thanks to the inclusion of the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2.

Quest 3S does however come with a lower resolution display—the same 1,832 × 1,920 pixels per eye display and more bulky Fresnel lenses used in Quest 2. If you’re still on the fence, take a look at our quick no nonsense guide on what to consider before choosing.

I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for Black Friday sales on both new and refurbished units though, so expect an update once we get deeper into the holiday rush.