I am very interested in the Olympus C 5500. Many refurbed for sale on EBAY. Pro reviews are all good. Why are so many refurbed? Are there any user experiences out there?
I'd like to hear from the real reviewers, the users. They seem like a good value at $149.00
for 5 MP and a fair sized CCD.

If you're buying it directly from Olympus on ebay, you should be fine. The low price is probably a combination of the fact that it's a refurb and that it may not be a current model. Digital camera prices tend to fall over the amount of time that the product is on the market, and the one that replaces it may not be much different or better.

I am not too impressed with Olympus’s philosophy on long life of cameras. I own 5050z and after a couple of years the date and time would reset every time the batteries were replaced. I opened the camera up and found a 6mm diameter lithium battery soldered to the circuit board that had gone flat. I am in the process of trying to obtain another one to replace it. Why they could not have what other camera manufactures have done I don’t know. My regards for Olympus has taken a dive, as at the time the 5050z cost quite a bit more than what Canon 400D does now.
Before you buy remove the batteries for a minute or two and place them back and check that the time hasn’t reset. I could imagine sending it off to get it fix will cost big $.
Frans