Actually, you can get refurbed ones (reasonably so) from ebay for about $150 these days. I just picked one up as a backup and/or to run as a home micro server for less than that. (If you play the auctions right, you can get them for closer to $100.)

There are a few retailers out there on ebay, but by far one of the most reliable appears to be cellphoneforever. They're only slightly shady in that they adamantly claim it's a "new" phone, when it's clearly a refurb.

To be clear, the one I got from them was in great physical condition, and came with most parts one would expect:

• N900 with no screen or case scratches
• Original stylus, power brick, and uUSB data cable
• Black box that looks like the Nokia box (but wasn't)
• Nokia printed manual and CD with PR 1.2 firmware images/tools
• Nokia battery, still in pouch
• US keyboard (probably swapped in)
• Flashed with PR1.2 and a couple games added but never played

What was missing was the micro-fiber wipe cloth, which isn't a huge deal. However a screen protector had also been put on which, while done well, was a cheaper stick-on that I'm sure will eventually come off. The feel is nice though, and everything feels new. The image on it was PR1.2 with what looks like a restore done to load a set of apps they touted on their e-bay page (mainly games and fMMS).

There's a sticker under the battery cover that clearly marks the unit a refurb. But it also looks like it went through a full series of tests before it shipped, which is a credit to them. I loaded up the tester suite and checked all the hardware, all working just fine. Overclocked stably when I flashed and cloned from my existing N900 to the new one too (using backupmenu). The uUSB port seems to be in solid shape as well, and it looks like the "new" unit has some type of extra holder around it internally, so it may be it was secured as well during the refurb.

So, overall a refurbed N900 for under $200 is quite doable. My bet is they have new cases and keyboards (which are under $20 on ebay) and take older units, repackage the guts, flash it, and sell it as "new".

The insistence that it's "new" is the only reason I left them a neutral rating, since it clearly is not. Had they just labeled it a refurb, or at least admitted it when it's clear that's what's goingon, I'd have been totally happy with it. But then refurbs don't sell as well on ebay, so they lie to bring up the bidding prices. (Though honestly, in the N900 market, if they're refurbing AND fixing issues like the uUSB port, some would be more likely to go for it over all.)