I have never used a pressure cooker before, but have been wanting to give it a try. I was also very hesitant to buy one that was "refurbished". I used it the first day I received it. There's a small scratch on the top portion of the non-stick cooking container, but other than that, no apparent issues with the device. It was easy to assemble and use and I made red beans and rice (from dried beans) in about 1 hour, including prep time with the veggies. I browned the sausage in the cooker first and then sautéed the veggies in it as well before adding the beans to cook. Both the browning and sautéed functions worked as expected. I was won over. It was also easy to clean. Would definitely recommend this to others.