Available on eBay refurbished for £325 with code SHOP20.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363330567182?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=X_Q55qwzQIe&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=h4Q8YgwTQy-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

That’s annoying, me and the other half brought one a month back…

Good value that (well compared to RRP). I’ve had that model for nearly three years and it’s been fantastic.  If I had a water supply to my big shed, I’d be getting another one!

Cheers OP. Ordered. SHOP20 seems to apply to all the other Sage machines they’re selling too. (Duo Pro, Bambinos, Express etc). Comes with a random basket and no filter, but that can be sorted relatively cheaply.

That’s exactly what I bought, and using a previous version of the same 20% off offer a couple of years back. It’s a great machine, really happy with mine.

Less “refurbished” and more “secondhand” than I was expecting, and all but the most basic accessories were missing (purchase seperately), so bear that in mind.

How reliable have they been?

Less “refurbished” and more “secondhand” than I was expecting, and all but the most basic accessories were missing (purchase seperately), so bear that in mind.

I bought a Sage Oracle off this seller at a massive discount off RRP last Black Friday. Yeah, obviously 2nd hand not “basically new” like “refurbished” means from some other companies! Only cosmetic though, made over a thousand coffees already & been 100% reliable so far so would definitely recommend the seller.

Yes there will probably be some missing accessories, but they say exactly what you are and aren’t getting if you scroll down to near the bottom of the listing… look at their other listings too, there may be slightly different ones with different accessories. (You can pick up any missing stuff fairly cheaply though, and they’re not all essential).

I bought a refurb duo pro from that seller a few months back when they had a similar offer on. The machine was missing a few of the accessories the listing mentioned but they sent them out straight away when I raised it.

It was obviously used as it had some light scratches and one small dent on the drip tray but it’s been faultless in the few months I’ve had it.

Edit – just checked and the discount was 25% when I got mine (June)

How reliable have they been?

Mines has been faultless. Made a couple of coffees a day for 2 yrs.

How reliable have they been?

I had to get the engineer out to fix a microswitch on my Barista Express, but it was within guarantee and it’s been fine ever since. Even so, it did make me wonder.

Then my Sage Fast-Slow broke which I traced to a very thin cable in the lid having snapped/worn through because of the way it was threaded through a plastic bit with no strain relief that I could see (not an engineer).

So, I do have a bit of a question in my head about a certain fragility of build in Sage kit. Even though the design and performance is excellent in all other ways.

(apart from the LCD, what’s the actual difference between Express and Pro?)

I bought a sage oracle from new at a decent price.

And it’s a pile of inconsistent rubbish. A cheap grinder that swings from 20-22grammes. Extraction that changes cup to cup. Etc.

At this price with a punt but the thing I bought cost me 1700 because I thought it was the perfect compromise.

I’m on my 3rd machine and after months of messing I can finally get a good coffee occasionally.

Next time I would get a separate grinder.

With no pressure gauge on either of them (Pro/Oracle), how do you know what’s what? Or does it get read out electronically? Or are you just relying on the electronics to get it right? I wouldn’t trust that…

Update: mine turned up today. Deffo never been used – burrs are clean etc. Some very slight marks on the edge of the drip tray – basically looks like it was a shop display model that wasn’t on the shop floor very long. Seems to work fine so far, so I’m happy.

How are those of you who bought the refurbed units finding them?

Been weighing up a Pro from the seller in the first link for a while.

No idea, but its 30% at the moment via that link with two coupons, making them £287.

Exactly.

I bought a refurb Oracle about 18 months ago. It broke after a couple of weeks – some sort of software problem. I contacted the company, they picked it up and a week later sent me another unit. It’s been great since then.

Great espresso, adequate milk steamer, easy to use and maintain, doesn’t make too much mess.

I’m not sure I would get a machine with a grinder. The grinder makes an amazing difference – I finally succumbed a far months ago and bought a niche zero and it is night and day compared to the previous one.

No idea what the grinder on this is like.

Anyway, flat or conical burrs?

The grinder in the Pro is the same as their separate one, which is pretty good. The Pro hates all supermarket coffee though, so anticipate spending more on decent beans or get used to mediocre coffees using the pressurised baskets.

I run a separate grinder from my oracle. It’s an extra pain but much much better.

You can get a single dose add on for the Sage by a 3rd party. Would help with consistency as dose control is key.

The Pro hates all supermarket coffee though

Yeah – the breville/sage grinder (either separate or integrated) is really at the very limit of it’s comfort zone with espresso….. it can do it, but I suspect it may struggle with really dark roasts which (by and large) need a finer grind, as do older beans. Supermarket coffee tends to be roasted darker to give it a longer shelf life.

Try some from here – they are supposed to be good: https://theroastingparty.co.uk

Educate an idiot please… If you were going to spend 275 on a coffee machine would this be the one? I don’t mind the missing bits, I’m guessing by the number sold it is a love it or your money back type refurb, which I’m cool with. I’m however still struggling to reconcile spending 275 on something made by Breville though, given how many hideous coffees Breville machines have dished me up in my life. Does changing the name change it enough?

The Oracle I bought has been fantastic for the 6-8 months we have had it. There were different deals available when I bought mine – paid a bit more for for a machine that seemed new.

Re coffee – I had no idea when I bought it and thought I’d use supermarket beans, but most seemed to grind badly (too coarse even on finest setting) and turned out horrible coffee.

Pact coffe was good but expensive.Bourbon Cream Espresso was may favourite.

I’ve since found a local roaster ‘Monsoon Estates”. Enjoying PNG Fire Dancerand Sumatra Mandheling dark.

Grind setting 1 produces great espresso with the better/ fresher beans

https://monsoonestates.co.uk/

Just as good.

Educate an idiot please… If you were going to spend 275 on a coffee machine would this be the one?

I have a Breville and it is OK for making espresso – with nice beans and the Niche grinder it gets pretty reasonable results.

But I use a V60 just as often, if not more. It’s dead easy to use, and first thing in the morning, pouring hot water over nice ground coffee is about all I can manage. All the weighing out, tamping, pre-warming, what-have-you that is needed to get a good espresso rather than an indifferent one is more than I can be bothered with.

A V60 funnel and some filter papers is about £10 from ebay.

Espresso-making kit is a rabbit hole that is crazier than the bike world, but, a nice espresso is nice, there’s no two ways about it.

tl;dr: if you just want nice coffee, don’t bother. If you want to get into the world of espresso, it’s probably a decent starting point but be prepared for a bad case of expensive upgraditis once you reach its limitations.