Santa did not bring me the one thing I asked for last month: The DJI Mavic Mini. Which I get, because the quadcopter didn't budge as much as a buck below its $399 list price. Even Santa has his limits.

Finally, though, finally there's a deal to be had -- with a catch. For a limited time, and while supplies last, BuyDig has the open-box DJI Mavic Mini for $332.50. That's after applying promo code CLEAROUT5 at checkout. The drone still sells new for $399 pretty much everywhere.

OK, so: "open box." Generically speaking, that refers to a product that's been opened and returned to a seller, then inspected and resold. There's some gray area between that and "refurbished," which is more often used to indicate a product that was damaged somehow and restored to working (if not like-new) condition. Some stores use the terms interchangeably.

Here's the rub: I can find no mention of open-box products anywhere on BuyDig's Policies page, and the actual product page makes no mention of the Mini's actual condition -- or warranty. I tried for an online chat with a sales rep, but no one was available. If you want to get the straight dope, I recommend calling the seller (800-617-4686).

The Mavic Mini is the successor to the rather excellent DJI Spark, and an improvement in nearly every way. Its arms fold for much easier storage and portability. It comes with a physical remote, something I desperately miss having for my Spark. The Mini has a better camera and a more streamlined companion app that "gets rid of a lot of the onscreen clutter of [DJI's] other drone apps" -- to which I can say only, "Hallelujah!"

You can learn more in CNET's Mavic Mini preview, which also spotlights arguably the best improvement of all: a battery that's good for up to 30 minutes of flight time.

I won't pay full price for this, but $332.50 is a lot closer to my magic number. Is it low enough for you? If not, how low does it need to get? And would you consider going the open-box route?

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