Samsung Note 8 (GSM Only)(S&D)

I didn't realize how much I really missed my Note 5 until I got my Note 8 back in my hands, after suffering with the "plain" S7 Edge for a year. Bigger screen, crystal clear display, and best of all...my built-in precision stylus is back! When the Note 7 debacle initially happened, and I wound up having to return it (TWICE!) and finally ended up downgrading to the S7, I was very unhappy, but the S7 was...okay. It is not a Note substitute, however, never will be. Smaller, more fragile (the only Samsung phone that I've owned that ever suffered a cracked screen, for no reason I could ever figure out) and missing the all-important stylus and its attendant S-pen functions, the S7 is an adequate phone, but nothing more. Having said that, I was still unwilling to pay nearly $1,000 for a phone...I just couldn't get used to that price point. So I waited. And finally, when the Note 9 was about to release next month, I started seeing the first hints of "deals" on the Note 8...and then I saw the certified refurbished items. When I saw some of the reviews about people's experience with buying the refurbished units, I was a little hesitant, but I went with a seller that had nearly universally good reviews, and the product I got is indistinguishable from new. Yes, it came in "generic" packaging. No, it did not have all of the "extras" that come with a new phone. But I really don't need earbuds (I have my own), or a memory slot opener (I've got several). It came with the charger and a cable, AND THE PHONE, and really, that's all I wanted/expected/needed. Word of warning, for those who might not have noticed, the Note 8 uses a different cable than your standard micro USB, used by most of the Galaxy series; it's the new-tech USB Type C. But since I still had my cables and chargers from my Note 7 purchase, I was already "hooked up" and ready to plug in my new Note 8. Additionally, I ran into some issues with the fact that it was for Verizon, and I'm an AT&T customer, but the fault was not with the phone, it was with AT&T, who didn't know what to do with it. They initially told me it was locked. It was not. I just transferred my SIM from my old phone and it connected immediately. (It still thinks it's a Verizon when I turn it on...but it works on my AT&T phone line, without issue.) I didn't care for the video that comes with, telling me how to transfer over; it made me sit through a lot of configuration talk, advising me (bad advice, in my mind) to just "skip" all of the initial setup screens for my various accounts (Microsoft, Google, Android, etc.) then spent another 5 minutes telling me how to set my phone up for Sprint, and I'm not a Sprint customer, with no interest in that process. In my opinion, they need to supply written directions specific to each service provider, but since I didn't need to do any of that because I had a compatible SIM already, once I found a competent AT&T advisor, I was up and running in no time, with only an hour-or-so of my life wasted. BUT NONE OF THAT IS THE FAULT OF THIS PHONE! It is perfect, and I am completely pleased with the product and my purchase experience.