Just read a post here last night from a person who bought a BB refurb. They used the machine to run their business until it was suddenly Activation Locked. BB said to contact Apple. Apple said to contact the original owner. TL;DR: No. Buy refurbs directly from Apple.

Best Buy often runs sales and, if you're lucky, the model you want will be on sale. Costco also offers some deals on Apple products. I believe Costco has a longer return policy, but not 100% sure on that. Buy from whichever place is cheaper and more convenient. Edit: I forgot to add, if you want to possibly save some money or get more for the same amount, look into buying a refurb directly from Apple (and ONLY from Apple). 99% of the time you can't tell it's not brand new except for the plain white box it comes in. Carries the exact same warranty as new. https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished

I bought an iphone 5 from Best Buy and I had water damage which was covered by their warranty. I was thrilled to be handed a "new" phone that worked perfectly well. Then I started to experience the battery recall problem where my iphone 5 would not hold a charge. My best buy warranty ran out but I didnt worry cause I knew Apple would replace the battery because it was recalled by Apple. I brought it to Apple Store and they said it was not an authenticated Apple product and showed me the back of the phone which did not have a serial # on it??? Apple store recognized I had an originally purchased Apple iPhone 5 in their system.I knew I had purchased an authentic apple iphone 5 from best buy so they asked if I ever had a repair? Apple store recognized I had an originally purchased Apple iPhone 5 in their system. I said yes I had it replaced for water damage under their warranty. Turns out I had to go back to Best Buy and BB would not honor the refurbished product even though they had replaced with my Apple product with a non Apple product. Best Buy said they couldn't honor their repaired product because it was out of warranty and they said the battery recall was something only Apple would be able to replace. Apple said they could not replace the battery because it was no longer an Apple authenticated product. THANKS BEST BUY FOR THE HEADS UP ON NOT USING APPLE PRODUCTS TO REPLACE and REPAIR YOUR APPLE BOUGHT AND SOLD PRODUCTS! Now I have a perfectly good Iphone that has a dead battery that will cost me more than the phone is worth to replace even though it is a factory defective battery that has been recalled!

I’ve always had good luck with the Apple Certified Refurbished Store . It depends what they have in stock, but it’s a nice savings for basically indistinguishable from new products. I’ve bought other things from Best Buy open box (Apple Watches, HomePods) without issue.